Rating: 7.6

Country: Australia

Release Date: 2007

Record Label: No Escape Records

Track list:
1.Intro
2.Spastic Colon
3.Unexpected Episiotomy
4.Enlarged Urinary Tract Neoplasm
5.Ape Rape6.Smacked Hooker
7.Massive Warts In Pregnancy
8.Depraved Endometrium
9.'Bout Had It (Flesh Parade)
10.Ripped From V To A

Band Website: Die Pigeon Die

Die Pigeon Die - Ripped from V to A

Leo - Vocals
Sam - Guitars
Jack - Drums/Vocals
Webster - Bass

If the band name is any indication, the number of pigeon-haters around the world sure seems to have increased. I remember reading a article on them a couple of years back which urged the local citizens to stop feeding these aggressively breeding birds. That's mostly because they apparently carry diseases and are not potty trained. Big deal. I think the real bone of contention here is that we humans are envious of their ability to fly and poop on each others' heads at will. In all frankness, I don't think I'll be able to impress girls much by having one as a pet, but I do admire their unique ability to literally walk on two legs with astounding stability (most other birds are forced to take short jumps to move about on the ground), like a constipated bottom-heavy motherly woman, often while making a similar groaning sound.

I'm pleased to note then that the severely traumatized and dropping-covered band members from Australia translate their disgust pretty well on their debut mini-CD. Playing groove-ridden lo-fi goregrind that is not particularly frantic, they in fact set a fine example on how it is to be done especially for their similarly styled but more experienced Dutch label mates, Hymen Holocaust [review]. Die Pigeon Die's trick to outplay them, apart from the obvious superior song writing, is basically to play songs while they're awake and remain in that state till the album is over. Even after being smothered by the sleazy lowly fuzziness of say Bitch Infection, their music is virtually bubbling with enthusiasm and reeks of attitude. Sounding like Autophagia and Last Days of Humanity, their songs are actually a lot more adventurous and cover much more ground before they seemingly come a full circle, an immense feat for a goregrind band. With a pace that varies from the lumbering trot of Bile to the hyperfast splatter mayhem of Faeces Eruption, you have strong, grimy riffs that lead to either a spunky outburst or grovelling groove onslaught, the latter sounding like an unsophisticated version of TDEBN, more often than not resembling the warmly snug goregrooves of Neuro-Visceral Exhumation.

Frothy, pitch-shifted vocals reminiscent of the ones on Hymns of Indigestible Suppuration are skillfully applied I would say, what with the constant and deliberate modulation of their range to suit the tempo and intensity of the music. For instance, in the mad groove-romping track, “Enlarged Urinary Tract Neoplasm”, Leo's pitchshifted gurgles not only go really well with the music, they in a way accentuate the dominant groove of the song. Then, when the music is charging he gives out lovely muffled screams, and even when it gets in a suspended mode, he does something like mouthing off incredibly low gurgles. Leo also does well to shut up when the song breaks into a remarkable lead later. In short, his gurgles add to the wobbliness of the groove parts being played, often even exaggerating them, while his tearing rasps just leave you in tatters. The drumming too is competently fun: Jack seems to be bouncing off his kit with every beat. While I'm all for lo-finess, the music I felt would've been more effective had the sound been denser.

Sensible and fun, Ripped from V to A is a promising debut by a band that is bound to create ripples in the goregrind underground. Die Pigeon Die come recommended, even though they're totally unappreciative of the pigeon's gait.

February 25th, 2008