Rating: 8.8

Country: Brazil

Genre: Pathological Goregrind

Record Label: Black Hole Productions

Release Date: 2008

Track list:
1. Detailed Bypass Surgical Procedure (Whole Vena-cava Anastomosis)
2. Creutzfeldt - Jakob Disease vs. Cadaveric Dura-mater Grafts
3. Y
4. Forensic Evidences - Detailed Entomological Calculations (Rear Maggots to Adulthood To Identify Species) A P.M.I. Preview by Cadaveric Fauna Analysis
5. Miscarriage Conceptions in Obstetricia
6. Gynaeccological Sickness (Pathologist Cover)
7. An Undergo Post-mortem Exam (Brought into the Autopsy Suite)
8. Phagocyte Dysfunctions by the Increasing of Bacterial Infections Incidence
9. Compulsive Concupiscentia of Pathologist
10. Pneumo-diffusion Dysfunctions for Anatomo-pathological Abnormalities of the Diffusing Membranes
11. ... with the Rib Cage and All Major Organs Removed the Cadaver Was... (Stitched up by a Mortuary Personnel)
12. Malignant Obstruction of the Bilious Efflux in the Chronic Cholecystitis
13. (TIPS) Trans-jugular Intra-hepatic Porta-systemic Shunts
14. Impressive Hands-on - The Senior Pathologist's Autopsy Technique
15. Profuse Hemorrhage from the Bottom Esophagus Sub-mucous Varicosity
16. Insalubrious Formation of the Collateral Blood Vases in the Whole Gastro-enterological Tract

Total playing time 31:20

Band Website: Lymphatic Phlegm

Lymphatic Phlegm - Show-off Cadavers - The Anatomy of Self Display

Rodrigo Alcantara - Guitar, Bass, Drum Programming
Andre Luiz - Vocals

Some years ago, whilst browsin' Braindead Webzine, or The Goregrind and Grindcore Webzine as it was known at the time, I staggered red-eyed across a review of an EP by this highly idiosyncratic Brazilian Splatter/Goregrind duo. Like any other Grind/Gore listener, I was familiar with tales of mortuary-malpractice and operatin' theatre high-jinx splashed with technical medical terminology thru early-mid 90s filth by Pathologist, Regurgitate, Haemorrhage and Last Days o' Humanity (and Carcass o' course!), as well as mid-late 90s stuff by similar Brazilian outfits like Gore and Rotting Flesh, but none o' that prepared me for of pathological sickness once my system got all clogged up with Lymphatic Phlegm. Their characteristic sound came across as a combination of the skin-excoriatin' riffs and truly noxious vox of ol' skool Swiss Goregrind heroes, Exulceration, thunderous Mortician style percussion sequences and a cavernous, reverb-soaked production. Their products are always presented in a way that takes the innards-on-display aesthetics of the medical-dictionary scourin' Goregrind to the next level, deliverin' releases as a handy, pocket-sized audio text-book. With ‘Stay totally gore and pathologically explicit as fuck!' as their motto, the band undoubtedly opened up many a mortuary door with their extreme extension of Goregrind, probably havin' much influence on the likes of split-mates Feculent Goretomb and Neurovisceral Exhumation. Back when I was entangled in the Traumatized Records fiasco, as well as hooverin' up any ol' piece of fuzzy grind detritus to either review, distro or release on the pitiful label zine, I was also a loyal follower of this highly idiosyncratic Brazilian Patho/Goregrind duo and managed to amass a nice little collection of their musical medical tomes at the time. However, that bit o' the shelf seems to have been gatherin' dust a lot recently. Time to brush ‘em down and add this slimy, glistenin' gem to the pile!

Loyal Lymphatic Phlegm listeners needn't worry about the duo failin' to come up with the guts-drenched goods on their latest putrid platter, this is unmistakable LP; poundin', pulsin' drum-progs represent the fervid beat of the dedicated pathological hearts of these two specialists, usin' their riffs as oxidized scalpels for hackin' away with precision at each song-cadaver, roarin' with hideous pitchshifted laughter as they madly slash. Their older stuff was often extremely catchy and well-written, but sometimes the tunes sounded extremely similar indeed. On this one, the songwritin' on elevates their material to the next epical level, with greater care being taken with the arrangements, thus allowin' much more distinction between the tracks. There are some nimbly executed strobey flashes in the chord progressions, with the guitars throwin' in a few effective little tricks that manage to come across as both liltin' and forbiddin'. The splashes of squirlin' solo-work also works very well. The drum-prog blasts away excessively, but the patterns are well-designed and engagin', diversified with plenty of thrummin' fills and catchy, rollin' beats, the latter bein' put to good use as intros. As you know, everyone and their gran has pitchshifted vox, but those of LP differ from the sticky and slurpy porridge throated textures of RGTE, LDOH, Rompeprop etc, in that they come across as much more abrasive and corrosive; you can smell the decay-breath and taste the putrid spittle, but in your ears. The enunciation seems to have improved vastly in recent times; the kind of haphazard syllable sloshin' that used to reduce their lyrical intricacies to repulsive mush (the kind o' thing that dogged older stuff like Bloodsplattered Pathological Dimensions from start to finish) has cleared up considerably; the pitchshifted vociferations can easily be followed in the booklet, so now you can read/sing along with ease! Overall, the stuff reminds me of the infectious, whirry stuff they did on the four way split with Feculent Goretomb et al, along with perhaps the same kind of self-indulgent, relentlessly callous opus Pathogenesis Infest Phlegmsepsia.

Some of their past works featured covers of Goregrind classics, includin' renditions of timeless tunes by the likes of RGTE, Haemorrhage, Exulceration, General Surgery and LDOH, four of which appeared as a handy, pocket-sized cover-version package on split with Brainwash, so now it's time to pay homage to classick pathological Gore trio, Pathologist, by means of an expertly dissected version of "Gynaecological Sickness!"

Lyrics are always as pathological as possible, but the content of their latest seems to take a bit of a step away from the copied and pasted medical textbook style of previous stuff, and instead take a more dramatic approach, but they still contain swathes of the kind o' tricky terminology that they've made their own. Along with the lyrical lumbago, their inlays are often finished with some kind of autopsy anecdote, medical quote or gruesome story (my favourites of these being those in Pathogenesis Infest Phlegmsepsia; a comprehensive guide to carrying out an autopsy in the comfort of your own home while the thing plays, entitled ‘Specific Procedures for Post-Mortem Exams'), but this time there's some thoughts from fellow Goregrind practitioner, Dr. Fairbanks of Carcass carbon-copies, The County Medical Examiners, in a short piece entitled ‘The Terrible Beauty of Anatomy', which does well to sum up the intentions of both bands.

Their signature sound production remains firmly in place, but certain aspects of it've been put to more effective use than before; rather than submergin' absolutely everything in reverb, that well-worn dynamic processor is here chiefly applied to the guitars and considerably less to the other instruments. Whilst the riffs surge along, the chasmic reverb lendin' itself extremely well to the theatrical yet threatenin' atmosphere they bring about, the drums come across as rather punchy despite their synthetic chewiness, whilst the vox excoriate the song-skin with gobfuls of purulent venom. Levels are good, the overall sound is nice and clear, but has more than enough bits of scalpelled skin hangin' from it to keep any kind of highly polished sheen at bay.

As with any Lymphatic Phlegm recordin', the visual elements are just as important as the audio, and this one is of course no exception. This time, their artwork concept takes a step away from the extremely graphic, intestine releases with which I'm more familiar, the band instead optin' to dress their latest in a much more disturbing jacket, with skinless mannequins in a variety of dramatic poses, one glarin' out at you from every set o' lyrics. The packaging is also of a high quality, ‘cos the content is printed upon premium quality glossy inlay paper that gives the thing a highly sumptuous feel in spite of its nightmarish appearance. Much his other releases on Black Hole Productions, Fernando has given it the deluxe treatment!

Overall, very good. If you haven't heard ‘em, then try ‘em. This is a good place to start.

The ol' pathological magic is still there!

August 15th, 2008