Elitist United States

"Earlier this year, Season of Mist signed American underground act Elitist, and now they're ready with their debut album, and I must say, signing this band was a good move by Season of Mist. Firstly, it adds further variation to Season of Mist's already impressive roster of bands, and, secondly, Elitist's brand of metal is quite something.

This is dirty, raw and sludgy death metal with growled vocals and the occasional burst into a blast beat passage. And as if that is not enough, Elitist jump into uptempo D-beating hardcore and more old school thrashing pieces every now and then, which creates a nice contrast with the otherwise heavy and sludgy riffage. The riffage, and the music in general, is not especially technical, but there is a certain heavy energy to it which is bound to make you mosh around and headbang like a madman.

The production is extremely raw, but not unbearable, and the dirty guitar distortion - needless to say - complements the raw and heavy music extremely well. There is a certain amount of noise in the production, but that is intentional, I think, and only enhances the listening experience.

Recommended to fans of old school death metal and sludge metal alike. If you like your music dirty and heavy, check out "Fear in a Handful of Dust".

(review originally posted on metalmusicarchives.com)"