Rating: 6.0 Release Date: 2006 Record Label: Grindhead Records Track list: Band Website: Sordid |
Sordid - Sordid Remains Here's fresh filth from Grindhead Records, in the form of the debut Sordid album. At first glance, the cover reminded me of something from the Latin American Goregrind scene circa 2003; a shock-value snap displaying a putrefied, greyish cadaver, embellished with a serrated, scythe-like band logo. I hoped to find much satisfaction from this after imbibing their previous release, the rather sparse serving of Tritegrind supplied by Halo of Knives, which had my stomach a'rumblin' 'n' a'grumblin, the famished organ left in a state of burblin' borborygmus, emitting gut-gripes similar to the grinding vomit reflux of Andres out of Pustulated. However, in the face of being an uncompromising, chyme-sputtering pile o' decadent 'n' dissonant Grind, 'The Sordid Remains' still left me feeling a mite peckish. Sordid peddle an ultra-repulsive brand of decay-caked Goregrind/Deathcore, combining hideous, primordial riffs with caveman drum clang, adding vokill accompaniment by daubing the ensuing mess with sticky blots of noxious gullet-ooze. Deployed with all the refinement of an axe to the cranium, 'Sordid Remains' definitely serves its face maceratin' purpose, but the somewhat slapdash technique and the extremely granular sound spoils the overall effect. Of course, bands dealing in this kind of Grind often counteract their haphazard methods and under-produced auditory-rottenness with an array of pleasing qualities, examples being remarkable percussive ability, significant vokill talent and highly catchy slamulence 'n' delectable groove. Unfortunately, the ropey production sees a cloggy sound-mire suffuse the 'Sordid Remains', leaving a bleary 'n' blurry, muddled mud-puddle. 'Cause it is so full o' fizziness, the production comes across as gassy 'n' carbonated! Still, a few loops of laudability and the odd strand of substance are present in the stained Sordid cloth, thus it manages to mop up some of your attention during its playing time. The riffs are primitive, cyclic and functional, varying from rapid low-end shreddin' to dense, rudimentary ploddin', underpinned by the boom 'n' clatter of the rhythm section, with the vokills messily plastered over the top. In the manner of the aforementioned Halo of Knives EP, the album displays a feasible, pertinent collation of influences, but falls short of merging them successfully. 'The Sordid Remains' carries a whiff of the discordant Grindcore spirit of Repulsion, perhaps even Genocide, galvanised in a monochrome coating of someone like Drogheda, the surface beneath mottled 'n' scaly with Impetigo. The vokills sound vaguely similar to those of the latter at times, coming across as a restrained, less eccentric interpretation of Stevo's grotesque, phlegm-turgid glottals. A few worn patches of Intense Hammer Rage may have been crudely sewn on here 'n' there, sharing the same stumblin' structural swagger. However, the awkward execution and substandard production just serves to submerge the whole lot in stagnancy. I think there might be a few nods to Terrorizer in there somewhere as well, but I d'know, I couldn't quite burrow that far through the fuzz. This kind of haphazard yet succinct Grind can often carry a certain level of charm and interest despite being blearily represented thru the desk, but I'm afraid the appealing qualities of 'The Sordid Remains' are in too short a supply to puncture the flocculent surface of the recordin'. Because of its clatterin', workman-like delivery, the material ends up a little unexcitin' and unmemorable, thus the disc fails to keep my attention for more than a short while. While the Sordid formula is by no means an original one, it does result in an adequate, temporary Grindcore listen. Unfortunately, it doesn't subsist its own songwriting and production values, given that they urinate profusely upon its momentum, dampening the overall impact of 'Sordid Remains', thus the final rating is also sodden with micturation and reekish of urea.
October 14th, 2006 |
