Swamped in Gore

I'm going to say this honestly; this album is pretty damn good. This is one of those albums that get way too much hate. Yes, the riffs aren't overly technical, yes the vocals are comically deep, and the lyrics are pure cheese. But take it for what it's supposed to be a cheesy Cannibal Corpse, Obituary style of gory death metal and these guys are pretty good at it. The riffs on this album are heavy, and I mean damn heavy. That's one of the great things about this record. The riffs on "Devourer of Souls," "Gobblin the Guts," "Dismembered Carcass," and "Incinerated" are headbang worthy and they shred. The production on this record isn't the best (everything is quite low so you're going to have to turn it up to hear it) the guitars are very quiet sounding, and the bass is practically inaudible unless it's a bass solo, but hey the early 90's had far worse produced death metal albums. The drums are really good sounding same with Joe's vocals very deep and guttural.

Joe's vocals are some of the deepest of the old school death metal era only matched by Craig Pillard, Frank Mullen, and Chris Barnes (who had depth but not much power). Joe has both depth and power so that's a plus. The bass playing is solid as well. Even though it's mostly inaudible the bass solos are tight and well executed (these guys have way more bass solos then a majority of death metal bands). The guitar riffs are like a full steam freight train coming at you at full speed; you will be crushed with the force and power these guys bring to the table. Brian Griffin plays the more complex guitar riffs while Jeremy Wagner plays the more straightforward brutal death metal riffs, it's a pretty good mix-up of the two. This is easily one of the heaviest old school death metal albums only matched by Suffocation, Cannibal Corpse, and Incantation. This is also one of the earliest examples of brutal death metal with the thrash elements taken out and replaced by grind blast beats and slower sections.

The drums are definitely the highlight of the record though. Ryan Stanek has very tight, fast blast beats, and he can play a very mean slow groove. Also his fills were great as well. Ryan unfortunately passed away last year so we will never be able to hear him play again, may he R.I.P. Now we will talk about the negatives; the bass is mostly inaudible unless it's a solo. The vocals also reach a level of monotony, while they’re deep and powerful but they never really change vocal pitch and they're rather repetitive. The lyrics are extremely cheesy so don't go in expecting Carcass or Immolation style sophistication, expect B grade movie horror movie lyrics. Another con which really brings down the record for me is the very low sound. If only they made the guitars crunchier and in your face instead of being so low in the decibel range then I would rate it above 90, but it will be a low B grade as of now. Another con is the fact that the original album cover just sucks, the Metal Blade reissue is far better though. Other than that the music is pretty good.

Overall it gets way too much hate, it's not bad at all really it's just the metal elitists cannot stand anything simple but good and straightforward, they want some extremely sophisticated poetic lyricism, with crazy free-form jazz instrumentation. Look at Cannibal Corpse's output; none of it is rated above a 90 percent . Also look at Deicide's "Legion" compared to "Once Upon the Cross" when they simplified the sound the rating became much lower on "Once Upon the Cross." This record is filled with good riffs, excellent drumming, and wicked bass solos, as well as some deep guttural vocals. Funny lyrics included what more can you ask for? That is why this record gets a B rating from me. Final verdict: go listen to it as the songs are really catchy and fun.