Cordyceps – Hell Inside
Release Date: 25th July 2025
Label: Unique Leader Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Brutal Death Metal
FFO: Vomit the Soul, Crown Magnetar, Atoll.
Review By: Eric Wilt
Hell Inside is the new full length by Unique Leader artist, Cordyceps. For the uninitiated, Cordyceps plays a brand of brutal death metal that in 2017, Trevor Strnad of Black Dahlia Murder fame called a “veritable festival of blazing technicality and musical prowess.” The album Strnad was referring to was Black Blood Butchery, Cordyceps’ debut EP. For what it’s worth, this reviewer agreed with Strnad that Cordyceps was a band to watch. Fast-forward eight years, Cordyceps has returned to release their second full length, and while it has its merits, it isn’t quite up to the standard they set for themselves on Black Blood Butchery.
Perhaps it’s a production thing. Hell Inside benefits from modern production and a full-sounding mix, while Black Blood Butchery had that good ol’ under-produced sound, especially on the snare drum, made famous by bands like Disgorge and early Deeds of Flesh. Maybe it’s a composition thing. While I don’t dispute that Cordyceps still plays brutal death metal, Hell Inside veers a little closer to the deathcore side of things than their debut EP, although Cordyceps doesn’t go as far as adding bass-drops. Perhaps that’s a conscious decision, or maybe deathcore has just gotten more brutal. Either way, it’s not necessarily a bad thing, as Hell Inside is enjoyable in its own right, but I feel like it’s a step back from where I thought they were going.
Hell Inside is by no means a weak release. It’s heavy, tight, and showcases plenty of technical chops, but it feels more like a lateral move rather than the next step for Cordyceps. The band’s shift in compositional tone and overall production may appeal to newer fans or those with a taste for the more polished end of the spectrum, but for those who were drawn in by the raw brutality and filth of Black Blood Butchery, this one may land a little flat.
(3 / 5)
