VENOM PRISON - Animus (Sealed) (LP)

Venom Prison knows how to make a statement before they even start playing. The UK death metal outfit’s latest, Animus, features a castrated rapist being force fed his own genitals on the cover. The album art is just the beginning of the brutality that makes up Animus— the album is heavy, groovy and aggressive throughout. The same straightforward approach that Venom Prison took on their last EP, The Primal Chaos, is what they use here. Pummeling riffs and a vicious vocal delivery from frontwoman L (ex-Wolf Down) lead the no-frills death metal charge, backed by a thundering low end. Touches of grindcore and hardcore (just listen to the end of “Devoid”) make their way into the music as well; the output is a formidable debut full-length.