New Jersey’s Progressive Death Metal quartet Slaughtersun unleashed themselves upon the Death Metal world in 2023, releasing a succession of singles between early December 2023 and July 2024. All have now been further remixed, remastered, and adjusted to deliver extra depth and aggression, and they are to be released as their debut EP offering, Black Marrow, named after the most recent of those singles.
Slaughtersun – Black Marrow (Independent Release)
Release Date: 10 January 2025
Words: Jools Green
Slaughtersun are the brainchild of Ben Karas. Given his range of musical interests and expertise from prog rockers Thank You Scientist and Black/Folk Metal outfit Windfaerer, this latest project is not surprisingly something that is both innovative and brutally punchy. But, most importantly, Black Marrow is intriguingly engaging.
Karas is joined by Cody McCorry, also from Thank You Scientist on bass, along with Jason Quinones from Death Metallers Tombstoner on drums and Thrash/Groove Metal/Deathcore outfit Cranial Damage’s vocalist Justin Hillman.
This results in a line-up with a broad infusion of styles to add to Karas’ take on Death Metal. As a result, Black Marrow embarks on a fascinating journey through dark soundscapes and intriguing storytelling, taking some influence from bands such as Gorguts, Death, Cannibal Corpse and At The Gates, along with a progressive edge which really builds on the sound. 
After the haunting instrumental opener, Unearthly Propaganda, it is straight into Fall Of The Firmament, where deep raw vocals meet bouncy bass lines and spiralling riffs that will set your head spinning. Melodic elements add to the engagement factor, and the direction and pace changes are impressively slick. Lyrically, it is very thought-provoking. To top it off, you get a rather nice swathe of squealy leadwork in the second half.
Relentless Thelemic is equally engaging, picking the pace up further and delivering a Death/Thrash galloping drive. A piece that gathers you up and sweeps you along in its ever-intensifying wake, midway, it makes a dramatic drop in pace briefly, coming back with even more density and intensity.
Ready Cell Awaits opens with so much impact. The bass lines and riffs are powerful and crazy to the point of brilliance. The sudden switch from a gut-churning crush to a more hauntingly reflective mood, albeit briefly, adds so much to the overall sound. Then that wonderfully bouncy crushing style returns alongside more superbly crazy riffing while Justin’s vocals cut a brutal swathe through the whole piece once again.
Black Marrow delivers another unrelenting high-speed drive that gets faster and faster. When it levels out, the riffing takes on an even more complex construction. All the way through, the depth of the sound increases, culminating in an insane swathe of leadwork midway through the second half, with Justin delivering some superbly protracted vocals across the track.
The EP’s closer is a second version of Relentless Thelemic, Relentless Thelemic (Frightbox Live Session) and is a tribute to the closing of Frightbox Recording, the studio where they recorded this track live, marking the end of an era for the iconic Passaic, NJ, studio.
Black Marrow is a superb first release that promises so much more to come. A well-constructed and delivered offering completed by Justin’s excellent vocals, this EP should be of great interest to fans of the innovative side of Progressive Death Metal.
I think fans of the Italian Progressive Death Metal outfit Sadist, who were the first band that sprang to my mind for delivering a slightly similar style, will find this an interesting listen.
Slaughtersun – Black Marrow is available as a preorder CD from here.
