REVIEW: Killitorous – The Afterparty

Flashback to 2014, you’re chilling in your house waiting to find some new bands to check out. You’ve been rocking all sorts of familiar tech death, moshing in your car on your way to work and you feel like you’re stuck in the same routine every day. You listen to the same songs, just waiting for something intriguing to pique your interest in the genre. Suddenly, out of nowhere, you discover Killitorous’ debut album, “Party, Grind.” A phenomenal record with dazzling technical riffage and spicy solos, sprinkling in different forms of humor with quote samples or other jokey stuff that takes you out of the zone and makes the band that much more charming. A complete step-up from their previous EP, “Party, Grind” had a lot of potential for amazement and it did not disappoint fans. With a stack lineup from groups such as Suffocation, First Fragment, and Annihilator. Individually, these bands are different in such unique ways that you wouldn’t know what to anticipate when you hear that they’re working together, yet everything on “Party, Grind,” was astonishing and the chemistry of the various musician backgrounds worked perfectly. Ever since that day, people have been waiting for something new to come from this band, and the wait is finally over. “The Afterparty” is going to be one of 2020’s most talked about albums, with a fat stack of guest vocalists and intoxicated ear pummeling that’s going to tear the world asunder.

What makes “The Afterparty” greater than the actual party itself? Well, for one, at the afterparty you can avoid your hangout by continuing to drink; can’t get a hangover if you stay drunk. Besides that, “The Afterparty” takes all the weak spots of “Party, Grind,” and blows them out of the water. With tighter production and more continual song-structure, “The Afterparty” is the concoction of musical growth within a band. Vocalist Mathieu Dhani (ex-Epiphany from the Abyss) really shows off his nasty range with sickening highs and gurgling lows. His influence on the band emphasizes the heaviness but also the cheekiness, as in the song “Insanity as a pathway to fame & fortune: The tyrannical tirades of Mike Tyson,” the extremely Western part kicks in with the somehow-fitting clean vocal part thereafter, and it just works. Sometimes bands try to make comedy too forceful and it doesn’t work, but Killitorous have perfected the art of comedy (beyond just timing).

“The Afterparty” is also stacked with incredible guest-features, those of which I will let you figure out upon release day. Some of my favorites do include Riley McShane (Allegaeon), Mike McGachy (Cryptopsy), and Steven Henry (Neuraxis). They all add their own spin onto their respected tracks as Killitorous open the scene for them to come in and cover their hands in blood. Beyond the guest features, each musician within the band gets a chance to prove their incorporation into the music and their influence truly sticks out. When guitarist Aaron Homma comes in wailing in “Slavesphere,” his influence from Annihilator is clearly stated at the forefront of it. The way that the solo flows and the progression that he’s following is impeccable and clearly a staple of old school Death Metal. Following his solo, guitarist Nick Miller’s influence can be felt from his time in First Fragment. It’s an absolutely technical montage, devastating those in his path to shredding through hoards of endless partiers. He’s on his way to the punch and if it’s not already spiked, off with your head. Drummer Eric Morotti is an absolute beast on the drums, his time with Suffocation has already proved that, yet on “The Afterparty,” we see an entirely new and refreshing look at how absolutely monstrous his prowess is. Supporting the low-end with nasty shreddery is Xavier Sperdouklis, thumping and slapping his way all across the tracks and bringing the rumble to a tumble.

Overall, Killitorous have proved that the afterparty is just as good, if not better than, the beginning party. “The Afterparty” is a huge step up from their previous material and is an incredible feat, smacking on dozens of different artists to incorporate their own twists and styles. The band has only gotten more talented in their time recording this record and have proven that, even after 6 years of partying, they’re still not gonna lie down.

Rating: 9/10

FFO: Cephalic Carnage, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Origin