Named after the Irukandji jellyfish (the world’s smallest and most venomous box jellyfish), Nashville’s Iraconji play a style of death metal that is heavily influenced by the genre’s early thrash roots. Taking cues from bands like Sodom, Death, and Obituary, their latest release, Global Genocide, mixes classic thrashy death metal with modern production.
The opening/title track, “Global Genocide,” showcases everything you can expect from this record: Slayer-meets-Death style riffs, vocals that go from Carcass-esque high pitched shrieks to deeper, more guttural growls, and plenty of solos. While the song structures are pretty faithful to the style Iraconji are paying homage to, the production is as crisp and clean as you can expect from a modern metal release. The riffs are pretty catchy, though the execution can come off a little jumbled at times and, overall, isn’t always as solid as the the songs themselves. Where Iraconji really excel is when they go on their speedier runs, as can be heard on the punky “Swamp Donkey.”
The classic sounding riffs and solid production will turn quite a few heads, and make for a pretty enjoyable release. Iraconji have a lot going for them on Global Genocide, though the timing in a few spots could have been a little better, and the musicianship could use just a little tightening. Still, there’s a lot to like here, and Iraconji are well ahead of many of their other contemporaries.