Fatality?

Distro tables, if they look enticing from afar I like to take a peak. The artwork and the logo to this 7” was enough to get my attention. Since a lot of genres use these solid stark colors that look xeroxed for demos, it leaves a obscure or mysterious presence.

If the cover has your attention enough to pick it up and turn the record over. The titles for both sides are displayed with no band photos, contact information or any description it is a live recording. This still leaves few hints on what to expect if this band is new to the listener. If this was presented with a different approach I might have ended up passing it up.

As I dropped the needle, the first song rumbles in with low fi distortion. A growling war cry to belching commands while the blastbeats follow giving you the idea that this is grindcore. Barney Greenway comes to mind as if he is backing up Agathocles for a set. The songs have that side b feel to Napalm Death’s scum. The first song finishes and the band goes into tuning which gives into a dead giveaway that this is a live. My impression is someone picked up this recording off a mixer to a gig that probably only had a small handful of people.

Glad Rødel records was proactive and got this out as a 7”. The studio recordings that Rot has put out are good but this live recording gives them more edge. A few songs in and the reassurance that all their songs on the set are just as aggressive but not repetitive. Later on I saw these songs are off various releases so it was nice to hear they had a solid set list of blast thru.

Throughout the songs the singer will say a few comments and then they jump right back into the set. Thankfully they don’t take their time bullshitting between the songs. Sounds like they are considerate enough to briefly go through their set so maybe the next band can play if this is from a live recording. No drum machine or sound clips can be found. This recording provides raw energy and presence that makes me want more of these live Rot recordings.

All the songs have the same level of aggression, short, sporadic and violent. Agathocles and Napalm Death come to mind as a comparison. Besides being in the grindcore category the song titles, the split releases and confrontational conflict for lyrics separate them from the other half of grindcore that is just about porn and gore. Songs that stand out on this record are “Living to deceive”, “Hideous poet” and “Drowned in restrictions”.

The high score is because for a live album the songs are played more aggressively then the original recordings. They don’t show a sign of being tired and they cut to the point when talking between songs. This also was my introduction to Rot. A lot of bands will have great artwork but don’t match the chaos. I still get a hit or miss when buying albums so when discovering good bands and albums it makes the experience even more. This is out of print so if you find this used pick it up.