UMUR
"Deathmetal" is an EP release by Australian death metal/deathgrind act Werewolves. The EP was independently released in March 2022. It bridges the gap between Werewolves' second- and third full-length studio albums "What a Time to Be Alive" (January 2021) and "From the Cave to the Grave" (June 2022).
The EP features four tracks and a total playing time of 13.53 minutes. Two originals and two covers of Deicide and Marduk. "Harvest of the Skulls" would appear on "From the Cave to the Grave" later the same year and "I Hate Therefore I Am" would subsequently appear on Werewolves fourth full-length studio album "My Enemies Look and Sound like Me" (August 2023). So neither are particularly worth the investment if you already own the studio albums which followed, but evaluated on their own merits and the time of release (before the two tracks became available on the following album releases), this is pretty much what you expect from werewolves. Brutal, fast-paced (although "Harvest of the Skulls" is actually on of their heavier and slower songs), and relentlessly aggressive death metal/deathgrind performed by a very well playing unit.
The covers of "Behind the Light Thou Shall Rise" (by Deicide) and "Christ Raping Black Metal" (by Marduk) are decent enough. Well performed and delivered with the right energy and aggression, but none of them stand out as anything out of the ordinary for Werewolves and both could just as well have been included on their albums and you almost wouldn´t have noticed that they weren´t just another original by Werewolves. The Marduk track of course has a more blackened edge to it, but other than that it sounds a lot like a Werewolves song.
All in all "Deathmetal" is a good quality EP release from Werewolves, featuring a well sounding production job, skilled performances, and some decent quality material. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.