When its subject matter is a mirror to the current state of affairs, music, like any other art form, is second to nothing. For death metallers Humanity is Cancer, formed by Thomas Haywood after his self-imposed hiatus, such terms couldn’t be more true, especially as a global pandemic and civil unrest have upended any semblance of normalcy or complacency. Now, after sitting on new material for some five years, Haywood’s project has been unleashed.
The band, which includes Michael Wilson (guitars, ex-Abigail Williams and Aborted), Noah Buchanan (Nunslaughter, From the Hellmouth), and Lyle Cooper (The Faceless, Abhorrent), has set the release of its self-titled debut EP for November 6th on Redefining Darkness Records. The first strike from said release is “Cancer is Humanity,” a roaring track with decimating double kicks and brutalizing right-hand picking from the guitars. It’s a blistering piece of modern death metal that doesn’t need any bells, whistles, or effects to get the point across, just three and a half minutes of blast beats and bellowing about the shortcomings of man.
Also, bonus points for the last section, in which the song’s title is screamed, but it could be heard as “cancerous humanity” if you’re not paying attention. That bit of unintentional wordplay helps the delivery of the social commentary along, if the pummeling riffs and drumming didn’t do enough of that by this point.
Listen to the crushing track “Cancer is Humanity” below:
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