No Lifeguard At The Gene Pool
(Unique Leader Records)
37:48min
Being a hybrid of different Death Metal bands from the Boston area, PILLORY proceed to publish their debut full length via mighty Unique Leader Records. The latter are known for fiendishly intense outcrops of aggression – and this certainly is the case with PILLORY as well. These chaps combine different styles of extreme Metal culture, that is to say, Death, Grind, Black and probably further ones the band would like me to highlight here. In any case – the approach to their tracks is somewhat CEPHALIC CARNAGE-esque. Thus there are these really intricate and maniacal passages that succeed to compress four different styles within half a minute. Take ‘Somewhere Between’, for instance – here, the guys start off with some GORGUTS – like riffing, then there is an abrupt break and a staccato-driven passage follows with a vague old school Black Metal melody, then these lunies come up with some Grind tunes – all this in one minute, I tell you. Well, just hang on – after one and a half minutes another crazy element is employed: the already eclectic and confusing atmosphere is still to be intensified by some MACABRE – like sing-along sort of melody being followed by ultra-sick grinds again. I have named the protagonists of this genre of the Metal ocean already – CEPHALIC CARNAGE. It is obvious that they serve as rolemodels in this case, which doesn’t bother me – yet it is a fact to be named. The vocals adhere to and praise that tradition too – screams, ultra-deep grunts, outraged grind bellowing – the greatest ingredient, though, are the hilarious pig-squeals in ‘The Morning Grind’!!! I vividly remember these meetings when I got together with my good pals of BK49 and were wondering when actual pig-noise will be implemented into the vocalist skills of extreme Metal — well here it finally is – and not by chance, I tell you! I have been waiting for some explicit pig-noise in Metal for ages!!! The drums are totally off the rocker and so are the other instruments – all extremely well-performed and state of the arts technicality. My respect goes out to Boston for this crazy shit. Definitely worth checking! Website: www.pillorygrind.com; www.uniqueleader.com
F. Cthulhu E.