Experience speaks volumes – especially when the membership contains musicians with multiple decades of playing in the metal realm. Such is the case for Lurking Terror – an international outfit with three members best known for their work in the original incarnation of Sadistic Intent as well as rhythm guitarist Noel Bello from Mexico and bassist Lorenzo Kemp. Starting in 2021, they released a demo and a few singles before signing to M-Theory Audio to issue this debut five-song EP A World in Darkness. You can expect a visceral explosion of death metal with hints of grindcore in the mix – taking the best from North American and Swedish influences out of the 90s to pummel the soundscape into oblivion.
There’s this edge of anticipation as the five-piece shift between savage blasting moments one minute into crushing, doom-like death passages the next – where the dual guitar twists build momentum into huge headbanging hooks which whip audiences into frantic cyclones. Intense riffing, relentless, heads down tempo bashing as well as the guttural growls keep the pace brisk without any extraneous parts to lose interest. So much so that when there is a controlled passage or guitar bend, you get the feeling of enjoying classic Entombed next to Autopsy, while the blitzkrieg guitar leads cut through like early Napalm Death or Slayer. The drum shuffle from Joel Marquez that opens “End of Days” has a swing element to it before the next sequence sends the track through death blast nirvana, vocalist Enrique Chavez executing his rhythmic, deadly delivery to lurk ominous next to the musical proceedings. Swarms of activity funnel into this aural vortex of down-tuned guitars, while the despair crawls into every crevice – allowing “Venomous” and “This Is War” to cement themselves as highlights.
At 16 minutes in length, A World in Darkness sets the stage for Lurking Terror to quickly assault the listeners as they leave the field in anticipation for what they’ll release next down the line. If you love old school death metal of the early 90s variety, make no mistake in grabbing this.