Let Be Us Corrupt

Just because you've never heard of it, doesn't mean it ain't no good, and that describes my encounter with Rottest Slag to the fullest. For a band I had never heard of until a few years ago, this certainly does not disappoint.

Rottest Slag plays abrasive grindcore/death metal that is noticeaby influenced by the grandaddies of the style such as Napalm Death, Agathocles, S.O.B., Unseen Terror and Atrocity (US). In the most ferocious parts of the band's music, blast beats rain down on the listener like a storm of hailstones the size of a fist, but the band has also built in sections that provide death metal styled double kick stomp to avoid monotony. The raging guitar work is infected with touches of hardcore punk and crossover thrash metal, and the gruff roaring vocals are alternated with savage screams in the best (Lee Dorian era) Napalm Death tradition. Needless to say that the music is aggressive and ferocious for a big part of the runtime of the album, but the band also cleared a little space for some odd melodic touches, like the plinky-ploinky part in "Final Jump", or the kinda spacy noodly guitar parts in "Burial". These are the moments that I don't care for that much, I vastly prefer the raucous parts, because that's undeniably where Rottest Slag's strength lies.

The production is on the gruff side, but what else could you have expected from an album in this style? Despite the rough around the edges soundmix, the instruments are all audible well enough, and the overall impact of the music is not lost. From the rasping guitars to the distorted bass and the ferocious vocal attack, it's all here, and ready to stir up some shit, alright.

This is a hard hitting old school grindcore/death metal release hugely indebted to those bands mentioned above, with subtle traces of acts like Septic Death, Possessed and old D.R.I. sprinkled throughout the album as well. It never reaches the same level of quality as their influences, but the ferocity this radiates makes up for that well enough. This is one that is recommended to all into late 80's/early 90's underground extreme metal, but those into the harsher punk and hardcore styles from the same era should be able to get some kicks out of it as well. Tasty stuff!