Because I’m an unrepentant, and slightly obsessive, metal fan, I often find myself scouring the record bins and online portals for the filthiest up-and-coming bands. As a reader of MetalKult, you’re no doubt familiar with this obsession. Once in awhile I come up empty handed, but more than not I’m pleased to find that the underground is alive and well.

The most-recent gem I found in my scavaging was a band of young Norwegian death metallers called Repellent. I first discovered them when I saw they were among Aura Noir’s top MySpace friends. I figured if the mighty Aura Noir vouched for these guys, they’d be worth checking out. Boy, was I right.

A few weeks after I reached out to Repellent through their site, I was stoked to open my mailbox and find that their self-released demo had crept its way across the Atlantic. When I spun the CD, I was stunned by what I heard: eight songs (in 15 minutes!) of straightforward, no-bullshit death metal attack boosted with a healthy dose of early Bathory-style riffs.

Sven-Erik Dœhli (left) and Christoffer Bråthen

Much like their Swedish peers Tribulation, Repellent—made up of bassist/vocalist Sven-Erik Dœhli, guitarist Christoffer Bråthen and drummer Jørund Losnegård Skjervøy—stay exceedingly true to the grim, European extremity of pioneers like Celtic Frost, while managing to harness the ripping thrash power of Sodom and Destruction.

Songs like “Desolate in the Dust,” “Torture Cave,” “Putrid Death” and “Rotten Grave” are fast, brutal tracks in the lineage of Dismember, while “The Smell of Vomit” and “Maniac Killer” reveal the extent of Repellent’s love of Celtic Frost.
Repellent’s 2008 demo shows a ton of potential. The tracks featured here are, on average, a minute and a half to two minutes long and are, admittedly, more like really good ideas than fully fleshed-out songs. But mind you, it’s is only a demo, and a strong one at that.

I don’t fully understand what those Scandinavian kids are doing over there to nail such classic sounds so early in their careers. Maybe it’s their pedigree, or the extreme landscape and climate. Whatever it is, Repellent have it in spades. So when your grubby metal claws come across Repellent’s forthcoming full-length, snag that shit! I know I will. —Henry Yuan