***Ultra downtuned, crushing metallic punk assault. A tungsten gnarl of immense grimy heaviness, the debut LP by San Francisco’s ACEPHALIX touches on influences of bands from divergent points of Punk, metal and hardcore—Sacrilege, Cro-Mags, Nausea, Motorhead, Hellshock, Anti-Cimex—but none of those exactly pinpoints where the band is at and where they continually evolving band is headed, as they brawl through attacks of D-Beat, dirge and thrash. Classic harmonized metal leads and feedback fly as guttural vocals spit and growl, with sturdy rhythms supporting the dark melodic undercurrent that drives this crushing, pounding, dense metal-punk hybrid. Massive production by JEF LEPPARD in the dark attic of Lennon Studios. The thirteen tracks (fourteen on the CD) are complemented by equally bleak, dark and grim lyrics, making for an impressively solid debut.