When Music and Medicine Collide: At War with Anaerobes
In our modern times it is impossible to
follow and then listen carefully to all the metal bands emerging from
far and near. What's more, it is impossible to follow all the stuff
with Swedish death metal flyer. Well, I came across Mass Burial when
got their second full-length somewhere in 2018, and decided to buy
this Ep without a flick. Released under the banner of Polish label
Wydawnictwo Muzyczne Psycho, it strikes the sight organ with
absolutely neat bicolor front-cover done by Juanjo Castellano.
Musically, Mass Burial doesn't try to walk away from mentioned
earlier old-school genre, even for a while (but yes, there is one
surprise). With the very first seconds of „Beaten, Chopped and
Eaten by the Porks” I face the storm of well-known stuff. Neither
experiments nor unecessary quirks, just a pure tribute to the music I
have been worshipping since first „Left Hand Path” /
„Clandestine” meeting. During this gangrene madness, the
Spaniards head to Dismember heritage mainly. And I have an impression
that they mixed their two albums: „Death Metal” and „Hate
Campaign”, however the structures are made of more rampant rhythms.
The Spaniards boldly use it in each song, mentioned beginning of the
track is the best example, here supported by furious leading guitar
and absolutely memorable riffs. Then, add to the whole the guitar
tone that no one can miss and the proper dosage of melody, and the
formula for good old-school shit is just ready.
I wrote 'bout the speed. The same goes
with catchiness. Deftly they dose such moments, not only as rhythm
guitar is mentioned, but also when it refers to the leads, just take
a listen to the ending part of „Unit 731” or two leads in the
opener. And when ten minutes pass, „Persecution Mania” finishes
the menu. Yes, you're not wrong, this is the Sodom cover. It has been
played the decent way and nothing more than that, yet I'm still
asking myself what this song is doing here? For sure it doesn't fit
here, it ruins a bit the final impression, but if the cover song is
needed as air to breathe, I'd like to hear any Dismember piece for
the end of the title.
„Gangrene Hymns” seems to be kinda
pass for a bigger label. The next second album has been released by
Spanish Pathologically Explicit Recordings with two songs taken from
the Ep, „Unit 731” and „Gangrene”. I truly do not know if it
helped in any way, as the scene nowadays is overcrowded by such bands
as Mass Burial, however if only good music really counts, these ten
minutes of Swedish insanity are worthy of some careful spins as I do
from time to time. Anyway, the band is still active, all the members
are pretty active in many various bands, so the metal blood is warm
incessantly. With no time for the rest, 2019 brings another title for
their discography, the tilte I should check out sooner or later.
Thus, let the gangrene flows through the veins of the dead. Or...
something like that.
70/100
-Tlacaxipehualiztli
(written during July and August, 2019)
