The good old fashioned split. A way to save money on pressings and promote a scene.
Great for bands. Not so great for the punters.
This is because for every great group you discover, there’s always some bunch of third rate no hopers who happen to be mates with the better group. Countless potentially great split releases are spoiled by this phenomenon.
This release comes from Grindscene Records, whose output includes the most recent Fuckhammer release. Run by Peter Clarke (Condemned, The Obscene Machine and various others), it’s a home for extreme metal in this country. This is the tenth release from the label.
We begin with offering from Manchester’s Foetal Juice. On the go for nearly ten years, their Vomitor/Lock Up influenced death/grind is impressive from a musical standpoint, but suffers from mediocre songs and irritating vocals. Would probably make more sense in a live setting.
Basement Torture Killings are much better. With hints of the legendary Macabre in their sound, they blast away like it’s nobody’s business and leave the listener without a face. Tracks like ‘Dr. Eugene’s Smile’ and ’24 Hour Convenience Store Beheadings’ are worth the price of admission alone, the latter with a killer solo that early 90’s Carcass would have killed for (no pun intended). Highly recommended.
Decimation are up next. Utterly generic material straight from the Hate Eternal/Suffocation school of death metal. No killer riffs, vocals or blast beats. Safe, polite death metal. Chuck Schuldiner would have been disgusted.
Belfast’s Zombified are the real deal. First number ‘Of Sadist and Surgeon’ begins with a slow and doomy riff before kicking into their old school death metal approach. A mixture of Autopsy and early Deicide, they are hands down the best band on here (and another Peter Clarke fronted band)! Check out ‘Immolation Race’ for proof.
It’s obvious from the off that Nailed have an utterly savage guitar tone. Listen to tracks like ‘Devoid of Humanity’ and ‘A Bane Upon the Eyes’ and try not to start windmilling in your living room. It’s impossible. Everything clicks together perfectly. If it wasn’t for Zombified, Nailed would be the stand out band on here.
So, to sum this release up: three stunning bands, one with a lot of work to do to improve their studio sound and one bunch of losers.
In other words, your average split release.
◀ STANDOUT ⁞ Immolation Race – Zombified ▶
◀ SOUNDS LIKE ⁞ Autopsy | Deicide ▶
