Ossuarium and the Perfect Metal Sandwich

A good sandwich is just as dependent on its ingredient ratios as it is to the quality of said ingredients. Too much bread and you’ve got a dry pile of empty carbs that would make old women inquire about the presence of beef. Too much meat and you’re gonna have heartburn for a week (or maybe that’s just me). Too many veggies and you’re gonna need another sandwich in an hour or less and look like a huge nerd.

Art by Dan Seagrave

Portland, Oregon's Ossuarium are a band I hadn’t listened to until Nick recommended I check out Living Tomb, and boy am I glad I did, because those boys made a damn good sandwich (more like OssuariYUM, amirite kids?). Living Tomb is primarily death metal, but has a healthy presence of some doom elements, and a garnish of thrash. Last month I covered some straight up meaty death metal, a la KFC’s ill-fated Double Down (which is 100% a sandwich, don’t fucking @ me). Ossuarium are more of a big ol’ hoagie; plenty of meat spilling out of a heaping bun to hold it together, with just enough fiber to keep you from being constipated.

"Vomiting Black Death" is my personal favorite track from the album, largely due to its doom-laden, baleful melodies. Overall there isn’t a bad song on the album, Intro" included (who doesn’t love a good gong?) If you love that old school death metal, this album is definitely for you. It’s a little less pernicious than what I covered last month and a little more doomy, which will likely be an overall trend in my coverage as we transition from slammy summer into the dreary decay of fall.

Check out Ossuarium on their Bandcamp page, support the death metal hoagie machine.