Metalcatto
Protrusion is the name you want to hear when it comes to Death Metal, right? I mean, you clearly didn’t picture cute kittens after reading it. Even less after seeing the album title The Last Suppuration. Nothing optimistic or pure could come out of that combination. The only real question is how pummeling and retro this album is going to be in practice.
Tell me something stranger. Do you enjoy your Death Metal old school? I know this niche is more saturated than a Big Mac, but not many bands want to sound like Cryptopsy these days, and even fewer aim for the Immolation territory. So yes, The Last Suppuration is retro, but its specific style isn’t one I get to return to every day. It’s just savage and absolutely disgusting, yet the production is clean enough to actually “enjoy” the butchery taking place. The guitars have clarity without losing their edge, and the drums hit hard without turning into a wall of indistinguishable noise. That balance matters more than you’d think.
The vocals are some of the most impenetrable and heinous things I’ve reviewed this year. Expect them to hit in all the right places while you don’t understand a single word coming out of the speaker. It’s pure texture and aggression, communication through tone rather than language. The tracks do a good job balancing moments of tension and release, giving the music more than just pointless blasting to offer. Yet everything remains ridiculously inflammatory. I mean, a track is named “Boiled at Birth” and another “Slugs of Decadence.” What can you expect from that? Hugs? Therapy? A gentle conversation about feelings?
There are two main things that might keep you on the fence when trying to digest The Last Suppuration. First, it’s the absurdity of its consistency. Not that every track sounds exactly the same, but the album certainly carries the same emotional weight throughout without much variation in mood. Second, the pacing is kind of slow for a Death Metal record. I’m not sure that’s a negative thing per se, but it’s not what I typically expect from this kind of sonic agony. It might take a while to get used to such a prolonged beatdown without the usual tempo changes to break things up.
So Protrusion is trying to be creative without breaking away from tradition. That is basically an impossible task in today’s oversaturated scene. However, the band delivers respectable, if not inhumane, levels of violence and gore across this release. All of it comes with decent production and competent songwriting that shows an understanding of what makes the genre work. In other words, not bad, kids. Not bad at all. If you want your Death Metal ugly, retro, and uncompromising, The Last Suppuration has your name written all over it.
Label: Extremely Rotten Production / Unholy Domain / Sevared Records
Release date: March 13, 2026
Website: protrusion.bandcamp.com
Country: USA
Score: 3.5/5.0
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