The decomposition of organic matter proceeds in stages. In humans, the process includes the body’s own chemical actions and putrefaction as well as the work of bacteria and, in the right settings, the feeding of worms, maggots, flies, and other creatures. But what must precede the increasingly disgusting stages of decomposition is… death.
With that learning in mind, it’s no accident that the brutal slamming L.A. death/grind band Stages of Decomposition chose that name for the music they intended to make, and have made — which is gutting, gruesome, and foul. But they are also clearly aware that death must precede rot and bodily ruination, and so their music is also ruthlessly lethal.
On their new album Raptures of Psychopathy, Stages of Decomposition lean into the most violent and punishing aspects of their sound, and we have a prime example in the new album track we’re presenting today, along with a blood-spraying video, in advance of the record’s February release by Gore House Productions.
The song’s name is “Skid Row Slasher”. It’s based on true stories of serial killers, both of whom preyed on the homeless population of L.A.
Vaughn Greenwood, known as the “Skid Row Slasher,” engaged in a killing spree in the Skid Row area that spanned two decades and took at least a dozen lives in which he slashed throats, with evidence that he also drank his victims blood. (He died in prison while serving a life term).
The other killer, the “Skid Row Stabber”, also killed his homeless victims with a knife, with 11 deaths to his tally over a period of just a few months in the late ’70s. A man named Bobby Joe Maxwell was convicted, but his conviction was overturned and the prosecution dropped all charges. He died in 2019.
The band explain:
“This song is about the infamous Skid Row Slasher and the Skid Row Stabber, both murderers who roamed the streets for victims. We wanted to make this song our first single to represent our theme of serial killers but also represent our city of Los Angeles in a twisted way of how psychotic L.A. can be.”
The music is itself undeniably, and viciously, psychotic. The riffing is fast and frenzied, corrosive and cutting, and utterly crazed. The drums clatter at high speed, like automatic weaponry with a groove. The bass slugs like a heavyweight high on adrenaline. Equally rabid, the vocals expel raw guttural roars, crazed screams, and strangled gagging and gurgling excretions.
It’s all macabre, and it’s all viscerally electrifying. But the band also make room for pulverizing slams capable of splitting concrete.
It’s a kick to watch the band cut loose in the video, too, and of course there will be blood….
Raptures of Psychopathy will be released by Gore House on February 2, 2024. It’s recommended for fans of Mortician, Dying Fetus, and Devourment.
PRE-ORDER:
https://orcd.co/raptures-of-psychopathy
STAGES OF DECOMPOSITION:
https://www.facebook.com/StagesofDecomposition
https://www.instagram.com/stagesofdecomposition_official/