*[Back in 2015/16, Terrible Mutilation started as a would-be print zine. I had a bunch of reviews and interviews done, but it never materialised. Fast forward 8-9 years - I found these while clearing out an old hard drive, and thought "why not just chuck 'em up online?". So, here's what would have made up the reviews for issue #1. Most were written around 2015/16, but some were from a few years earlier, maybe even 2009/10... enjoy!]*
*ACID FEAST/GIRTH – split CS (2014)
Acid Feast destroy right off the bat with their side of mincey gore/deathgrinding mania – think Archagathus but heavier on the gory Regurgitate vibes with a bit of old demo-era Exhumed thrown in. Pretty fucking manic stuff with an excellent hard-hitting blast drummer – I’d be wanting to tear people limb from limb when catching this band live. However, 3 minutes isn’t nearly enough, give me a goddamn full length or at least a 7” – these dudes have enough for it now after releasing a handful of top notch splits! Girth’s side is cool, I dig these guys – blasty, bouncy grind/gore with plenty of breaks and tempo changes – not their strongest material, but regardless of that, it’s all sick stuff I can recommend to any goregrind deadbeat.
*BODYBAG/MODORRA – split 12” (2016)
As a big fan 12” splits, I’m very much pleased to say that both bands make excellent use of the longer format here! Bodybag throw forward a handful of tracks straight from the school of Mentally Murdered-era Napalm smeared with the stain of Autopsy and even a bit of Realm of Chaos-era Bolt Thrower. Plenty of thunderous Mick Harris blasts and crushing double kick runs amidst a gloomy, oppressive atmosphere make this an excellent addition to Dopi’s (ex-Machetazo fame) body of death/grind lashings. Modorra’s side is a RAGING and all out unhinged exercise in pushing Repulsion worship to the limits – and I mean that!! The guitar sound (and overall mix for that matter) is super pissed off with the perfect balance of grit and clarity. This stuff is fucking savage and will have you tearing heads off everywhere!!
*CAUTERIZED – "Threads of Mortality" CS (2015)
Blasting out of the slightly grindier side of Finnish/dark US death metal comes Cauterized – there’s plenty to get your drunk as fuck and dumb as fuck head knocked clean off in the short 9 or so minutes contained here. Shitloads of killer alternating blast/thrash beat rhythms, quick Autopsy breaks and massive reverb-drenched groaning vocals throwing their bloated weight over the rest. Thankfully the mix holds up its end with a dirty but organic presence that brings to mind massive amounts of gloom and doom associated with Abhorrence, Xysma and moments of early Incantation crush. Get on this for a quick fix of ruptured internal organs.
*DEAD ISSUE/ARCHAGATHUS – split 7” (2014)
Fuck yeah, Dead Issue play some mega punishing and chaotic Excruciating Terror-derived grind. Their 4 tracks are a whirlwind barrage of savage blasts, mosh-inducing fast d-beat and that kind of dark, oppressive vibe that seems to permeate a lot of Californian grind bands’ material. Heaps of great tempo changes and snappy guitar/bass breaks between blasts means I play this a lot when confronted with the daily frustrations of 9-5 wage slave life. Archagathus’ side is pretty sick as usual – nothing out of the ordinary, you know what you’re getting with them and fortunately for them is ALWAYS a good thing! Heavy-handed mincey 1-2 beats mashed up with plenty of raging blasty/d-beating chord/tremolo carnage riffs - consistent with their more recent shift to including more death metal and goregrind influences - is what they peddle here once again. All round ripper split.
*ENTETY – "Exhumed Sarcophagus" 1990-1994 CD (2014)
While not “new” by any means, I had to chuck this beast in here given their seemingly total obscurity even in the YouTube age we’re currently in. Entety were originally active from 1990-1994 as the title of this discography compilation CD suggests and I gotta say that for the time, these dudes were a long way ahead of 99% of the pack. This is SAVAGE and absolutely skullcrushing, pummelling brutal death metal/goregrind that has some of the most menacing pitchshifted low growls I’ve heard yet. Musically, this is a sloshing bag full of chaotic bomb blasts, mega low tremolo/chunk riffs, twisted screeching/groaning whammy solos and a filthy but thunderous mix. If you dig Immortal Fate, Hemdale, early Suffocation and old Carcass then you gotta get on this. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Everything they did was top notch and this CD is an absolute steal for the 5 bucks or however much I’ve seen it go for.
*FACELESS BURIAL – "Demo 2015" CS (2015)
Goddamn, how is it possible that no-one else had flogged the title of that killer Immortal Fate 7” before these guys?! Fortunately they well live up to the high calibre of that name – this demo is full of twisting, labyrinthine, venomous death metal that commands a strange and otherworldly presence. It’s actually fairly hard to characterize and compare to a lot of stuff out there either right now or in the past – perhaps a sorta more traditional or primitive version of 7”-format Immortal Fate (duh) with some spidery and complex riffs and leads reminiscent of Blessed-era Morbid Angel. A significant factor in contributing to the tense, alien vibe present throughout are the raspy vocals – rather than a low register growl, these tortured shrieks and howls are what David Vincent always wished he was doing. What keeps me coming is back is how the bizarre atmosphere is cleverly built across the 13 or 14min this tape runs for – I wonder if a couple of the members’ experience in other ground-breaking bands like Agents of Abhorrence (Max) and White Walls (Fuj) factored in here. I heard a full length has now been recorded – that will no doubt be one to watch out for!
*HAUNTED – S/T CS (1992)
When first hearing this, my immediate reaction was “FUUUUCK”. This demo contains 6 tracks of utterly dense, murky and entirely suffocating death metal with plenty of leaden-paced doom dirge thrown in to ensure you don’t get a chance to poke your head out of the mire and catch a breath. While everything is rather primitive, heavy-handed and sometimes sloppy, it’s all part of the charm when it comes to this sort of thing – it really feels like you’ve fallen into a pit of black ooze at the bottom of an old crypt. A scant few solos are sometimes spat out every now and then, but mostly this is dank and percussive stuff. I also like that they stole the Temple of Elemental Evil DnD module cover art before that Varg Vikernes muppet got someone to re-draw it too. For fans of early stuff by Rottrevore, Incantation, diSEMBOWELMENT, Rippikoulu etc.
*INNUMERABLE FORMS – "Promo 2016" CS (2016)
New shit from Innumerable Forms is ALWAYS something to get all clammy and stammery over, because Justin and his band of hired guns consistently deliver when it comes to morbid as fuck, gloomy death metal that will instantly bury your puny meatbag self beneath the dirt. It’s funny – there’s nothing revolutionary or new or really that different about this band – but they absolutely nail “how to do gloomy old school death” in every aspect. Killer vocals that liberally spit venom (hardcore dudes in death metal bands, pay attention), morose harmonies and leads that’ll make anyone want to gouge out their guts to put an end to the misery and a great mix that captures the organic, “live” feel of this band, despite being a mostly solo project! Presumably this is only an indicator of the immense desolation a forthcoming LP will bring, so keep an eye out for what should undoubtedly be a modern classic.
*MEATAL ULCER – "In Case of Emergency" CS/7” (2015)
MAAAN, this is absolutely off the charts. Meatal Ulcer is the sole work of Leo of Die Pigeon Die fame and while all of his releases under Meatal Ulcer have been rad, this pushes noisy, punishing and twisted drum machine goregrind waaay further. Heavily effects-laden vocals ranging from bubbling gutter gurgles to twisted alien-like emanations help make this one of the standout goregrind releases of recent years IMO. The drums, as usual, are extremely well programmed with plenty of insane breaks and changes while still remaining somewhat achievable by human standards (pretty fucking high standards however). The vocals and mix are so fucking overblown that this becomes hard to describe – utterly inhuman and crushingly oppressive while blasting off on a rocket headed for Planet Rahmer is only the start. GET ON THIS!!
*NAK’AY/SUFFERING MIND – split 12” (2015)
Nak’ay are hands down the BEST grind band to come out of the US since Insect Warfare IMO – and I reckon even bettering them in some aspects. This is absolute full force old school grind played with such manic and insane spirit and conviction that it really defines the chaos and 150% over the top head-smashing nature characteristic of the best grind. The combination of utter WHIRLWIND blasting that takes Mick Harris’s fastest and adds another 80bpm and devastating almost-indiscernible riffs is one that functions only to wipe everything out of existence. What makes this all work so well is the absolutely spot on use of tempo/beat changes – it’s easy to throw some d-beats and blasts together but Nak’ay certainly know how to constantly keep it interesting and energetic. Like Excruciating Terror and F.E.T.O.-era Napalm but way fucking faster! Suffering Mind’s side is fine, but I do find them to feel a bit stale and formulaic in the face of bands like Nak’ay – they have some ripping material (a couple of really good ones include the split with Massgrave and Gates of Suffering EP) but this time were outclassed in every aspect.
*PANCREATIC PURULENCE – "7 Song Demo/Split with Hyperemesis" CS (2015)
Fuuuck, the sort of filth Pancreatic Purulence peddle could only come from a bunch of depraved Dutch dudes. This is some the best and heaviest death/gore/grind I’ve heard in ages – the opening gut-churning tremolo riff had me sold from the start. Imagine Hemdale’s death metal leanings and 2000ish-era Last Days of Humanity thrown in together, except more loose and chaotic – this makes for unhinged barely together blasts, chainsaw tremolo riffs and plenty of HEAVY as fuck, head-smashing mid-tempo breaks that’ll force you into full body bangi into your piece of shit stereo. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for anyone into the aforementioned Hemdale and Last Days and the likes of Bile, Regurgitate and Pathologist. Extremely ugly shit that extremely ugly people will dig.
*PHRENELITH – "Veiled Verses" CS (2015)
A new band from the mastermind/braindead vessel of meat from Undergang, David, can only be a good thing. Where Undergang is more traditionally riffy, Phrenelith take a far more sinister approach to dank, crushing old school death – this time around, there is a greater use of ugly, off-sounding chords and grim tremolo lines as opposed to all-out bludgeoning. That’s not to say this demo won’t gleefully beat your head in with the enthusiasm of an enraged Neanderthal, but what’s most at work here is an absolutely abyssic sense of impending doom that permeates the entire demo. The overall effect is a punishing assault that calls to mind early Funebrarum, the longer and especially tortured moments from Diabolical Conquest/Incantation and Finnish darkness like Abhorrence with a nod to Disciples of Mockery, except all downtuned another couple of steps. Of particular note are the brilliant vocals – low as fuck with a groaning timbre that rumbles the goddamn earth. Great shit. Very much looking forward to whatever’s gonna be excreted next.
*RANCID CHRIST – "Baptized in Blasphemy" CS (1993)
Three tracks of Z-tuned, bowel-liquefying thuggery! Imagine Morpheus Descends a good 3 or 4 steps lower and stripped back to the massive chugs and tremolo riffs… yeah, this is fucking HEAVY and genuinely malevolent stuff. It’ll smother you in its bloated bulk and munch out your organs while you’re still kickin’. I have the feeling the dudes from Funebrarum would have eaten this shit up in the 90s – you can easily notice the similarities between the two, and I mean that in the best possible way. Head-smashing shit for those who can jump from Suffocation to Incantation back to Morpheus via Baphomet. I just wish it was longer!
*SOLEMN – "Asaru Brethren" CS (1995)
*[Written 2009-10.]*
Yet another early-mid 90s demo from the north-east US that seeks to do nothing but pummel the sorry-ass listener down into the ground. This is some seriously miserable and wretched death metal borrowing from the usual suspects like Rottrevore and Incantation but expanding upon that winning formula by ramping up the gloom and further lowering the vocals down into the next register of near-gurgle. Strangely enough, throughout the two studio recorded tracks, a somewhat sombre and brooding feel is present, kinda like all this is gonna precipitate some sort of total disaster. The other two live tracks at the end sound pretty decent for the time as well. Great stuff.
*SYMPHONY OF GRIEF – "Regurgitated Corpses... Drowning in Sorrow" 7” (1994)
*[Written 2011.]*
This 7” is only comprised of 2 tracks clocking in around 7 and a half minutes, but is certainly some of the most morbid and thoroughly miserable death/doom I’ve heard yet. Molten-paced riffs with occasionally faster lashings sum this up – however, you may be surprised at the use of a drum machine. Years back, I rejected this band entirely due to the drum machine, but we were all stupid once (or on many occasions) and I soon came around to it – the contrast of thick and murky riffage with a clearly synthetic drum sound brings a strangely dissociative and mechanical vibe, much like a monolithic crawling war machine ingesting and digesting all life. While I’m on it, this band has a 100% bulletproof back catalogue and everything else also deserves a proper reissue.