200 Stab Wounds' 'Manual Manic Procedures' - Album Review

I have opened a quite a few blog posts recently by discussing some loose themes which seem to be prevalent topics this year - and even stretching back to last year. I have often remarked on my re-embracing of power metal again, particularly the more upbeat variety, and I have also commented on the sheer number of veteran acts releasing quality albums well into their twilight years - which seems even more common this year than it has done previously. Another loose, and less-common, theme which I have been indulging in recently is a greater exploration of extreme metal - and there have already been a handful of extreme metal reviews (both of albums and concerts) featured here so far this year. I am enjoying taking the genre more seriously and diving into some of the year's biggest releases. Not everything has gelled with me, as I struggled with Vitriol's Suffer & Become (which I reviewed here) back in January, but I have enjoyed a lot of my experimentation - with Crypta's recent show in Plymouth being a memorable one and Gatecreeper's latest release Dark Superstition (which I also reviewed here) impressing. I look forward to challenging myself with Nile and returning to more familiar ground with Dark Tranquillity over the coming months, but today I am going to cover the second full-length album from the Ohio-based four-piece 200 Stab Wounds - a pure death metal band I only became familiar with this year. In the lead up to the release of their latest album Manual Manic Procedures last month there was quite a lot of buzz around the band - with many calling the album one of the best extreme metal releases of the year. Given my newfound interest in the genre I was not going to pass up on checking it out - especially as at a svelte 30 minutes long the album is not a huge commitment. After listening to a couple of songs online I decided the album was worth checking out properly so I picked up the CD - and I have been enjoying it quite a bit over the past month. As can perhaps be surmised from their name, 200 Stab Wounds play death metal in, essentially, its purest form. There is not really a subgenre which can be easily applied to them, and they differ from any of the other death metal bands I have reviewed so far - as they are a groovy, traditional sounding band with plenty of riffs and some pretty hooky vocal lines, whilst including some hardcore elements occasionally and a brutal death metal aesthetic. There are comparisons which can be drawn to bands like Cannibal Corpse, both musically and thematically, but 200 Stab Wounds feel more modern - based on my relatively limited exposure to death metal. That being said, though, Manual Manic Procedures is pretty much death metal 101 in a number of ways - and it focuses largely on fat riffs and the throat-shredded growls of frontman Steve Buhl. It is the band's first album in three years, following their debut Slave to the Scalpel in 2021 and it is their first to feature guitarist Raymond MacDonald (Frozen Soul; Kombat) who joined the band last year in place of Lance Buckley. Joining Buhl and MacDonald here are bassist Ezra Cook and drummer Owen Pooley - both of whom have featured on all of the band's releases to date.

As I already mentioned, this is a short album - so all of the nine songs here really fly by. There are a few relatively longer pieces, but most of the tracks here are snappy and to-the-point - which leaves little room for fat for trimming. As such, I have been able to connect with this album pretty firmly, then, despite my lack of extreme metal knowledge. Hands of Eternity, the opening track, is one of the slightly longer pieces - and it opens up relatively slowly and atmospherically with some evil-sounding clean guitar melodies and subtle, cold synths. There is very little respite here, with essentially the whole of the album being relentless and heavy, so this slow-burning intro eases the listener in - before the band take over proper to lay down a similarly slow-burning and surprisingly melodic guitar lead. This guitar lead sets the tone, and the song does start to grow around it somewhat with some double bass drumming, but things soon take another turn following Pooley counting everyone in - and a thrashy riff taking over. The rest of the song is then very typical of everything else which generally follows here. The riffing is fast-paced, but not so fast that the band's trademark grooves are lost, whilst Buhl's deep barks are full of power. Groove-led sections see his voice pushed to the fore more, whilst other faster sections which feature blast beats see more of a screamed approach - with the track moving back and forth between groove and speed. A screeching guitar lead is never too away, either, and parts of the song are surprisingly bass-heavy - with Cook leading the charge during some stripped back moments. There are a lot of ideas to contend with in a relatively short space of time, but everything hangs together nicely - and is a strong contrast to the short Gross Abuse which follows. Gross Abuse is the album's shortest song and the only one under two minutes long - and it is an intense piece that opens with another thrashy riff. Generally the song operates at a faster pace overall, with Buhl's vocal lines firing machine gun-like out the speakers, but there are instrumental moments which reduce the pace back down to a chug. The song is over almost as quickly as it starts, though, with the title track taking over thank to some organic-sounding drumming from Pooley and Cook's distorted bass. Like the previous song, the title track is another short one - and it is the middle of a trilogy of pieces which are all under three minutes. Unlike the grooves found elsewhere, though, this song feels very thrashy overall. Death metal morphed from thrash, so it is unsurprising that many of the riffs here feel like they could have come from the 1980s. Blast beats feel more modern, though, but the screaming guitar leads featured here are Slayer-esque - whilst the rhythms created by the riffs and the pulse of the bass is very thrash-inspired. Release the Stench completes this trilogy by opening with a pretty lengthy and busy guitar solo - which is strange given the song's length. As the three songs all seem to roll into each other, though, it works quite well - and the song in general is another pretty intense piece. It is the fastest overall on the album up to this point and it rarely ever lays back on a groove - with blast beats and spitting vocals generally the order of the day here. It is an intense end to this run of short tracks which have all expanded on the vibes of the opener nicely.

The album's mid-point is celebrated with the instrumental piece Led to the Chamber/Liquified, which opens slowly with some more cold synths and atmospheric sounds before it morphs into something more riffy and a showcase for some shredded guitar soloing. A chaotic ending later morphs into Flesh from Within, though, which opens with a riff which could have sat on a 1980s traditional heavy metal album if it were not for the nastier guitar tone used here. I am a big fan of how this album sounds. It is really well produced but it still sounds grimy. The bass is high in the mix, the drums sound powerful, and the guitar tone really cuts through. The vocals are always clear, too, showing that the overall mix has been done well. Too many extreme metal albums fail on this front for me, but this sounds massive - and Flesh from Within is a great example thanks to its old-school riffing and a traditional approach. It is less thrashy and intense than some of the songs here with the track instead generally feeling somewhat quaint in its riffing and lead-based approach. There are faster moments, but overall it is more groovy - and it is a highlight as a result. Defiled Gestation is another slightly longer piece so it feels a little more involved - with the opening riff mixing heavy and clean guitars nicely, whilst the bass leads the way early on. This track ups the pace following the groovier previous song and it is another that features quite a prominent thrash influence. The main riff, thanks to the bass presence, feels like something from an old Overkill album, whilst the occasional more chugging moment adds a staccato groove which helps to break up the more melodic feel of the thrashy riffs. It takes a while for the vocals to kick in, but the riffing mix which opens the song is a great balance of styles that this does not matter - and Buhl only makes things better with his growls against the bass-heavy backing. I love the energy and the overall vibe of this piece. The old-school riffing really sticks in the brain - and the song is hooky despite the heaviness. There are some strong lead guitar moments, too, including a couple of potent solos. Ride the Flatline is another short one and the hardcore influences mentioned previously really rear their heads here - with Jami Morgan (Code Orange) providing vocals alongside Buhl. Morgan's punky barks differ considerably from Buhl's growls, but the two vocal styles work well together here - particularly given the song's short runtime and its overall energy. It is unsurprisingly another faster track, and it seems less bothered about riffs this time with more of an intense punk drive and a few chugging moments. The album then comes to a close with Parricide, another pretty fast piece which opens with some buzzing guitar leads and a darker tone - but once a faster riff kicks in the track is essentially business as usual. Despite being one of the relatively longer pieces here, the song is not as varied as some of the others - with the pace being generally maintained with only the occasional riff-led break. The guitar solo is a bit spacier than some, though, which helps to set the song apart - but generally this track is typical in-your-face death metal. It ends the album well, then, and overall I have found a lot to enjoy here. It is surprisingly hooky and the grooves throughout are really infectious. I will need to check out the band's previous work and it is clear that this riff and groove-lead brand of death metal is very much for me.

The album was released on 28th June 2024 via Metal Blade Records. Below is the band's promotional video for Hands of Eternity.