Rotten Sound - Murderworks
Necropolis Records 2002
If you take a look at the album cover (you can see only the censored version above) and then the length of the songs - the 14 songs take no more than 29 minutes - then you can easily figure out that Rotten Sound is a grind band. My only surprise was that this brutal music comes from Finland. To be honest, grindcore is not my favourite style, so i might not know the underground scene there very well. In short, I won't say they are the only grind band from Finland, but for me they are.
The band has been around since 1993, and all its members have experience in extreme music with other bands. This is their third full-length studio album but we can find EPs and split releases in their discography, so we can say they have an eventful history.
Their music is not ultra fast, brutal grindcore; rather, it's melodic, death metal-based grind. The result is something very intensive for sure. Behind their exalted agression stands excellent musicianship and professionalism. When I'm listening to music like this, I always wonder how the drummers are able to keep up with such a fast beat? How many arms and legs do they have? This time 'Kai Hahto' deserves credit for his tight, precise playing. In this style it is easy to make a predictable, uncomplicated album. With
Murderworks this is not the case. True enough, it is only half an hour, and even despite their typical features it is varied but very concentrated. Blasting drum beats, technical thrash riffings with a vocalist like G results in a real brutal grinding. G's voice is worth mentioning, he can change into black metal screams from growlings without any problem even if he was growling up from the deepest hell.
The album was masterfully produced by Mieszko Talarzcyk from Nasum and mixed by Jim Durkin (ex-Dark Angel), so the sound couldn't be better. The lyrics and the above-mentioned censored cover also fits to the music - while you are listening to 'Lobotomy' you can almost see blood dripping from the cover...
My favourite tracks are: Seeds, IQ, Obey, Insane, Agony, Lobotomy. As a bonus people who have computers at home can see the band live in action through two video clips. Amazing what these guys can do!
Their official record label is Deathvomit Records, which is an official sublabel of Necropolis Records, but the European promotion belongs to Century Media. I think Century Media will do a lot to get this band out to more people soon. I wish to close this review with a sentence from their promotional cd, because I agree with it totally: 'This is one homicide all fans of intense music should investigate!'
Tracklist:
1. Targets
2. Void
3. Revenge
4. Lies
5. Doom
6. IQ
7. Insects
8. Seeds
9. Suffer
10. Obey
11. Edge
12. Lobotomy
13. Insane
14. Agony
Bonus videos:
15. Targets
16. Seeds
17. Strongman
Playing Time
28:33
Rotten Sound Official Homepage
Necropolis Records
