“Futility of the Flesh” is the shot beyond the grave for Taking the Head of Goliath. After less than a decade underground existence as a death metal band of the most brutal pedigree, TTHOG releases the last of their ammo a year after they called it quits. As with many of bands that are old school and/or brutal, there is a splattering of material here to tie up the loose ends.
Formed from the ashes of Crimson Thorn, Jake Martin (Broken Flesh), Nathan Sherman (SBI), and Matt Vangsgard recruited the talents of Luke Renno (Crimson Thorn) to form a new brutal death metal band in TTHOG. Additional guitarist Rob Blake joined the band in 2016 making them a five piece for their debut release “Beyond Brutal Live” in 2017. Shortly afterwards, Vangsgard left the band, replaced by another former Crimson Thorn member in Steve Reishus on drums. They recorded their eponymous EP in 2018 and teamed up with like-minded bands in the Hasten the Revelation tours with bands like A Hill to Die Upon, Broken Flesh, and Abated Mass of Flesh in 2018-2020. Then COVID hit. After struggling to get the motor running on TTHOG for a couple of years, they decided to give the band a proper burial, but not without one last release for the fans.
As I mentioned, this is a mix of the last recordings of TTHOG that spans the last six years or so of their career. The EP starts off with two new studio tracks. “Futility of the Flesh” starts the album off with a literal scream before setting the atmosphere with a heavy sludgy riffing that foretells of the future pummeling. Rapid fire drums signal the shift away from the sludge with deep guttural growls belting out as the guitars start taking on variations of the rather simple two chord progression. It has quite an eerie mood and has some fun twists and turns.
Where the opener has a slower plod, “Septic Enslavement” picks up the pace with some thrashy riffs supported with some hyperactive drum work. This song shows off the more technical side without getting too cerebral. I enjoyed the development section of the song that goes through a couple of riffs before landing back to the initial thrashy section. The rather quick endings to their songs showcase that they are not ones for long goodbyes.
The next two are previously released tracks that augment the new material. “Neoteric Tribal Barbarism” was recorded live at Rayfest in the summer of 2021. The production is muddier making the drums and vocals the forefront of the assault with the guitars most easily observed in the slower chugging sections. There are some nice technical sections but also plenteous chaotic noise. The final song is a single from 2019 named “Three Cords.” The song opens with a tremolo guitar riff that is reminiscent of a church hymn that then gives way to rapid drums and heavy guitars. There are some neoclassical influences in some twin guitar work. The song structure felt like Beethoven doing death metal.
As with most death metal, lyrics are hard to decipher, but there are some very Christo-centric, uplifting messages being belted from the low guttural voice of Jake Martin. Although it is a pity to see a band like this hang up their boots, this is likely not the last we will hear from them. It looks like Crimson Thorn has reformed and Broken Flesh is still going strong. All in all, this is an enjoyable release in spite of disjointedness and a short runtime. It is a fitting end for a brutally heavy Christian metal band. Requiescat in pace.
Rating: 8.0/10
Written by Sean Bailey
Tracklist
1 – Futility of the Flesh
2 – Septic Enslavement
3 – Neoteric Tribal Barbarism (Live)
4 – Cord of Three Strands (2019)
Taking The Head of Goliath was:
Jake Martin – vocals
Luke Renno – bass and backing vocals
Nathan Sherman – guitar
Steve Reishus – drums
Guests:
Miles Sunde – guitar on “Neoteric Tribal Barbarism”
Rob Blake – guitar on “Cord of Three Strands”
Release Date: October 25, 2024
Record Label: Rottweiler Records
Discography:
Beyond Brutal Live (2017)
Taking the Head of Goliath (2018) [review]
Futility of the Flesh (2024)
Social Media: Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Spotify | Bandcamp
Videos:
Video for: Neotaric Tribal Barbarism (Live)
Lyric Video for: Three Cords