Death waits in the wings for all of us. Ironically, it might be the only certainty in life. Nevertheless, we live anyway, squeezing meaning out of each day. Deadbody face this existential truth head-on with a barrage of death metal, grind, and hardcore as unrelenting as it is undeniable. The San Fernando Valley quartet—brothers Taylor Young [vocals, guitar] and Colin Young [vocals, Bass], Miles McIntosh [guitar], and Jorge Herrera [drums]—storm out of the gate with an intense vision befitting of our encroaching collective demise on their 2022 debut album, The Requiem [Closed Casket Activities].

“The idea of the album is the death and mourning of not only an era, but the ego,” notes Taylor. “Regardless of your output, status, goals, failures, or otherwise, the last thing you do is rot or burn. You can’t take any of it with you, so there’s no point in getting hung up on petty details. It sounds bleak, but it’s also meant to be freeing. Let go and move forward.”

The musicians initially breathed life into Deadbody during 2020. The members had made their bones in the underground with Taylor a sought-after producer and member of Twitching Tongues, God’s Hate and Zous as well as former drummer of Nails, Colin in God’s Hate and Twitching Tongues, Miles in Apparition, and Jorge in ACXDC and Despise You. They wrote and jammed over the course of the next two years, recording in Taylor’s studio The Pit in Van Nuys. Creatively, they nodded to the likes of Human Remains, Discordance Axis, Burnt By The Sun, Assuck, Brutal Truth, and Suffocation.

He goes on, “It’s certainly different than anything any of us have done musically, and it’s very rewarding.”

Following the ominous opener “Tempered By Mercy,” the neck-snapping “Without Honor” hinges on razor-sharp guitar and a guttural groan as it steamrolls everything in its path.

“It’s about living with a poor decision, doing nothing to change and doing it all over again,” he reveals. “You make no strides towards betterment, and you end up an honorless being.”

“Horrors of the Malformed” seesaws on a thick groove punctuated by a melodic lead guitar before spiraling into a grind-thrash beatdown without apology.

"It's about the repressed gaining societal control and how the public reacts to that,” he states. “I can’t say how tired I am of some dude in Oakleys complaining about the ‘wokeness’ of a TV show or people in bands I love or maybe loved rejecting modernity because they’re outdated.”

Then, there’s “Joy Of Torture.” A hummable solo drags across the percussive bombardment and exhaustive screams. However, it all culminates on the six-minute opus “Deadbody.”

“It’s message to let go of the negativity, because when you go cold it was all for nothing,” he elaborates. “Musically, it has a normal verse-chorus structure except the bridge is basically another more chaotic song.”

We may die, but at least Deadbody offer a reprieve on The Requiem.

“All I care about is people enjoying some ripping aggressive music,” he leaves off. “If they vibe with the themes, that’s great too.”