Local Review: The Obliterate Plague – The Wrath of Cthulhu

The Salt Lake City death metal band that’s always persistent and consistently good has finally officially recorded some tunes for the masses. Founding members Alexander Jorgenson and Alex Gomez have picked a collection of tracks from the band’s earlier era that never got any proper recording treatment and gave them the deluxe workup in an oh-so-good way. The production alone on the monumental seven tracks is beyond versatile, sharp and precise, without losing that live quality. It’s a blast to have these tracks from a band that’s made many infamous live incursions, including SLUG Mag’s Localized, on proper recording. When “Summoning of the Dark Lords” bellowed from my CD player, it brought back so many great memories because it’s a staple of the band’s live show. Channeling straight-up classic death metal, the influences of the players are noted, but the album is its own death entity. This seriously not only stands up against a hell of a lot of death metal records being released by the “big-metal” labels—it crushes them. – Bryer Wharton