General Surgery: Necrology

Often considered a clone of early Carcass, General Surgery do indeed play a very similar sound to the days of "Reek of Putrefaction" or "Symphonies of Sickness". Although I won’t argue the notion that General Surgery’s “Necrology” falls into the clone territory, in its defense, I will say; that’s not always a bad thing. Now, it’s one thing to copy or plagiarize someone’s work, and try to achieve success without giving credit to where credit’s due. To my knowledge, General Surgery never tried to claim they were the foremost authority in goregrind or grindcord, they simply played their music in vain of the band they worshiped. Some would cite the old adage; “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” I feel, that applies with “Necrology”.

As for the music, if you’re familiar with Carcass, you’ll know what to expect. The guitars are very thick and provide a  muddy tone to their sound. This murky sound helps create somber imagery for the perverse lyrics the band dwells within. The vocals are a combination of low, guttural sounding growls, and very muffled, inaudible gugrgles that pass as singing. This, noise that substitutes for singing, would eventually become a staple in many goregrind and brutal death metal bands in the future. Bands such as, Exit-13 and Frightmare would make this muffled sound one of the main vocal features on their releases. The drumming jumps back and forth on each track providing both a very catchy, rhythmic beat at times, while others, simply playing a stream of blast beats and heavy bass kicks. As a whole, the thick guitars and varied drumming creating a dark harmony that allows the vocals to spew forth and put all the elements together to create the filthy sound “Necrology” was destined to become.

Again, the sound on “Necrology” may not be much of an original product (although, I feel they used the trademark goregrind muffled gurgle sound more than Carcass), but it is nonetheless satisfying. That being said, I feel General Surgery's "Necrology" follows the code of "primum non nocere" and certainly does no harm to the original formula. This EP certainly has its place in the early moment of goregrind, which I fell deserves a little attention from both Carcass fans and modern goregrind fans alike.

Highlights: "Crimson Concerto", "Severe Catatonia in Pathology"

Rating: 3.5

Prostitute Disfigurement: Left In Grisly Fashion

I remember, years back, perusing through the old Unmatched Brutality distro and seeing untold numbers of putrid death metal and goregrind bands that I couldn’t even fathom existed. One such band happened to be, Prostitute Disfigure. Now, I would imagine, the band has drawn some interest based on such a heinous name alone, which I know caught my eye. After listening to a few tracks online, I decided to take a chance on the album “"Left in Grisly Fashion"

"Left in Grisly Fashion" is a straight forward offering of brutal death metal that is as vile as the band’s name. Of course, when discussing brutal death metal, terms like vile and disgusting are not necessarily bad labels to garner. Prostitute Disfigurement set out to create a very dark and disturbing album, one that was destined to both shock and impress whomever dared listen to their album. I will say, that their mission was accomplished.

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much from this album. I figured this would be another single chord guitar chug fest, with programmed drums and regurgitation vocals for ten straight songs. However, this is one of those times, I was glad to be wrong. The first thing you’ll notice on “Left in Grisly Fashion” is the level of musicianship from the band.

With two guitarists, Prostitute disfigurement create a twin assault of monstrous riffs and crushing rhythms that hook the listener, convincing them that they are in store for a talented display from the guitar work. Now, we’re not talking Maiden level of harmonizing or leads, but as I’ve found with other brutal death metal bands (Frightmare for instance) these guys know they’re way around their instruments and you’ll hear a high level of talent throughout the album.

As for the drums, again, I was happy to hear that they were not programed infinite blast beats with no substance. The drums here really add a nice layer of depth to the brooding atmosphere of the album. The speed of the blast beasts and double bass is always on display, but they are varied in a way that play in unison with the duel guitars. At times, the match the rhythm of the guitars, which create some melodic bridges before choruses, while at other times, they are unleashed to create a world of hurt that each song is immersed within.

Of course, no one can understand what the singer is saying, but that's kind of Brutal death metal's shtick, so as long as you know that going into this, it shouldn't be a problem. They are super deep and downright scary sounding, which again, only help the band live up to its gruesome allure.

Unfortunately, the album does suffer from a lack of creativity on a few songs. With ten songs clocking in at just over 29 minutes, I felt that a few songs near the end such as “Shotgun Horror” and “In Deaths’ Decay” needed more substance, as they fall into the “just another brutal death song” category. However, songs such as “Left in Grisly Fashion” and “The Corpse Garden” show the band’s ability at creative songwriting, so they more than make up for a few blemishes.

I know many consider brutal death to be more of a novelty genre and given how many bands out there play a very uninspired brand of this music, I understand why. However, bands like Prostitute Disfigurement prove that not all brutal bands are alike and that some of these guys can actually play some interesting and compelling music.

Highlights: "Left in Grisly Fashion", "Body to Ravage", "The Corpse Garden"

Rating: 3.5

Balance of Terror: World Laboratory

Brutal death metal from France, Balance of Terror play a very technical in nature (but not technical in name) brand of brutal death metal. "World Laboratory" lives up to the brutal tag, as it is filled with energy and power. There are plenty of elements of the classic old school death metal to be heard, but they are played over a backdrop grindcore that gives the album a more frantic feel to its overall atmosphere.

The drumming here is a very technical, tight sounding display of percussion. From start to finish they pounding at your skull with machine gun blasts and crashing violence. The guitars, although not as technical as the drumming (which is why I wouldn’t call this technical death) play a very down-tuned, crunching style that carries the OSDM chugging mantra through most song. That being said the guitars offer more than just a groovy chug fest. There are some interesting riffs to be heard and a number of rhythms that help attract the listener’s attention. Their sound reminds me more of a deathcore band, but forgo the breakdowns. The bass, although is present, tends to simply play alongside the guitars for most part, but is most noticeable during the transition from the lead riffs to the chugging groovier sections of a song.

As for the vocals, I would have to say, they steal the show. Sure the blistering drums will always be front and center on the sound stage, but, Florent Pruvost has the voice of a demon. His lows are deep, and brooding, while his very lows are the definition of guttural and his growls are barbaric. The manner in which, he is able to switch his vocals is reminiscent of Christian Älvestam or even Glen Benton.

The production on “World Laboratory” is rather impressive for a brutal death act. I can hear all the instruments clearly, one never steal the limelight from the other. My only complaint is that the final three songs began to lose a little luster compared to the first four (minus the intro). It’s not that they are bland, but rather tend to sound a little “samey” if you get my drift, but I won't be taking any points off musically, as the brutality the create carries throughout the entire album. The was certainly a nice surprise, given I knew nothing about the band or album before listening. Fans of brutal death will enjoy this for sure, but fans of any style of mind splitting will want to give this a listen as well.

Highlights: "Gap" "Erase" "Intelligence Failure"

Rating: 3.5

Waco Jesus: Filth

Note: this is not the original art work. I decided to use another picture from the CD booklet instead. You can search online to see why. Anyway, Waco Jesus play a blend of brutal death metal with elements of grindcore. Blast beats galore, chugging riffs and harsh vocals. Overall, nothing you haven't heard already. Not terrible sounding, just nothing that makes me want to play this CD again. A few decent tracks. There's already enough bands out there that do it better, so unless your're into the scat stuff, stick to Prostitute Disfigurement or Anal Blast. For brutal and grindcore die-hards only.

Highlights: "The Consequence of Your Ignorance"

Rating: 2