Blastbeat Reviews: Gore Edition! Carcass, Exhumed, Basement Torture Killings

More quick reviews because I'm a lazy asshole. This time around we're taking a crack at Carcass' comeback album, Exhumed's follow-up to 2010 comeback, All Guts, No Glory and Basement Torture Killings' just-a-few-days-short-of-a-2013-debut-release The Second Cumming. Crass, I know.

CARCASS - SURGICAL STEEL

I've been hyping this album like mad since the teaser dropped a couple weeks ago, and the wicked jam "Captive Bolt Pistol" dropped a week later, but deep down, I was so scared that the single was going to be the only good track on the album. Maybe my beloved Carcass had gone the way of the dollar (or pound in their case) and released one solid track to rope everyone in, then unleash a mediocre attempt at reliving their past fame. I mean come on, the old 1980s logo, the Tools of the Trade rip off cover, and it's been over 15 years since their last studio album. This practically spells out gimmick and moneygrab all over the goddamn place. My jimmies were beyond rustled at the thought.

I finally listened to it, and instantly, my jimmies were soothed. They entered a state of bloodthirst and transcended into a state zen, a shift only attainable from an album as good as or perhaps, dare I say it, better than my beloved Heartwork. This album is Carcassas they were meant to sound. Melodic, grinding, heavy as balls, and headbangable as balls. Go buy this. Or torrent it. I don't care, just let the almighty Carcass eviscerate your ears with this unfuckwithable album. Score: 5/5

EXHUMED - NECROCRACY

Exhumed blew me away with their last album, All Guts, No Glory. It was the first I'd actually heard of the band, a band that followed suite after Carcass pioneered the goregrind genre, and likewise, had a breakup and recent reformation. Now off the bat, I've gotta say that Guts was a way better album than Necrocracy. This album is still really solid, but it just lacks the ferocity and grind power it's predecessor did. Exhumed go for a more straightforward death metal sound here with some melodic elements thrown in. Unfortunately, everything seems to sound like a Heartwork b-side. Fortunately, everything seems to sound like a Heartwork b-side. The riffs show off some tight finger acrobatics and the album definitely gets your blood pumping, but I think the band tried to go as brutal as possible, but forgot what made All Guts, No Glory so good: how catchy it was. Score: 3/5

BASEMENT TORTURE KILLINGS - THE SECOND CUMMING

I honestly forget how I was introduced to this band. All I know is that one day I end up on their Bandcamp page blasting "31 Stabwounds to the Face", and I was loving it. This band whips out no holds barred goregrind, with non-stop blasting, tremolo picked riffs, and a wicked combo of raspy high vocals and guttural low vocals that would make even Bill Steer blush with envy. Over all I gotta commend these guys for making some goregrind that sounds like actual music amongst the masses of underground bands that release albums with production values that rival even Reek of Putrefaction. Come on guys, it's the 2010s, and BTK is doing it right. Why can't you?

The album loses some points because of the zillion samples that are used in the music which honestly take away form the crushing atmosphere of the album and get pretty annoying roughly four songs into this album, but they make it all back up with the greatest cover of "Pretty Woman" I've ever heard. Score: 4/5

That's all for now, folks!

-DG