Pain-stricken hardcore out of Salt Lake City. That's pretty much the whole bag of worms, but I digress... Cult Leader began their ascent up the ranks of the metal underground in 2013 when it became clear that time was up for a regrettably christened prior project (Ask Jeeves or whatever if you don't know already). The band has kept the same lineup since its inception, with Mike Mason on guitar, Casey Hansen on drums, Sam Richards on bass, and Anthony Lucero on vocals. They've released two EPs and now two LPs on Jacob Bannon's Deathwish, Inc. Cult Leader just sounds like suffering personified. They adopt grindcore blastbeats, harrowing powerviolence tempo changes, blackened-doom guitars, and Lucero has a vocal presence that could intimidate the piss out of Dwid Hellion. And that's just when they feel like kicking out the jams. The band also has a penchant for death rock, which they pull off to devastating and peerless effect on their 2019 LP
A Patient Man, see "To: Achlys" and, appropriately, "A Patient Man" off that release. Also on that release, you can find "I Am Healed," which bursts with agony and strangulating arpeggios, "Curse of Satisfaction" is the emotional equivalent of surviving a suburban rollover, and "Aurum Reculsa" is literally a sonic blender. If you've ever wanted to know what it feels like for your soul to break out into a cold sweat, set this shit spinning and let it drag you to hell.
Deathwish granted *BRAP! BRAP! BRAP!*
