Rating: 8.5

Country: Spain

Genre: Gore/Grind/Core

Record Label: Bizarre Leprous

Release Date: 2007

Track list:
1. Descarnada
2. Henry
3. Traficante de Organos
4. El Cerdo
5. Durmiendo con Tu Cadaver
6. Seis Años Tenía...
7. En la Cripta
8. Este Mundo
9. Cronica de un Perturbado
10. Mortificacion Corporal
11. Culto a la Muerte
12. ...Los que Traen el Caos!!!
13. Solo Son Pellejo y Huesos
14. Oh!...Dios Mio!
15. Psychoutro

Total playing time 41:20

Band Website: Tu Carne

Tu Carne - Culto a la Muerte

Kojo - Vocals
Oso - Guitar
Rober - Drums, vocals
Flipi - Bass, vocals

From Spain and playing goregrind, you know the band has to rule. Tu Carne's second album ...Me Quedo Con Tu Dolor! was like a mini genre classic, a perfect example of what makes Spanish goregrind so enjoyable. Simply put, it sounded like a wonderful cross between The Sound of Rancid Juices Sloshing... era Last Days of Humanity and Machetazo circa Carne De Cementerio. Therefore I was as eager to hear their new full length album as a pregnant wife's husband would be in the waiting room of a hospital.

After checking out Culto a la Muerte, it was like finding out contrary to your expectations that a baby of the other sex had been given birth. Nothing wrong though, it is still from the womb of the beloved Tu Carne and the baby is very beautiful indeed. What has really happened is that Tu Carne have progressed from their basic groovy goregrind music to playing a higher, more evolved form of goregind with a pronounced grindcore/crust sound, similar to how fellow Spaniards Machetazo progressed from a groovy Carne de Cementerio to a grinding Trono de huesos. The music on Culto a la Muerte sounds strongly influenced by early Napalm Death circa From Enslavement to Obliteration and some Terrorizer too. Where the groove aspect is concerned, in addition to their original Spanish ones, there are traces of the newer grind'n'roll Neuropathia, and the manner in which some of the sections are structured, augmented with leads and all, is reminiscent of Pungent Stench. Furthermore, Tu Carne have brilliantly introduced dirge-laden crust/hardcore elements into their music, which sound similar to say Tragedy, and in the outstanding almost seven minute song “Oh! …dios mio!” there are even Godflesh-esque parts and feedback dissonance. Now how often do you get to hear all that in a goregrind album? Truly, Tu Carne have broken the shackles of this narrow-minded genre and have diversified their sound while still retaining their identity, and that is no mean feat.

Usually trotting along at an agreeable pace, Tu Carne's songs are orderly and never disconcert the listener with abrupt transitions. The pitchshifted gore-garbled vocals do not cause much of a distraction either and fit their music like a glove. Tu Carne have a very amiable warm vibe flowing through their music that underpins the vital momentum and precludes the grindcore part of their sound from being too harsh on your ears. It must be stressed that Tu Carne are at their best when they are exploring the different facets of their sound within the same song rather than merely grinding their way through it from start to finish. And when Tu Carne go exploring, you tend to forget that you are listening to a gore/grind album. You then become like a teddy bear in the hands of a Spanish boy, which is dragged through the gravel one moment, swayed and hugged lovingly the next; and as he explores his neighbourhood, you witness and share the wide range of feelings the boy experiences like of looming uncertainty of what lies around the corner, the fear of bullies, and even the heart-pinching pain of seeing his little girl interest playing with someone else and the angry tantrums that later ensue in isolation.

Culto a la Muerte is a superb, ingenious album that pushes the boundaries of this genre. Some might prefer the simpler, chunky and groovy music of ...Me Quedo Con Tu Dolor! but I would say that both of them are great albums in their own right. Like how if you have the resources to start a family it is good idea to have both a boy and a girl, as they would complement the family and two of the same kind would either get redundant or would constantly be battling each other for ultimate supremacy, similarly, Tu Carne's previous album and Culto a la Muerte are must-haves in a gore/grind household particularly one with a penchant for Spanish culture.

August 10th, 2008