Rating: 8.3

Country: Spain

Release Date: 2006

Record Label: Morbid Records

Track list:
1. Posthumous Predation
2. Feasting On Purulence
3. Frenzied Genital Carbonization
4. Antemortem Thanatopraxis
5. Disgorging Innards
6. Festerfeast
7. Excruciating Denervation Of The Lumbar Spine
8. Edible Necrectomy
9. Intravenous Molestation Of Obstructionist Arteries (O-Pus V)
10. Cadaveric Metamorphose
11. Furtive Dissection
12. Surgical Extravaganza
13. Syndicate Of Sickness
14. Apology for Pathology

Total playing time 33:00

Band Website: Haemorrhage

Haemorrhage - Apology For Pathology

Lugubrious - Maligna Vox
Luisma - Guitars, vocals, keyboards
Ana - Guitars, backing vocals, tambourine
Ramon - Bass, backing vocals
Rojas - Drums, backing vocals

It is funny how most of these Carcass-inspired bands, even after blatantly imitating them note by note, beat by beat, are still unable to recreate the glory of early Carcass albums in all their sickening splendour, especially Symphonies of Sickness, which remains the most influential album where this kind of music is concerned. In spite of all the modern techniques, more often than not their music ends up sounding too contrived, with you invariably running back to Carcass with tears in your eyes having learnt your lesson, and to hear how it is done right. Haemorrhage from Spain are one of the earliest bands playing in this style and they have been moderately successful in doing that. From several of their albums released over the years, only a couple of them really stand out – Scalpel, Scissors… and Grume. But in 2006, Haemorrhage quietly slipped out an album, that like a deadly nerve gas bomb will seep into your system and distort your entire perception about these so called Carcass clones.

Haemorrhage's fifth full-length album, Apology for Pathology, is such a revivified one that in comparison their other albums seem as if a witchdoctor indulging in malpractice had robbed them of their souls. After being subjected to their sharp scalpel, your exposed internal organs find good reason to throw themselves a wild party. To the fetid vocals of Lugubrious that are accompanied by splattery spewing by everyone else, your stomach makes weird faces trying to match their oral expressions; to the festering tunes by Luisma and everybody's dream gorebabe Ana which are more defined and consequential here, your severed veins break into a wiggly snake dance, spouting blood instead of venom into its surroundings and lubricating the proceedings; to Ramon's bass your pulmonary artery pumps heavily as though passing small stones though it; to Rojas' energetic drumming, your heart thumps so fitfully that you are afraid it might extricate itself and leap at you like a fat frog; and to their sinuous song structures, your convoluted blood-drenched intestines constantly tug and push and have a moshful time amidst the gory mess.

As if by divine intervention from Carcass themselves, Haemorrhage seem to have been revealed the balanced equation that has long since eluded the clones. The crucial song writing is so good over here that it should make Exhumed want to go and jump into a well. Its brilliant tempo and pace changes coupled with swinging beats should compel the other goregrind surgeons to think twice about their clinical practice. Unlike Impaled who have been guilty of getting lured towards the pussier side of Carcass, the music on Apology for Pathology enforces a wise restraint on melody. When heard, it is mostly in the form of delightful leads – in the beginning, there are short and sweet leads that cry out for attention like ignored little babies, and towards the end long, heart-stirring ones that add a human touch to this pathological madness. The vocals are agreeably done with enough variations to keep you actively involved in the bloody state of affairs. Supported by impeccable production values, the music has a thrashy quality to it with an occasional helping of Spanish gore catchiness for e.g. early Machetazo in their title track, and also from Haemorrhage's Grume era as in “Cadaveric Metamorphose”. To top it off, it is played with contagious enthusiasm and mad frolic that is hitherto unheard from this band.

Through Haemorrhage resemble Carcass mostly stylistically and not so much as musically as some of their peers, with Apology for Pathology they conquer nearly all of them. That is why even they seem apologetic for the huge delay in releasing an album this fucking good. Take a bow instead Haemorrhage, for have you released one of the best albums of 2006 and your career. I bet Carcass must be doing a little jig of its own to Apology for Pathology in its grave.

September 8th, 2007