Scooping the Cranial Insides

I couldn't help have a little chuckle at the name of this band. Grog, that sounds like the name of a Neanderthal cave dweller "Me, Grog. This, brutal death metal". Immature joking aside, Grog are a brutal death/grind act from Portugal who have been slugging it out since 10,000BC (couldn't help myself).

So, here we have album number three from Grog; Scooping the Cranial Insides. Lets have a quick run down the brutal death metal checklist: Disgusting, bloody front cover? Sure thing. Ridiculous lyrics about murder and anal sex? Of course. More blast beats than you can shake a stone wheel at? Well duh. Indecipherable vocals? The odd slam groove? Suffocation/Cannibal Corpse-style riffs? Yes, yes and yes. You like brutal death metal? I can guarantee you're going to enjoy this.

In fact I actually quite like this myself. I didn't have high hopes as this came in a batch of fairly average promos I received but Scooping the Cranial Insides is cool. The band boast enough in the way of badass riffs to keep me interested, and with the exception of a few over the top blasting moments this is really quite headbangable. The band have traces of old school death metal in them which is just great, and it pleases me greatly that they don't neglect the bass.

Tracks such as "Hanged by the Cojones" and "Sicko" are really quite punishing. "Anal Core" is bloody hilarious, for the most part an arse-ripping (excuse the pun) exercise in brutal death metal, but towards the end the band samples some female moaning, screaming, and then uttering the lines "You bastard, wreck my vault, sperm my bowels, for god's sake!" Now that is fucking funny.

All in all this is solid, and brutal death metal fans could do a lot worse than adding this to their collection. I'll definitely revisit this when the mood strikes, as I've found a good degree of enjoyment here. The majority of the tracks hit their mark well, but I'll probably skip "Anal Core" unless I'm looking for a cheap laugh.

Originally written for http://www.metalcrypt.com

When I first heard Grog on the split with PussyVibes and Roadside Burial I recognized the name, but was uncertain if I’d actually heard them before. And while I most definitely enjoyed their part of said split it wasn’t like I was completely blown away by the lads. So as Scooping the cranial insides drops into my mailbox I expected some fairly straight-forward grindcore, nothing too damn exciting, but not boring.

The intro of Toia mai (haka powhiri) is a semi-ritualistic, shamanic chanting track, originally performed by Maori people. It’s undoubtedly one of the best intros I’ve ever heard, seeing as this actually adds something to the album instead of being just another run-of-the-mill ambient track, or something; this actually builds up an atmosphere. And as Beyond the freakish scene takes over the brutality just completely runs me over, like a tuned-up bulldozer going freakishly fast. This is not the straight-forward grindcore I was expecting, but something way more sinister and complex. It’s actually difficult to decide whether or not it’s grind or death metal, or perhaps even deathgrind. It’s equal parts ultra-brutality and heaviness from death metal, equal parts raging blasting aggression from grindcore, with an added twist of their own, incorporating some other influences as well from time to time. And the result is oh-so-sweet!

Acephalus meatgrind orgy hibernation is pretty much the only track where I can make a clear comparison, seeing as the riffing carries clear similarities to Cannibal Corpse, whereas Grog really don’t sound anything like them otherwise. A track like 10 cummandments (which also happens to have quite hilarious lyrics) shows off their knack for slower and heavier material, actually adding a certain Morbid Angel flair to the mix. But as the hidden track (isch, I hate hidden tracks, it’s such a nuisance) Eskeletos de kona takes over we’re hit with a rocking Motörhead styled crust track, much like later Malignant Tumour. All this shows the versatility of the album, but doesn’t tell you the whole story of what it’s actually about.

The riffing has its share of technicality, but is far from anything you’d really call technical in today’s death metal scene, which means it never gets out of hand. It’s a slick and sleek riff machine, offering a tad melody to the brutality. And with the almost non-stop blasting the brutality is pretty immense, as well as intense. It feels like Grog falls somewhere in between Inhumate, Haemorrhage and Rectal Smegma, but with an equally big part of both the European and the North American brutal death metal scene. It’s just difficult to really put my finger on it, to really make sense of where their influences might actually hail from.

Anal core has some of the fiercest female screaming vocals I’ve heard in a long time, and it works utterly well in complementing the main deep-as-fuck growling vocals. And speaking of which, I seriously love the deep and powerful voice of this Pedro guy, whose grunt sounds so damn commanding and convincing I’m almost willing to do whatever it takes to please him. It’s a seriously brutal set of vocals presented on Scooping the cranial insides, and it’s just another proof of how bloody powerful this album is. It is undoubtedly one hell of a release, truly putting Portugal on the map. Highly recommended to anyone into brutal metal, ‘cause it feels like it has something for everyone.

Originally written for My Last Chapter