Rating: 7.2

Country: Australia

Release Date: 2003

Record Label: Razorback Records

Track list:
1. Religiously Frustrated
2. Moisterened Cunt
3. Frotage the fromage
4. Siamese Twins
5. Rime of Ancient Marinated Corpse
6. Dildo of Death
7. Alien Intelligence
8. Maggot Laced Meal
9. Assassin
10. Guinea Worm

Total playing time: 30:06

Band Contact: Kutabare

Kutabare - Finger Food Fetish For The Morbidly Abnormal

Haruko Yamashita - Sewer Bass
Sean Sevantez - Sewer Guitar
Pete Limb Spasm - Sewer Drums
Damon Bloodstorm - Sewer Vokills

Immediately after only hearing a the first song (and not even the whole way through)… I think “Pre Drum Machine era Mortician mixed with a general feeling of all of those late 80's/early 90's European and American demos”. In fact just kinda blend those first few Mortician recordings, Carnage's 'The Day Man Lost' demo and the Autopsy demos. Now imagine em all combined and played on the wrong RPM. There ya go, Kutabare!!! For the most part this full length never strays far from that line of thinking. Maybe add in some splatter vocals (you know the kind, the kind that sounds like mucous secreting from your speakers), and that's this record from beginning to end in a halfassed explanation. Nothing fancy, just the bare, putrid essentials to make up something downright hideous.

The sound sonically is very syrupy, or, make that “molassesy”, maybe some of you readers out there don't have hicks in your family so you‘ve never heard the term “slower than molasses in January“, but Kutabare would be “thicker than molasses in January… and that's pretty damned thick. We're talking elephant penis thick here people! Similar to bands like Rottrevore, and Mortician in its unabashed and unsubtle use of a thickly distorted bass amongst *very* down tuned guitars. Expect NO hyperblast shredding, this is sludgy, slouching, gruesome “Low End Aussie Sewer Vomit”. Vocals are deep, heaving, near belching exhumations. Totally bowel quaking and monstrous. It's probably a good thing my first listen was not on my “big” stereo. I might've had to call the local dry walling company to fix the entire front end of things. I can only imagine explaining to them that the front end of my house caved in from simply playing Kutabare a little too loud.

About this time in the review track 5 "Rime of the Ancient Marinated Corpse" starts with a Bad Taste intro. And shit… that alone scores points with me!!! And again, track 7 "Alien Intelligence" from the scene were Derek slices the Alien's head in half with the chainsaw, opening it up and spewing gore from each hacked half… I could probably enjoy ANY music following that but it certainly helps that the music IS Kutabare. Speaking of that specific song there's a nice, sickly melody that cheerfully reminds me of the old European bands' demo material. A good throwback to a time when bands never used all out speed to be “intense”, mosh riffs to be “brutal”. There was just a natural “evil” and “sinister” vibe. Kutabare does a fantastic job on conveying this aspect that so many bands today just have not clue one about or ever will. One of those albums that makes you happy that some people in this world still “get it”. Track 8 "Maggot Laced Meal" is probably the most blatantly Autopsy inspired, the drum/guitar interplay is strongly reminiscent of Autopsy's early compositions.

Maybe they aren't the best, the album is far from perfect, but they have their charm and appeal. Of course, imperfections are a good thing when in these times records are overly produced or created entirely with pro-tools. How ironic that a breath of stagnant, decade old corpse gas is in actuality-a breath of FRESH air.

Thumbs up to Kutabare. Just next time, make it a little more memorable

April 1st, 2005