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TRENCH FOOT
Cavernous Necrophagy EP

Iron Fortress / Cavernous / Macho (2025)
Rating: 8/10

A lot of extreme metal acts around are the creation of a sole member who records everything their self. Case in point is Liverpool, England-based one man band Trench Foot, who was created by vocalist / lead guitarist Joe Bradley in 2021. However, after two EPs Bradley has made some major changes by recruiting a trio of musicians in the form of rhythm guitarist Max Baker, bassist Kayne Watson and drummer Harry Walker. This shift means that hopefully at some point I’ll be able to experience Trench Foot live, but for now there is the treat of another EP.

The first interesting thing that strikes me within the opening cut ‘Subterranean Anthropophagi’ are the angular and at times abrasive chords. Bradley has crafted some slightly unorthodox patterns, meaning that the general mid-to-late 90s death metal structure is littered with intriguing layers, most of which are extremely catchy. Couple this with meaty hooks, dehydrated vocal chops and some hyper blasts and you can’t go wrong.

The thing with Trench Foot is that as the band evolves one realises they can go anywhere with their sound. Cavernous Necrophagy is not an overly technical EP but the different savage avenues explored makes for a very interesting listen. Another case in point is ‘Gradually Torn In Two’ which bulldozes in with some seriously burly riffage before a flash of almost Middle Eastern melody is inserted. This is Trench Foot at their most foul, churning black pits of sludge to the thuds of the dim, resonating percussion.

On ‘Cutaneous Myiasis’ – a horrific condition whereby the human skin is infested by maggots when certain fly species (Botfly for example) lay their eggs near open wounds – the band again inserts those infectious, and infected structures that subtlety jar the bones while remaining fully accessible within the boiling furnace.

Cavernous Necrophagy is the musical equivalent of being slowly lowered into a boiling vat of molten lava while at the same time having your limbs twisted by gnashing, oxidized cogs to the soundtrack of a mouldy video nasty whirring close by. The EP closes with a new version of ‘Canine Mutilation’, which originally appeared on the band’s 2021 debut Sacrificial Gore. The song is initially driven by an ominous Slayer-like tension before traipsing with ugly purpose into the fetid realms of mid-tempo butchery, leaving the listener as liquefied pulp.

My only criticism here is the lack of horror movie samples littered throughout, but it’s a harsh quibble. Now, however, I’m hoping Joe Bradley focuses on a full-length album because I’ve played these Trench Foot EPs to death.

Neil Arnold

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