Sickly Private

Just from looking at that cover you immediately know that this was released around the turn of the century, because there was a veritable deluge of these releases with covers pulled directly from rotten.com. And if the album's artwork wasn't a dead giveaway, the music follows suit without fail. And perhaps it's the nostalgia talking, but I miss those days to be honest.

The music on offer here is comparable to what was happening in the US underground at the time. Heavy death metal brutality that alternates between seething high velocity aggression and slower pounding groove, with the band keeping it pretty uncomplicated throughout. In this they are comparable to what US acts such as Fleshgrind, Regurgitation and Lividity were doing at the time, but the grindcore and death metal mix also had me thinking of Ectopia's fellow countrymen like early In-Quest and Legal Butchery. Not only the music reminds me of these acts, but the vocals as well, with the alternating roaring gutturals and vicious screams giving the whole a familiar feeling. Apparently there are no lyrics here, but that fact never really shows. Besides, even if there were actual lyrics, I don't think you'd be able to make them out anyway.

The whole package sounds agreeable enough as well, even if the guitars and (especially) bass could have used more body, with the kick drums having a digital edge to them that has not aged that well. Still, this holds it's ground today, there are albums from the same time that have aged worse than this.

"Sickly Private" is an enjoyable late 90's/early 00's release, with some very agreeable old school brutal death metal in the US style on offer. The sound may be a bit dated today, but this EP is still worthy of the attention from those who are into acts like Putrid Pile, Viral Load, Dehumanized and the acts mentioned above.