Florida’s Parabellum belch up a phlegmy chunk of hairy, big-bellied superdoom on this, their l-o-n-g awaited (try 9 years!) debut album. Seeing as their fine state is the leading cause of death metal in this country, and seeing as how their gear-grinding, bone-snapping take on bloozy-boozy cough syrup rock is so much more caustic and hardcore than, say, St Vitus, I can only surmise that “Stainless” is what happens when a death metal band in Florida practices in a rehearsal room without air conditioning. They get real slow and irritable, see, and their singer develops a raw-red rasp. ‘Parched with thirst and dying’, then?* Sounds like it, and “Stainless” is an accurate account of the whole senseless tragedy. It’s a deadringer for Crowbar most of the time, with a sour dollop of bottom-heavy punk muddying up the killing floor. Short bursts of C.O.C.-ish stoner-metal groove shine through here and there as well, and I don’t think any of ‘em can get through the day without a bracing dose of “Far Beyond Driven” to start their engines. Tough guy stuff, obviously.

Parabellum started life as band in 1996, and they’ve been fueling the fire on demos up until now, so they were cocked and loaded when it came time to bang this bitch out. Their dedication to this arcane craft is evident in every lurching riff. “Stainless” is not a rock n’ roll record by any stretch of the imagination, but if you dig the nu-South doom-grind-crust-metal sound, than this is a prime example. Bring it to your next snake-hunt, or whatever you maniacs do.