Jacksonville Death-Metal Band Parasite Disciple Dismantle Religious Hypocrisy

If an album opens with the lyrics “Grotesque plague of the lecherous priest / sodomizing while claiming divinity,” you can be more or less certain that — with local band Parasite Disciple — we are not in the land of bedroom pop.

The opening track from the group’s debut EP Auditory Hallucinations, the two-and-a-half-minutes of “Pulpit of Perversion,” is a brutal takedown of religion-concealed pedophilia. Whiplash time changes, chromatic-blitzkrieg riffage galore, and death-gnashing vocals by singer Brian Fitzgerald, who sounds like he is trying to dislodge his voice box into the mosh pit. The proficiency of the band (guitarist Ben Davis, bassist Tim Church and drummer Zach Lindsey) sounds pretty hard won and the overall impact of “Pulpit of Perversion” is one of high-tier Florida thrash metal.

So if you need a break from wrapping gifts and re-binding bibles this holiday season, Parasite Disciple are accepting applications for all devotees of black-alloyed devotion.