Cleveland death metal crew 200 Stab Wounds might have the single best band name in the game right now, largely because 200 is the exact right amount of stab wounds. 199 wouldn’t be enough stab wounds, and 201 would be too many. 200, though? That’s perfect. The music is good, too. 200 Stab Wounds play the kind of heavy, brutal old-school death metal that’s currently huge in hardcore circles, and frontman Steve Buhl guested on Pain Of Truth’s single “Actin’ Up” last year. Today, 200 Stab Wounds announce their second album. If albums were stab wounds, they’d only have 198 to go!

200 Stab Wounds’ 2021 debut Slave To The Scalpel was a beast of a record, and now they’re following it up with the new album Manual Manic Procedures. The cover art is commendably gross, so I’m putting it at the bottom of this post, rather than the top. There’s one song called “Release The Stench” and another called “Defiled Gestation,” so you already know this is going to be good.

Today, 200 Stab Wounds have dropped the new album’s opening track “Hands Of Eternity,” an ambitious headbuster that moves from fast-growl whiplash to deeply heavy chug. Steve Buhl says, “That song is a good example of where we want to go musically. The heavy riffs are there, but there’s still a lot of good melody. It’s not just crazy fucking blast beats and ‘riff riff riff.’ It’s more structured, groovy, and melodic but still heavy. That’s one of my favorites.” Below, check out the “Hands Of Eternity” video and the Manual Manic Procedures cover art and tracklist.