Finally. Feels like we should have already had this album in our grubby little hands for a year at this point. This was was in the can last year, but was put on hold due to the pandemic. Instead, they put out the Despicable EP as a tide-me-over until the proper album could be released.
It’s been quite a wait for them to follow up the stellar comeback album, Surgical Steel. This latest release doesn’t have quite the ferocity of the prior release, but it is right there in terms of quality. Feels more like a mid-tempo thrasher on this one rather than the all-out blitzkrieg of Surgical. Subject matter is the technical surgery-flavored splatter-fest you’ve come to expect out of these dudes. Song titles again are among the best in the business (Eleanor Rigor Mortis, Flesh Ripping Sonic Torment Limited, Kelly’s Meat Emporium, Wake Up and Smell the Carcass). Bill Steer still remains one of the unsung guitar heroes in metal. He just manages to come up with creative riff after creative riff.
And how’s that for a different sort of album cover. It’s not everyday we get a sculpture for an album cover; let alone one made up of veggies. Rest assured, by the time you make it to the end of the liner notes, the veggie heart has decayed into a putrid, blackened mess.
This is just a classic thrashy death metal album. One designed to be played loud and to definitely annoy the neighbors.
4 flip flops out of 5
