Opus(sy) VI

Cock and Ball Torture is a pornogrind band found in the depths of Germany, one of the prime countries for some fuckin' good, groovy, and perverted pornogrind. Since this band is from Germany, you know it's gonna be fuckin' sweet. Opus(sy) VI is definitely one of their more grindy albums, as later in their career, they slowly evolved... or devolved into straight up groove with a distinctive lack of grind. This doesn't mean their later stuff is BAD, but they just kinda threw away the grind later in their career.

First we'll start off with the instrumentation. The guitars (as expected for this band) throw pummeling, heavy grooves at you like bricks. I'm like 90% positive that this band doesn't utilize anything other than power chords. I'm only 90% sure because I think I can hear SOME tremolo riffing during the more blast beat grind parts. But for the most part, the guitars just play some straight up bulldozing grooves. Apart from that, the guitars are pretty thin compared to their second album, Sadochismo, but hey, that doesn't stop it from being good. The bass is pretty distorted, but because it's so low in the mix, you can't really hear it. The bassist uses a pick, so you get a bit more punch and clank to the bass tone.

The drums on this album are very crisp. That snare sound is one of my favorites of all time. Just a nice and crispy, somewhat poppy, but not annoyingly poppy snare. The drumming follows the grooves of the guitars. Sometimes you'll hear some double bass, sometimes you'll hear a polka beat, sometimes you'll hear a mid-tempo blast beat during the fast parts. Nothing much else to say about the drums, except the INSANE FUCKIN' GROOVES. Other than that, the drumming on this album is perfect.

Next we have the most iconic part about Cock and Ball Torture, or really any goregrind/pornogrind band in general, THE TOILET FLUSH VOCALS! Now these vocals don't ALWAYS sound like a damn toilet flushing, but it's throughout most of the songs. These vocals are of course achieved with a pitch shifter, and maybe a flanger for that extra toilet flush feel to it. Sometimes you will hear deeper, frog-croak styled vocals thrown in, which you'll hear a lot more often in their later albums.

Of course, since it's pornogrind, the song titles are fucking insane, all about sexual stuff. Surprisingly, there are lyrics. But it's hard to believe that this band has actual lyrics, you can't make out a single word they're saying. Every single song has a distinctive and groovy structure to it. This album, and band in general, is groovy as fuck. Surprisingly, this is the first band I got into when I discovered goregrind/pornogrind. I didn't at all mind the disgusting vocals or sheer perversion of it. Tracks I'd recommend for this album would be Anal Sex Terror, Spank Me - Fuck Me - Fill Me, Panda Penis, and the iconic Fist Fuck Family.

It took an awfully long time for this band to be accepted onto The Metal-Archives. I remember the day they added them, I was really surprised. Cock and Ball Torture play some hellish music, based on goregrind and death metal. With some heavily-influenced perversion added to their themes. This band are fucked, in a sense. I guess it depends on how people take them as, you know? No, you probably don't. I say that like you're actually listening to what I'm saying. But I must be a mental nut-case for even assuming that, myself.

So, this album obviously isn't getting any younger, and that goes for me too. Since I'm a human-being. Not some alien. And with age hitting this album as hard as it is, I think it makes the appreciation go even further. Released about twenty years ago already, excluding one year, of course. Only-because it's still 2019. But who cares about accuracy right now? I don't, honestly. But the production of this record is pretty fucking good. It's not a horrible mix. The mastering is well-finished. I appreciate the general quality.

The vocals sound like they've been submerged in toilet-based water. And physical shit is being forcefully launched down the vocalist's throat, and making obvious "choking" sounds. Our throats can only stretch so-wide from the inside before objects become "stuck" and prevent us from breathing ever again. And you wouldn't have to worry about having "shit" for breath, because you'd be gagging so hard, that you'd wished that you were able to breathe-in clean air again (but can't from actual-blockage of the throat). But I assume you'd have your face in the toilet-water because someone is bullying you and forced you there, right? You're not punishing yourself by forcefully making poop go down your throat, are you? But in all-seriousness, the vocals do sound like literal "asshole-opening" sounds, as if you have shit slowly being launched out your (now dirty) asshole.

You know, it's been awhile since I even been that graphic in a review. Or even as detailed as that. I kind of miss it. But I don't get a "thrill" from that as much these days. But who knows, it could come back. The guitars are really, really low-tuned, not overly-distorted, but moderately-distorted. The riffs are pretty fast, but I don't think they're quite 200 beats-per-minute, than again, knowing me, I'm likely to be wrong about that. So, the riffs are also smoothly done as well. It makes for better flow for different pitches of the guitar. It's also worth mentioning that the guitars do have an "occasional" groove to them. And the bass is mixed pretty decent into the album itself, too. The drums are constantly making noise. It reminds me of someone having a drum-set, completely made from human skulls of recent passing(s). They have a "bone-like" tone to them. Almost a "hollow" sound.

Streaming is my main ability to even listen to albums. I mean, who has money for shit anymore? I mean, seriously, it's bullshit. Prices have to fucking be higher-than-all-fuck anymore, even to buy CDs. I wished I could buy this album. I really would, it's fucked, just like you are. I love the artwork, colouring, display, how it describes itself, shit like that. It holds up pretty good, to this day. A solid eighty-percent is plenty for this album, and we'll leave it at that. Sound good, bitch? Good. Now, go to the bathroom and take a shit. You're stinking-up my living room.