Sweden’s Immersed in Blood rose from the ashes of Inverted a few years back and came up with not only the perfect band name, but now the perfect album title for the brutal death grind they play. Just don’t read the lyrical depictions of sex and violence if you’re the sensitive type. The band would fit perfectly on the Relapse roster, although I prefer the more dynamic brand of grinding death metal played by Immersed in Blood over several of the Relapse grind bands. It’s actually a bit more on the death metal side than on the grind side. Don’t be confused; this is blast-beat driven, broken glass gargling, jugular slicing blood splatter. It’s just that a song like the excellent title track includes not only relentless grind aggression, but also crunching grooves and even a manic guitar solo. Hell, you can even understand some the vocals if you listen carefully.

The press releases describes the music as Swedish death metal “with the brutality of U.S. thrash metal;” I suppose a good deal of that is true, but there is no mistaking the grind element. In other words, assuming this is your cup of tea, Killing Season keeps things interesting from a musical standpoint, generally within the 3-minute range of course. As far as lyrics go, it’s sick as the plague. One listen to tunes like “Rectal Force Ecstasy” or  “Salvatorial Rape” and you’ll wonder whether these guys have some serious relationship issues or have simply taken lyrical metaphor to frightening new levels. I also had to wonder whether the inside of the CD insert was originally intended to be the front cover. I guess the suits had second thoughts upon the realization that the picture of a hunter blowing another guy’s head off (head in mid-explosion, mind you) with a shot gun might not play well in the Wal-Marts of the world. Either way, the fierce musical assault on Killing Season will crush your skull with impunity. It’s certainly one of the better deathly grind, grinding death, or thrashing grind (take your pick) albums I’ve heard in a while.