CARCASS – REEK OF PUTREFACTION – JULY 1988
It doesn’t
get more gruesome than Reek of Putrefaction, between subject content and in
context to my opinion of where it contends with their later material. Since
their formation in 1985, Carcass has been well known throughout the metal
community as the forefathers of not only melodic death metal but grindcore as
well. Despite my general aversion to most grindcore and this being my least
favorite Carcass release, there is still enough here to glimpse how this album has
held its stature and status for its early influence on the sub-genre.
Reek of
Putrefaction features short, raw explosions of haphazard distortion that boasts the ability to transform
what you hear into an empathetic feeling of what the song title might
physically feel like (“Genital Grinder” anyone?). As fond as I usually am of even
indiscernible blast beats, this is not the way I like them to be done and only
so much can be brushed off as just the quality of the production on the album. The
roughest part of the experience is that the majority of what you hear when
digesting the music is only the drumming which makes variety practically
non-existent between songs on initial listens. The only exception to this is
best heard on a few songs such as “Pysosisified (Rotten to the Gore)” and
“Pungent Excruciation” that seem to garner slightly more control over the sound.
Enough so that you are able to see the shadow of a promising riff or underlying
song structure although the moments these are heard tend to expire before they can
be properly tasted or you can be sure that they even fit there.
The best qualities
of Reek of Putrefaction include its novelty as well as its collective vocals
that are as putrid yet amusing as the lyrics. Not to mention that slight tickle
to your funny bone that is triggered when you see that you are listening to a
song named “Vomited Anal Tract” and hearing the few audible lyrics within. This
album is not for the faint of heart, it’s for those that like to mutilate their
food and let it decompose for a few days before trying to ingest it. Their
later albums Necroticism and Heartwork are much easier on the digestive tract
in my opinion.
Highlights:
Regurgitation of Giblets, Foeticide and Pungent Excruciation.
Rating: 3.5
/ 10
