Involuntary Organ Donor

Atlanta-based Mangled's brand of gore-filled death metal is hardly a novel proposal, but there's an energy and humorous tone to a band that lists "getting laid like all the time" in their Facebook Interests section and who just released an EP titled Involuntary Organ Donor. Kind of says it all, really. The EP is too short to fully get the entire flavor of their sound, but what there is -- a thrash-filled death metal sound similar to what Skinless has been capable of on their strongest efforts -- shows promise. They're Not Gonna Stay Down There Anymore starts the album off with a mostly instrumental piece, though still with the hallmarks of their sound: A deep, riff-driven pair of relentlessly chugging guitars, a combination of traditional death metal vocals and strangled croaks delivered by the bassist and vocalist, and a tendency to leap headlong into blastbeats at the slightest provocation. While Butchery Loves Company has strong bones, the title track is the main attraction, featuring a quick-tempo song reminiscent of old-time speed metal, but with a furiously pounding double-kick on the main choruses and a very headbangable bridge that impatiently speeds up in tempo as it progresses. I liked what I heard; my biggest complaint is that it's over too soon. The songs are short anyway, and a few extra tracks would have let one enjoy the sound a bit more. All in all, however, Mangled delivers a few solid death/thrash tunes here and one gets a decent listen.