Reviews list for General Surgery - Lay Down and Be Counted (2021)

Swedes General Surgery do a rip-roaring job of producing a very (early) Carcass-esque experience on Lay Down and Be Counted, one of two EPs released by the band in 2021. There are mostly certainly elements of Exhumed in here also as the band splatter their way through seven tracks of medical related gore. Unafraid to vary track lengths, the shorter stabs of grinding fury work as great palate cleansers in between some of the longer (and I mean grindcore full-length tracks of like four minutes max) tunes. If this were just a constant barrage of longer tracks then I would probably turn off and go and play some Carcass in all honesty.

Vocally, Erik Sahlström borrows heavily from the Jeff Walker playbook with that vicious rasp lashing at the ears of the listener throughout. The riffs of Joacim Carlsson and Urban Skytt mine the floor around them, churning out catchy and punishing chops over the thick percussion of Andreas Eriksson's bass and Adde Mitroulis' drums. At Cut Throat Speed is a frantic paced effort that threatens to strip the plaster from the walls around you with it's diving leads and relentless blasting. The infectious riffing of Liquefactive Decay of Remnant Lung Tissue will have you stomping around your house like a club-footed freak. You can even sicken yourself at how easily you will be singing along to Psychotic Cerebral Procedure.

Given one word to describe this Ep, I would go with "fun". It tries to be nothing that it isn't, wears its influences firmly on its sleeve and is thoroughly entertaining throughout. Generic as it may be I have been throwing my limbs around like a teenager whilst listening to it. Not sure I will be making regular visits back to it but I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with this release for the purposes of the Review Draft.