Dead Man – “Dead Man” – [Flenser]

New Oakland crust punk, with sludge and black metal influences that remind of Skaven, Elitist, Eibon. Other prominent influences are His Hero Is Gone and Dystopia, with lyrics of side one about the horror of subsisting on unskilled labor and side two condemning conformist authority figures. Harsh deathy vocals and murky audio. Really jumps around between metal subgenres a lot: there’s d-beat, sludge, psych and straight-ahead black metal going on at various parts. This debut demo is presented here as the band have made the free digital version available, with one track per side, both ‘suites’ of two songs. The side 2 track succumbs to industrial drone for its second half. Hopeless angry stuff, I like it. Watch these dudes.