Rotten Sound at myspace

Rotten Sound along with Pig Destroyer are the joint world leaders in the modern Grindcore scene. Both bands have a distinct style which is deeply rooted in the genre’s 80’s Hardcore Punk roots and neither could be described as technical as certain other grind bands. Where Rotten Sound differ on this release from both their main competitor in Grindcore and those bands such as Phobia and Kill the Client who are snapping at their heels is the influence of Stockholm Death Metal on their sound particularly Grave. Amidst the fast punkish grinds there are several chunky breakdowns that wouldn’t feel out of place on “Into the Grave” and some of the riffs are more reminiscent of the Stockholm sound than say Napalm Death or Terrorizer and are effortlessly slotted into the Grindcore structures of the songs. Other songs like “Praise the Lord” sound like Amebix at 100 miles per hour.

The most common criticism of Grindcore is that all the songs sound the same, but this is definitely not a complaint one can make about the songs on “Cycles” with the barely structured Crusty chaos of “Deceit” being placed next to the groove laden two minute epic “Caste System” being a prime example. This is truly top draw grind and this album would be my recommendation for anyone looking to get into the genre.

Colosseum at Myspace

Not to be confused with the 60’s prog rock pioneers or the American Sludge-core band on Relapse Record, Colosseum are the latest in a long line of traditional funeral doom metal acts that have come out of Finland. They follow in a long line of such acts such as Thergothon, Skepticism and Shape of Despair but whilst taking ample influence from these acts, they have their own take on the genre. It is a more guitar centric take that owes a very slight debt to Paradise Lost era Gothic and some of the more tuneful displays that Esoteric have put on. The vocals are suitably gruff and uninviting and interplay with the despairing yet humane synth lines.

It’s not what they do though, but what they don’t do which makes them worth your while. A lot of  second wave funeral doom acts drench their songs in keyboard lines. Yes the synth is almost as important as the guitar in finnish style funeral doom, but if it is louder than the guitar line then as metal itself it fails. The synths in good funeral doom are supposed to add to the ambience and pathos of the music and on “Chapter 1: Delirium” this is exactly what happens. The momentum of the perpetual sorrow of this record is seemingly never-ending, and Colosseum has proven themselves to be a definite band to watch out for which future releases.

Goretorture at Myspace

I wanted to like this album, I really did. I hoped that it would have the same sense of goofy fun that Arnocorps had and that Austrian Death Machine lacked. I mean, I love brutal death metal, so what could be better than a brutal death metal album where every song has an Arnold Schwarzenegger sample? Plenty, that’s what.

The production is absolutely abysmal, as if I was hearing a performance that went through YouTube levels of compression. Normally, I don’t put much emphasis on production, but this album is just insanely muddy. I could have looked past that if the material was good, but all aspects are mediocre at best. The vocals don’t really stand out much and aren’t especially good, the guitars are fairly generic, and the drum machine is so badly programmed that I had to double-check to make sure that Lars Ulrich hadn’t guested on some tracks. And the humorous samples don’t really add as much as I had hoped; one song has an excruciatingly long three-minute sample that takes up half of the track.

If you’re curious about what Mortician would sound sound like if they were obsessed with Arnold Schwarzenegger films instead of horror movies, you might want to check this out. Everyone else should stay far away.