This death-grindcore band from Rzeszów in Poland has been around for some 20 years and now releasing its fifth album, all of them from the rotting end of the scale. As might be expected of an album of this genre, “ROTend” comprises 17 short blasts, covering all manner of gory subjects including infestations of a wormic soul, gorelucinations, mental rampage and carnage, and culminating in “Children of the ROT”.
I make it sound above as though the production of this album was all a seamless process, but reading the honest sleeve notes suggests that it wasn’t. I’m assuming that the “very pleasant vocal cooperation” refers to Dyvan’s personality rather than the style of his vocals, unless the growly ambience of paint stripper can somehow be seen as pleasant. Pop goes the drum, deep and dingy is the guitar rhythm and aided by the growls and screams we have a dismal and ferocious driving force. But let’s not ignore the energy, breakdowns and changes of tempo. I imagine a sweaty room, as I am drawn along the path of the pounding, pummelling “GORELUCINATIONS” (capitals supplied as per the album). “Hunger walkers living in an everlasting stab wound frenzy” – ah the imagery, the poetry. Pleasant indeed. Punches are packed. The sheer brutality and driving force sweep us along. These songs may be short but there are twists and turns, a lot of content.
“Mental Rampage – Mental Carnage”, where we are “ambushed by gory mental fluctuations”, sweeps into “Modern Lobotomy (A Perilous Confession)”. It’s both stifling and fresh – fresh blood, I guess. “ROTend” surges from one act of blood-letting to the next, but what I felt in this was control of structure amidst the extremity. As a listener I engaged with the energy and was happy to go with the fluid flow of blood and gore. It’s hard to single out songs. Some are pure adrenaline – “Sic Transit Gloria Mundi” comes to mind – where “Total Underground” and others are like witnessing an evisceration. It’s aural warfare and songs like “Pathomechanism” drag us into some dreadful places, but then it is about bleeding in the lungs and testicular ruptures. I’m not sure how in the light of these medical issues “morale immediately went up”, to quote the lyric, but I am more than happy to listen to this invigorating and relentless spewing of musical vomit and colourful exposition of misanthropy and medical trauma.
It may sound strange to describe this as entertaining but it is. “ROTend” is more than the depiction of a genre. To start with the energy of the drums and downtrodden bass set the scene. Together with the juggernaut-like structure go skilful and subtle patterns, breakdowns and developments, all leading to a vibrant and audience-friendly listen. Very pleasant, but don’t forget the bandages to stem the flow.
(8.5/10 Andrew Doherty)
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