(DGR catches up with another release from last spring, and this time it’s a new album by the Portuguese maulers in Downfall of Mankind that was released by Lacerated Enemy Records in April.)

Blame it on the combo of Hurakan and Sensory Amusia both releasing on Lacerated Enemy, blame it on the absolute need for something that doesn’t really challenge the listening tastes, blame it on work. Whatever the reason is, I’ve found that lately the shorts/muscle-shirts scene of the prefix-core genre has been incredibly kind to me.

Granted, there are a few of us at NCS who are pre-disposed to having a taste for this sort of stuff, and while we happily highlight some of the more artistically challenging bands out there and our premieres can cover enough sub-genres of the metal world so as to orbit the planet seven or eight times, there’s a case to be made for a well-followed blueprint. That, and having a triplicate of beatings from that scene and also knocking another off the April releases that found its way into the personal review archive. We all have our reasons.

You can guess pretty easily what sort of circles Portugal’s Downfall Of Mankind run in just by glancing at their logo, but also from the rotating list of guests that join this particular batch of bruisers on their latest release Vile Birth. This is an album where the only challenger in terms of loud breakdowns would be a recording of the side of a highway. Continue reading »