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Cleveland death metal legends-in-waiting 200 Stab Wounds have returned with Manual Manic Procedures, a superlative sophomore effort that follows 2021′s Slave to the Scalpel, their tour de force debut. The new album is a brutal slab of old school death metal with a contemporary edge. Not for the faint-hearted, Manual Manic Procedures may well be the album that puts classic gore-themed ferocity back into the metal community’s collective consciousness.
Slave to the Scalpel saw 200 Stab Wounds insinuate themselves into the minds of extreme metal fans, leading to praise from Pitchfork for their “unpretentious brilliance, pitch-black sense of humor” and an “aesthetic [that’s] built around a chugging, groovy riff that stomps down a path of destruction.” Manual Manic Procedures sees the band upping the ante both musically and lyrically. The album’s artwork–graphically depicting radical surgery on somebody who may or may not be conscious–is an immediate indicator of what this record is all about. No punches pulled, no holds barred, just blood-soaked death metal.
The themes on Manual Manic Procedures run the gamut of classic gore-metal horror subject matter, beloved to the band and their rapidly growing audience. “I’ll feel what kind of vibe the song has, and what topic would fit for that particular song,” Buhl explains. “The last song on the new record, ‘Parricide,’ is about someone going into a nursing home, and just blowing it up. The lyrics are about those type of corporations that don’t really give a fuck about those people. It’s all just a money grab.”
200 Stab Wounds shot an incendiary live video for “Hands of Eternity” at a sold-out hometown show at the venue No Class, and a production video with storyline for “Gross Abuse.” And with European and UK dates starting March, 2024, the foursome are looking forward to sharing their strength worldwide.
The songs on Manual Manic Procedures are not safe for work – perhaps unsafe most anywhere. But that’s its dark charm in a world where even heavy music can play it too safely. 200 Stab Wounds have crafted Manual Manic Procedures for themselves and like-minded brethren: thrill-seekers, carnage cravers, horror fans, and aficionados of the most extreme metal. Above all, 200 Stab Wounds created a future death metal classic.