Rating: 8.1

Country: USA

Release Date: 2005

Record Label: Necroharmonic

Track list:
1. Intimidation
2. Dismal Fate
3. Spawn Of Ignorance
4. Actions For Loss
5. Disembodied
6. Unbeknownst
7. Crude Domination
8. Ceased By Failure
9. Intimidation
10. Unanimous Approval
11. Conspiracized
12. Clogged Sewer Pipe
13. Disembodied

Band Website: Eviscium/ Rottrevore

Rottrevore - Disembodied

Mark Mastro- Vocals/Guitar
Chris Weber- Vocals/Guitar
Chris Free- Bass
Nick Esquivel- Drums

Here’s a bold, sweeping statement for you: Rottrevore is the best death metal band you’ve never heard. Having been such a huge fan of their solitary full-length 'Iniquitous' for so long, I was up in arms when I discovered Roy Fox and his brilliant imprint Necroharmonic was lovingly compiling a the two 7”s and 1990 demo that preceded that monolithic landmark in unapologetic brutality, resurrecting an ancient legend that somehow has been relegated to obscurity. Universally neglected by all but the most devoted denizens of the netherworld, Rottrevore developed parallel to such storied cults as Autopsy, Carnage, Nihilist and General Surgery, spewing forth insalubrious sewage ridden with obscenely detuned guitars, bowel-loosening bass and gutwrenching, doomy sections. All hallmarks of course, of an age when death metal actually frightened conservatives and mainstream media instead of exchanging handshakes with Revolver Magazine.

Admittedly, the work enclosed within this recording is even MORE fervently primal than even the 'Iniquitous' full length, and thus would not be an ideal introduction for the uninitiated. That being said, all the magical, transcendental ugliness of 'Iniquitous' is hinted at sufficiently throughout to warrant a purchase. Often, things are so detuned and monstrously bassy that it becomes hard to discern individual riffs from one another, each instrument coalescing to form a throbbing, sinewy mass of downtuned malevolence that will likely repulse all but the most freakishly dedicated death metal enthusiast. Thankfully, unlike much modern death metal, instrumental virtuosity is of scant importance here, each musician playing firmly within the confines of the composition and collectively meshing into one mercilessly nihilistic whole instead of being an incohesive composite of flashy, individual parts.

As mentioned above, the fare exhumed on this release is largely not as consistently awesome as the consummately orgiastic 'Iniquitous', but that’s not to say that it is at all worth neglecting. There are MANY parallels that one could draw to the similar-minded Autopsy, who married churning, abhorrent, grindy riffing with an affinity for plodding, monolithic doom passages. It is in these sections that Rottrevore are most potent, the opening for “Actions For Loss” spewing bilious fluid all over the track, the riffing shifting from a primordial sprawl into a more mid-paced, yet no less foreboding passage 2 minutes through, gaining gradual momentum before collapsing into a devastating, oppressively bludgeoning breakdown 04:30 into the song. This is a band where the words ‘’festering’’, ‘’repugnant’’ and ‘’vile’’ actually have some kind of significance, far removed from the self-parodying farce that death metal has become. Admittedly, sometimes things are a tad TOO guttural and detuned to actually discern individual riffs from one another (which is VERY rare, I must add), there is a lot of pulsating, urgent Possessed riffing and absolutely VIOLENT, sinister stuff going on here that will reduce you a slobbering mass of drool and hair. As fitting a band that took their craft quite seriously indeed, the lyrics are a far cry from the B-grade horror movie and tepid medical manual nonsense of today, and there are is not amateurish, schlocky gore diatribe here, the band writing largely about socially relevant topics, presented in a horrific and nightmarish fashion. REAL FUCKING DEATH METAL!

Do you own 'Unholy Domain'? 'Dark Recollections'? 'Crush The Cenotaph'? 'Luck Of The Corpse'? 'Severed Survival'? Why the fuck don’t you own a dub of 'Iniquitous', or give this legendary band the respect they so sorely deserve? Admittedly, this is really but the second best place to start with Rottrevore (being that the only recordings they have other than this is, indeed, 'Iniquitous'), but if you don’t have access to that record and seek a way to get your grubby, bloodstained mitts on their recordings, you can’t go wrong with this, another in a line of absolutely STELLAR fucking compilations by Necroharmonic. Sickos, death metal historians and the clinically insane, meet your new favorite band. FYI: Mark now plays in the slightly less awesome Eviscium with Sharon of the criminally underrated cult Derketa. Check them out immediately!

July 3rd, 2005