What we have here is a not particularly brilliant split LP, but an average release that has the merit of convincing me of one fact: the ways of old school Death Metal revival are infinite. PUTRID EVIL and DISTRES, both from Poland, raise the bar of imitation to a higher level, since not only do they know how to steal riffs from the cult names from the 80s, but they also try to relive the Lo-Fi sound of the old demo and rehearsal sessions. Unfortunately, the result is not very good, because they suffer from a big lack of creativity and their musical set of skills is obviously overshadowed by a horrible DIY production. PUTRID EVIL play a very raw mixture of old school minimalist Death Metal and Grindcore. Take the macabre style of IMPETIGO’s “Ultimo Mondo Cannibale” and early NECROPHAGIA, the grinding violence of BLOOD, the gory Death Metal touch of DR. SHRINKER, add the poor sound quality of NUNSLAUGHTER’s rehearsal sessions, put everything in the oven and you’ll get a perfect PUTRID EVIL stew. Their influencers are without any doubt some of my favourite bands, but these Polish guys never reach their levels. The sound / production is too bad to be enjoyable for your ears: a very weak guitar distortion, trash can drumming and an echoed voice that would fit much better for a Black / Death band than a Death / Grind one. DISTRES are on the same wavelength, but they play a primitive form of satanic old school Death Metal. A very simplistic copy of early MORBID ANGEL, KRISIUN, SADISTIC INTENT, IMMOLATION, DEICIDE, early VADER etc. The guitar songwriting is uninspired and filled with boring melodies, whereas the drums are monotonous, pretty chaotic and poorly audible. This split album was originally self-released by PUTRID EVIL’s own label Putrid Cult on CD format and now is available through the Mexican label Iron, Blood And Death Corporation. The total length is almost 25 minutes for nine songs. In conclusion, this release is not a complete disaster and I’ve found some good points here and there (the bands’ dedication to the old Death Metal and Grind scenes, the cover artwork, PUTRID EVIL’s gore-inspired themes and DISTRES’ cavernous growlings), but, keep in mind that when something is ‘So bad, it’s good’, it’s still bad. More band information at: www.facebook.com/grindingputridevil, www.facebook.com/distres666, label contact: www.facebook.com/ibdc666