Marasmus (2007)

The early 21st century has seen a new wave of extreme metal bands that are nearly impossible to categorize, as they encompass elements of several different subgenres -- grindcore, death metal, hardcore, and noise. Such is the case with the Belgian quintet, Leng Tch'e (who take their name from a form of Chinese torture, in which the victim is the recipient of a thousand cuts). On their sixth release overall (and second for the Relapse label), 2007's Marasmus, Leng Tch'e continue to push sonic boundaries to the limit -- especially on the absolutely brutal album-opener, "Lucid Denial," in which a gentleman who opts to go by the sole name of Boris screams in several different inhuman voices (and gives a whole new meaning to "guttural growling"). Once again, just when you thought you'd heard extreme metal as far as it could go, Relapse has discovered a new group who manage to defy sound barriers. ~ Greg Prato minimize