After 14 years since issuing out their only demo the French Death Metal quintet OLDSKULL has returned. The band consists of members of TRASHNASTY and NECROCULT and is having this latest 6 track EP released through Nihilistic Holocaust. I was not able to get a hold of their demo and therefore don’t have any background musically on the band, but regardless let’s dive in to see what the guys from Albi, France have brought to the table. Track 1 ‘Pandemic Prophecy’ starts with a barrage of thundering drums, racing guitars and a kickass guitar hook. The band then quickly changes gears to a mid-paced rhythm, but with a catchy melody. The vocals are guttural and engorging with venom. The devastation continues with the EP’s title track ‘The Defeat Of Humanity’. The formula is not much different here than on the previous track with a tempo that toggles between mid-paced and high-speed blasting. ‘In The Name Of Science’ slows things down a bit and has this really sick guitar solo about ¾ of the way into the song. It kind of gives me a early ’90s SINISTER vibe in the music. ‘Spare No One’ starts off with a killer bass guitar and drum combo that has a bit of “Heartwork” era CARCASS vibe mixed to it. The guitars and vocals jump in soon after and bring about a nice headbanging jam session, with again a SINISTER vibe once again towards the middle / end of the song. ‘Good Blood’ starts with a blitzkrieg of music and just crushes skulls. It’s a solid track with a sick guitar solo, but overall it felt like the song was cut short coming in at less than 2.5 minutes compared to the other songs on the EP. Last at bat is ‘Until The Last Breath’ and to me it was the track that caught most of my attention. Well structured and balanced with the right amount of guitar solos that didn’t drown out any of the song’s progress. This was a fun EP to jam out to and honestly with a solid 6 tracks with 5 out of the 6 songs clocking in around the 5-minute mark it’s close to being a full-length album. Good production, solid musicianship, kickass song writing / structures, brutal vocals and catchy riffs. You can’t go wrong with checking out this EP, well worth the listen. Let’s hope they don’t wait another 14 years to crank out new material. For more info: www.facebook.com/oldskulldeath, https://nihilistic-webzine-distro.fr