Oakland death dealers Scolex seemingly came out of nowhere with their debut EP, ‘Torn From Beyond’, but they’re far from green. In early 2012, past and current members of Ghoul, Population Reduction, Lycus and Worm Ouroboros found themselves drawn together, helpless against the malevolent forces of destruction to which they’d soon swear fealty. “Catchy, lingering riffs and heavy tones are addictive,” bassist Erika Osterhout admits. “Justin [drummer/vocalist] and I were buddies and always talked about jamming together. He and I played together for almost a year before we recorded ‘Torn From Beyond’. We had a couple songs we wanted solos in and asked Danny Coralles from Autopsy and Abscess if he would be interested in doing some shredding on the record. He came in and knocked out some ripping solos for us. It was amazing! After that we tried out a few guitar players until we found Dylan and Yusef and started playing shows.”

Scolex trawl the dankest, dirtiest sewers of classic knuckle-dragging, doomhauling death metal and slap a nice coating of grime and crust overtop the snarling guitars, mangled d-beats and cavernous roars. In keeping with their DIY roots, the whole thing was self-released, though Osterhout’s not opposed to forming the right alliance. “As cool as it was to experience the record pressing process myself, it’d be even cooler to see who has interest in us. I’d definitely consider getting picked up by a label for our next recording,” we’re told. All in all, ‘Torn From Beyond’ is a sickening display of morbid talent and, as Osterhout says, more is on the way. “We just finished up recording for a split. We’re also writing more for another record that we hope to get out by early 2014. It’ll be crushing!” she promises.