The Goregrind Thread

Dead Infection - "A Chapter Of Accidents" (1995)

The sophomore album from these Polish goregrind kings. It's very brutal but does become a bit samey as you get through the album. For fans of Regurgitate, Haemorrhage & "Reek Of Putrefaction"-era Carcass.

3.5/5

Carcass - "Symphonies of Sickness" (1989)

Carcass' classic sophomore release was hugely influential on my conversion from thrash-obsessed madman to death metal lunatic back at the time of release however I have to say that I've been shocked by just how far it's come down in my estimations in modern times. I think it was easy to overlook the faults when I didn't have a lot to compare it to but now that I have that knowledge I've struggled to see it in the same light. It's still unquestionably my favourite goregrind release & in hindsight the freshly introduced death metal component is significantly out-weighed by the goregrind one. Ken Owen's drumming is very loose & the production is absolutely filthy but that's kinda in line with the disgusting atmosphere & both are still significant improvements on their first-up effort. Jeez, Bill Steer couldn't have got himself a worse lead guitar sound though & I have to wonder if it was intentional as he didn't fair any better on the debut. The three-pronged vocal approach is undoubtedly a major differentiator but some of it sounds pretty try-hard to be honest. I find that the A side is much stronger than the B side with most of the highlights residing there but there aren't any weak tracks as such. They tend to range from pretty good to excellent but these days I find the pretty good stuff outweigh the higher quality material. The pure grind sections where Owens goes for relentless blast-beats are great & went a long way to defining an entire genre but I can no longer say that I regard this as the classic I always have. What a shame it is when you have your childhood illusions overwritten. It's depressing!

For fans of Exhumed, Impetigo & Pharmacist.

3.5/5

Carcass - "Reek of Putrefaction" (1988)

I've always struggled with Carcass' debut album to be honest. Between the appalling production, woeful lead guitar tone & ridiculously over-the-top vocal performances, it all simply sounds a little silly to my ears. Of course, there was nothing quite like it at the time & it's gone on to influence a multitude of bands that became infatuated with the novelty but I have to admit that I find it hard to take seriously. I know it's not meant to be but I LIKE to take my extreme metal seriously if you know what I mean. Perhaps the fact that I was introduced to the band through the far superior "Symphonies of Sickness" sophomore effort has made it a bit harder to appreciate "Reek of Putrefaction"? I dunno but at least I've managed to increase my rating just a touch since my last revisit, mainly off the back of the shorter & more brutal material as I'm not a huge fan of the groovier grind stuff. I'm afraid I don't see that rating ever moving higher than it is now though.

3/5

Blood Duster - "Fisting the Dead" E.P. (1993)

The debut release from a legendary Melbourne band that I saw play live many times back in the 1990's. It includes 25 tracks across 19 minutes, eight of them being hilarious intros that have been borrowed from D grade horror films like "Bad Taste". This music is not meant to be taken too seriously but boy is it entertaining. Early Blood Duster offered a well-constructed & produced sound that took the blast-beat driven goregrind of early Carcass & combined it with the groovy death 'n' roll riffs of post-1991 Pungent Stench. The use of double-kick in the blast-beats leaves a little bit to be desired by today's standards but we didn't notice it all that much back in the day. The song-titles & lyrics are as over the top as you'd expect from a goregrind act with ditties like "Vulgar Taste (Of A Rotten Cunt)", "Knee Deep in Menstrual Blood (The Bleeding Bitch Returns)" & "Blood Fart" being some of the better ones. Throw this one on a drunken party with your mates & press the "repeat" button cause it's all over in a flash.

For fans of Macabre, Pungent Stench & early Carcass.

3.5/5

Exhumed - "Dissecting the Caseated Omentum" demo (1992)

The second demo tape from this San Jose-based five-piece was a breath of dank, decaying air for me as a youngster. I don't think I got the pleasure of hearing their earlier self-titled cassette until much later on but I picked this one up through the tape trading scene during the mid-1990's & it received regular replays over the next few years. The early Exhumed recordings combined classic death metal with the early goregrind sound the first couple of Carcass records & did it all with the utmost conviction. Sure, the performances are a bit sloppy but they were never intended to be anything else. I particularly love the brutality in the blast beats while the variations in the vocal delivery have clearly been modelled on the three-pronged Carcass model. The Horde members shouldn't hesitate to check this one out if that description takes your fancy.

For fans of Impaled, Ghoul & early Carcass.

4/5

Pathologist - "Forensic Medicine & Pathology" demo (1992)

Despite my tape trading experience, I've always really struggled with this early demo tape from Czechian goregrind outfit Pathologist. The ultra-deep death growls are decent enough but the production & performances are so inadequate that I struggle to think of this cassette as anything more than a piss-take. It's honestly one of the worst The Horde-related releases I've ever heard in my life. Pathologist would get way better than this in the near future. Thank goodness I've never exposed myself to their earlier two demos because they're reportedly even worse than this one.

For fans of Pharmacist, The County Medical Examiners & Dead Infection.

1.5/5