“Extreme metal is a broad church with much cross-pollination,” writes Thomas Osman in The Wire 478. “Berlin Deathfest specifically showcases death metal, brutal death metal, slam and goregrind – technical music requiring serious ability, the drumming a whirlwind of pounding rhythms and fills. Lyrics are largely incomprehensible, keyboards are virtually non-existent, and it’s primarily about the riffs. This is music crafted with dedication, but often delivered with gleefully adolescent aesthetics.

“At Berlin Deathfest themes of war, dystopia, gore, death and dark humour generate catharsis, release and circle pits,” he summarises. Here, Osman selects and annotates tracks by some of the bands that played at the festival in its tenth year in action.

Rectal Smegma
“Sacred Semen Altar”
From Gnork
(Rotten Roll Rex) 2016

Limited opportunities to see extreme metal performed in Germany’s capital inspired the creation of Berlin Deathfest in 2013. With gross out, sexually themed humour a mainstay of their artwork and song titles, Holland’s Rectal Smegma may take the title for the most absurd act on the bill this year. Vocalist Yannic Ophorst has previously revealed that there are only nonsense words underneath his indecipherable barking delivery. But for all the aesthetic silliness, musically Rectal Smegma blend grindcore, punk and death metal together with no shortage of ability.

In Demoni
“Stalker - Texas Danger”
From Stupid Jokes For Brutal Folks
(Morbid Generation) 2023

Musically Magdeburg, Germany’s In Demoni haven’t deviated much from their original brutal death metal template. Rapid-fire drum bursts, nimble riffing, deep, growling vocals and sudden shifts of pace and rhythm all feature in the death metal playbook. With all that in place though, the band have moved from dystopian imagery to more overtly comic book aesthetics in recent years. The man dressed as a vagina is only for the stage show and, as the latest album clearly demonstrates, while juvenile humour informs the image, the music is as heavy as ever.

Extinctionist
“Infiltrate”
From Obsidian
(Miasma) 2023

Patrons of this year’s Berlin Deathfest will have read the tagline, “Ten sick years of death metal, slam and grind” on their tickets. Displaying some of the speed and rhythmic shifts often found in death metal, Extinctionist also lean into the slow, pummeling style that characterises slam. So while the drummer rarely takes any kind of a breather, listeners get thrown back and forth between breakneck riffing and crawling, chugging churns.

Mastic Scum
“Slavebreed”
From Icon
(MDD) 2022

Having started out as more of a horror-themed death metal band, Vienna, Austria’s Mastic Scum have fully embraced sci-fi dystopian imagery, bringing to mind US industrial metal group Fear Factory. Likewise, the music features a relentless, mechanised bombardment precision heaviness. What you won’t hear on a Mastic Scum record is melodic singing. Here, the vocals are just as heavy as the riffs.

Ruins Of Perception
“Shinigami”
From Shinigami
(Rising Nemesis) 2022

While technical skill is a prerequisite for playing death metal, the musical template often remains fairly consistent. While some fans view deathcore (a blend of death metal and hardcore punk) with suspicion, it offers fertile terrain for skilled musicians to play around with the formula. Local band Ruins Of Perception do just that, mixing slam, symphonic and black metal together. The band’s extreme metal fusion went down well at the festival this year, while backstage the drummer’s mother joined the volunteer catering team.

Harmony Dies
“Armored”
From Indecent Paths Of Ramifying Darkness
(Defying Danger) 2016

Berlin’s Harmony Dies show that sticking to a fairly consistent death metal formula can be highly satisfying when the riffs are finely crafted. It helps that the band have been honing their craft for over 30 years. Though on stage they may look like a bunch of denim wearing, balding dad rockers, as soon as they start playing it’s clear the band mean business. Some of the most memorable and cutting riffs of the festival.

Bodyfarm
“Blasting Tyranny”
From Ultimate Abomination
(Edged Circle) 2023

Headlining the first of the festival’s two days, Dutch death metal band Bodyfarm pepper their powerful death metal riffs with dual guitar lines, thickening up an already extremely heavy sound. Lyrical and visual themes of war and death make a suitable companion to this brutal music, which also has its share of groove and melody (as well as plenty of technically impressive riffing).

Read Thomas Osman's report on this year's Berlin Deathfest in The Wire 478. Subscribers can also read the article via the online library.