Killing Addiction - Mind of a New God (2021)

The Shores of Oblivion EP and Killing Addiction's signing to XTreem Records seemed to be an incredibly positive direction for the unsung Florida death metal troupe, but unfortunately the band wasn't able to immediately capitalize on that with an album the following year. Fast forward half a decade, and it appears we had finally gotten that album with Mind of a New God, which if nothing else delivers on some of that potential, and firmly establishes that this new phase in their career is by far their best in terms of compositional strength. I mean even the worst track you'll find among these is superior to Omega Factor and all the material on their early EPs, and it's another effort like Shores of Oblivion which is just a pleasure to sit straight through without skipping any of the tracks...this is consistent, bludgeoning, death metal that understands how to sound like a threat and not just going through 'the motions', even when it is.

The style is largely built upon the back of that aforementioned EP, only the palette is more adventurous by far, with a slightly less trudging early UK vibe, and even more emphasis placed on the middle and upper registers of the guitars through clinical harmonies and leads. The production is a bit crisper although you'll get plenty of that lower ballast through the steady gutturals, however this also plays to the strength of the guitars which are for me the highlight of the album. Style-wise it sounds like a mash-up of elements from Brutality, Monstrosity, Benediction, Morbid Angel, Malevolent Creation and even a bit of Pestilence in some of the more dissonant, interesting guitar parts, but I'm not citing that as some sort of limiting bracket of parameters, because there's a lot to work with in there, and Killing Addiction does. If you're thinking you'll miss out on some of the lower, knuckle-dragging death metal grooves, they've also got plenty of those in tunes like the end of the title track to sate your pit-punching needs. But really despite the commonalities of tone and structure between the tunes, they're all set up with a balance that continues to offer you a riff or two to take you off guard, which is the hallmark of good songwriting.

You've heard Mind of New God before through the band's backlog or its influences and peers, but that doesn't make this any less fun to listen through if you just want a dependable, entertaining death metal record that embraces the strengths of its genre. There is still plenty of good stuff coming out of those early Florida staples...for example the latest Cannibal Corpse and Cynic records are pretty good, and I even thought the latest from Deicide was a nice surprise, but the road to victory for Killing Addiction is much more redemptive since they've finally earned a spot at the table with an EP and album that should thrill a good cross-section of the death metal audience, between the more classic, atmospheric fans and those who were slightly more tech-savvy or into the brutal pioneers of the 90s out of New York or the Netherlands.

Verdict: Win [8/10]

https://killingaddiction.bandcamp.com/music

Killing Addiction - Shores of Oblivion EP (2016)

The first time I heard the Shores of Oblivion EP I almost did a double take. I'd had few expectations based on the previous output, and yet was pleasantly surprised by how much tighter this material was than anything they had put out to date (including Omega Factor). The songwriting is catchier, the leads are good, the little details they put into the tracks are appreciated, and it barrels forward with a confidence not unlike its primary influences, which I've hinted at before carry some similarities not only to their Florida fellows, of which Brutality is certainly an apt comparison, but British mainstays like Bolt Thrower or Benediction, super evident in the first cut "Engine of Ruin" which is pretty much pure tank tread death metal, 'slow grind' with the great gutturals that crumble with a cool decay every time they are sustained for even a few seconds.

Take that bottom end and then glaze it with nice, creepy atmospheric guitar leads and you'd have what would be the best song in Killing Addiction's library, only the others here are just as good, like "Cult of Decay" with more good leads and a nice, loping groove that emerges deeper into the bridge, or "Into Shadow" which sets itself up with some nice, creepy cleaner guitars that ascend into electric melodies and some really nice, old school riffing circa 80s Death. Everything about this is just a step up, from the guitar work to the production, the rock steady drumming and most importantly, the ominous, dark but clean feel to the way the instruments are all mixed...certainly a bit more polished than the EP that had come two years before it that wasn't half this memorable. Shores of Oblivion is no reinvention of the wheel, and you could argue it's just quality, generic death metal, but it's also proof positive that persistence can really pay off, for however easy it might be write off some of their earlier material, this one is just 15 minutes of what you like in this genre...evil grooves, dark leads, well worthy of repeated listening.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10]

https://killingaddiction.bandcamp.com/music

Killing Addiction - When Death Becomes an Art EP (2014)

Killing Addiction might never have the hitting or staying power of so many of their better-known Floridian death metal peers, but the band has managed to survive the years with smaller transfusions of creativity that result in the long 28-year stretch of EPs between two proper full-length recordings. When Death Becomes an Art didn't arrive after a decade plus hiatus as its predecessor, Fall of the Archetypes, but at the same time it doesn't seem like much to advance the band, just a two-track offering of meat & potatoes death metal which channels the style they've always been more or less known for, with splashes of a Malevolent Creation or Morbid Angel, but not really the material to stand out. This was a self release at the time, digitally and with some limited CDs, so one would not maintain high expectations, but on the surface level there's nothing really wrong with this either...

It's straight up, rumbling death metal, perhaps a little more involved than an Obituary or Six Feet Under but not as wild or proficient as Corpsegrinder-era Cannibal Corpse and Morbid Angel. The band doesn't rely on any bedrock of cheap grooves, they actually incorporate a little grindier UK-sounding death that reminds me of an earlier Benediction or Napalm Death, and then a little bit of clinical precision along the level of the later Barnes years of Corpse. Deep, steady but average gutturals are accented by some snarls, and the whole mix keeps a very low-end sensibility, the band doesn't really go off to explore those frets until the lead sequences, which in "Promethean" are at least passable and offer another dimension to the ear clubbing sounds they offer. The band manages to sound exciting without actually playing riffs that bore into my memory, especially on that second track, so I'd have to say while this 8 minutes of content is nothing overly special, it at least gave me some hope that Killing Addiction might have a stronger future ahead of them than their past, which had peaked with 1993's JL America release of Omega Factor (which you're more likely to track down on it XTreem Music re-issue).

Verdict: Indifference [6/10]

https://killingaddiction.bandcamp.com/music

Killing Addiction - Fall of the Archetypes (2010)

Killing Addiction was not a band many would have expected hearing from again, an obscurity from the South who never quite made their mark despite the ominous promise they produced in their Necrosphere EP (1991) and Omega Factor LP (1993). Nevertheless, the band found a second wind eight years after releasing the Dark Tomorrow EP, which too slipped under the radars of just about everyone, and decided to yet again broach their brutality upon the US death metal audience with updated production standards and the same compositional mold as Omega Factor. Fall of the Archetypes does not necessarily feel like a 'complete' album, since its just six new tracks joined by the Dark Tomorrow material, buts its enough to note that the band had not shaken from its foundations.

Alas, this not the spiritual update to the spacey and chilling Necrosphere material that I would have wished for, but a pretty straight death metal effort with brick rhythms and taut, punishing drums which is rarely able to distinguish itself from what is now a massive scene of similar acts. Don't get me wrong: Killing Addiction is not exactly generic gore death. They still like to weave in interesting lyrical subjects, but about half the new material sears along while the rest is moored in bland chugging that leaves little to the imagination. Such is the case for "Leviathan", a handful of average riffs bled into a nice, clinically death/thrashing bridge, or "Less Than Human", which sounded like a brutal update to Pestilence's Consuming Impulse without the amazing riffage. Whenever they appear to shine, the excitement is quickly dragged under by some filler guitar patterns.

Pat Bailey's vocals once had a resonant, crushing depth to them that was one of the more guttural voices out there (beyond Incantation), but here they just seem average, like a mid way between Karl Willetts and Martin van Drunen. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but along with the dearth of standout tracks, it adds up to an experience that might have been long in the making, but won't be long in the memory. That said, if you were a fan of Omega Factor, then there's little reason not to check it out, and for collection purposes, its nice that the band tacked on the second, rare EP. I've certainly heard a lot worse than this, but where once I felt the stirrings of imagination and cosmic oblivion (gimped by admittedly awful production), the unsung Florida quarter has yet to really capitalize...

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10]

http://www.myspace.com/killingaddiction

Killing Addiction - Dark Tomorrow EP (1998)

The Dark Tomorrow EP was originally released as a split cassette with a fellow underground Florida death act Eterne de Sade, but as that experienced a severely limited run, they would later produce a CD version, adding the cover of KISS' "Tears are Falling" that they had recorded for their prior label JL America. The style here is just what you'd expect had you been exposed to their full-length The Omega Factor: crushing, guttural death metal with a lot of mosh and squeal guitar work, slight peels of synthesizer. The primary draw for this band has always been the incredible power of their vocals, bleak dystopic/futurist lyrics and the oppressive atmosphere they created as a result...

If Dark Tomorrow has something up on its predecessors (Omega Factor and the Necrosphere EP), it's that the production is more solid. It's not necessarily strong, but far more cohesive and crushing than either of those releases. I was hoping that the band might one day return to the creepy cosmic potential inherent to Necrosphere, and that has not happened. Instead, they've ventured further down the straight course of brutality, thick and juicy low end rhythms crashing into brief spurts of melodic intent ("Ashes of Civilization"), measured variation and intense drum punishment ("Scourge"). I enjoyed the presence of the synthesizer on the title track, but then this is something I almost wish they'd have done more with, because clearly Killing Addiction would have served as a suitable alternate to the ailing Nocturnus, who have a similar approach without a mildly less brutal vocal secretion.

As for the KISS cover, well...it's about as ridiculous as you might think it would sound. I'm a big fan of the original, as I am much of the band's cheesy 80s hard rock output, so to hear it in the context of a brutal death act that gives Incantation a run for their money is precious. Beyond the shocking, almost ironic contrast, though, it's not all that great. Killing Addiction make a good attempt here to clean up their act, but despite the thick and muscled delivery which trumps the wealth of their contemporaries, they simply were not writing incredibly effective material, and I once again got the feeling they could accomplish more with better riffs and an increased integration of the frightening, atmospheric components that once inhabited their sphere.

Verdict: Indifference [6.25/10]

http://www.myspace.com/killingaddiction

Killing Addiction - Omega Factor (1993)

The 1991 7" EP Necrosphere showed genuine promise, some of the most weighted, atmospheric US death outside of Pennsylvania's mighty Incantation, but it was hindered by terrible production. Still, the incredibly ghoulish guttural vocals, searing riff tumult and spacey synthesizer segues exhibited something we hadn't heard much of back in those days. When it came time for the band's proper debut, they were snagged up by JL America, a fledgling label carving their mark through the US underground with releases by Acheron, Morpheus Descends, and others, not to mention their European licensing of titles like Beherit's The Oath of Black Blood. What's even better, though, is that Killing Addiction represented a real second wave of Florida death, one nearly as crushing and compelling as its flagship generation, with a whole new world of disgust in store for the audience.

Unfortunately, Omega Factor does not fully deliver on all of this potential, and thus the band was never able to create large waves about itself. There are several admirable components on the debut: killer sci-fi/horror cover artwork, great logo, solid and intelligent lyrical expression, and most of us, utter brutality. But these qualities are sadly counterbalanced by a still lacking production and a dearth of truly memorable riffs. Killing Addiction trawls along to bludgeon you with crushing focus, while interspersing more technical, surgical guitars through the walls of slamming grooves, but the patterns never quite manifest into anything more than mosh fervor. "Nothing Remains", "Equating the Trinity" and "Altered at Birth" all have their share of old school aggression, taut performances and Pat Bailey's frightening, scrawled out growls, but there are no individual tricks that one can really point out as exemplary or lasting.

A few of the Necrosphere tracks are re-recorded here: the titular "Necrosphere", which has a supreme lead sequence, and the longer "Impaled". But both lack the same devious sci-fi cheese that they once adorned, and I was actually depressed that this aesthetic was not woven through the whole album, else we might have been presented with a more grisly alternative to fellow Floridians Nocturnus. Omega Factor is far more straightforward, and while that's not a bad thing in of itself, it just doesn't stand out. Also, while the mix is arguably superior to the EP, it still sounds rather amateur and scraped together. The drums often feel clunky, and the guitars tone is almost too overdriven, too crunchy if you could believe that. Having said this, it's still a good enough record to track down if you're hellbent on hunting old school gems that you might have missed. Memorable it is not; musically it's of a one-track mind, but it's a fun preamble to the entire atmospheric, drudging death wave currently trending, and brutal enough to sate the more cannibalistic underground mutants who laud the genre.

Verdict: Win [7.25/10] (for science the children must die)

http://www.myspace.com/killingaddiction

Killing Addiction - Necrosphere EP (1991)

I can't say that Killing Addiction were one of the more successful Florida death metal outfits, but they were unquestionably one of the most brutal, so much so that I'm surprised they're not talked about more often in today's circles of nostalgia. There's a massive scene today for the sort of hugely cavernous sound these guys pumped out through the Necrosphere EP, and even though two of the three songs here were made redundant on their JL America debut Omega Factor in 1993, I actually prefer the versions from this 7". The guitars here are raspy, indelibly raw and primal, but almost completely smothered by the tumult of Pat Vailey's guttural vocals. They were pretty much the most guttural thing going outside of Incantation at the time, and though they are clearly too loud in this mix, they nonetheless provide most of the atmosphere.

Otherwise, the band is canny and competent, with some dynamic variation between the rabid leads, chugging low-end and faster paced explosions, but the production is rather shitty. Of the three tracks, I prefer "Covenant of Pain" for the extended lead sequence near the end, wound loosely over some thrashing mayhem, and this is ironically the one that wasn't on the full-length. "Impaled" is likewise impressive for its lengthy, synthesizer outro which is joined by a drudging, cosmic doom riff and both guttural and snarled vocals. Had the entire EP been ridden with such segues, I'd probably be far more fond of it as some lost gem of interstellar doom/death, but its quite an impressive tail for the content here. The first track, "Necrosphere", I wasn't as keen on, but it's nonetheless wispy, brutal and effective enough that you'll want to cringe under your bed until the bad things go away.

Really, the only issue with Necrosphere is that it sounds like a diseased fuckhole. But as it was released on the tiny Seraphic Decay label, there was not a big budget behind it, so it's somewhat understandable. That said, this is something you might just be able to get into if you've been a fan of all the decrepit, yawning old school death that's all the rage in recent years. The most interesting aspect is that Killing Addiction sounded almost entirely like any other Florida death metal group at the time, more in the range of an Immolation or Incantation. The band reformed a few years ago, so they're back today, but I can't speak for their latest output just yet.

Verdict: Indifference [6/10]

http://www.myspace.com/killingaddiction