Molested Divinity Credit: Courtesy the artist
Turkey has no shortage of badass metal bands, but Molested Divinity stand out. Formed in the capital city of Ankara in 2016, the trio specialize in raw, brutal death metal that churns like the pitch-black smoke of a burning oil spill. The hallmarks of the genre are all in force—guttural growls, gnashing down-tuned riffs, squealing pinch harmonics, typewriter kick drum, tin-can snare—but the band also manage to surprise you with their ambitious arrangements and musical chops without once diverging from the filth at the core of their sound. On 2020’s Unearthing the Void, Molested Divinity fuse brutal and slam metal in a delightfully grimy, grinding, unrelenting onslaught. Their third and most recent album, 2023’s The Primordial, takes aim at the dangers of organized religion and raises the bar they’ve already set for themselves with their airtight chemistry and intricate songwriting. Molested Divinity are currently on tour with two of their labelmates on Ohio imprint New Standard Elite—Sacramento grinders Embodied Torment and fellow Ankara brutalists Desecrated Ubiquity—en route to a headlining slot at the label’s NSE Fest in Texas next month. Go get your rage out so you can face another day.
Molested Divinity Embodied Torment, Desecrated Ubiquity, and Carrion Throne open. Mon 11/3, 8 PM, Reggies Music Joint, 2105 S. State, $27.24, 21+
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Jamie Ludwig (she/her) joined the Chicago Reader in 2017.
She is the associate editor and branded content specialist at the Reader.
Ludwig lives in Chicago. She speaks English and can be reached at jludwig@chicagoreader.com.