Epi-Demic: Malformed Conscience (2017)

Ah, here we go.  It is good to get away from the power metal stuff for a little while.  Epi-Demic is a Canadian thrash metal/crossover band releasing their second full-length album.  Canada has a reputation for some amazing metal bands, particularly thrash metal.  Slaughter, Sacrifice, Razor, and Voivod have all emerged from the Great White North, so I was pretty excited about this one.

Epi-Demic's sound is definitely more on the crossover side of things with a lot of punk energy and shouted vocals, very much like early Corrosion of Conformity, among others.  Guitarist Adam H.'s riffs are aggressive backed by pounding drums and throbbing bass.  The songs are all fairly short, with only a couple reaching three-and-a-half minutes and the entire album flies by in the blink of an eye.  The production is raw, emphasizing the ugliness of the sound.  This is absolutely not a melodic metal album.

Malformed Conscience is a non-compromising, angry slab of metal that is unrelenting in its assault on the listener.  There are no melodic interludes, no breaks in the action to catch breath.  It is pure, unadulterated violence from beginning to end.  Even the short instrumental is a fast-paced riff-fest.  I was definitely impressed with the release.