Cemetery Lust - Rotting in Piss [Hell Headbangers/Headsplit Records - 2018]Cemetery Lust are from Portland USA, and their sound is a blend Thrash Metal, with early Black and Death Metal stylings. Since 2014, they have released 3 full-length albums, with their most Rotting In Piss appearing on Hell Headbangers- in either CD or LP, with a cassette version on Headsplit Records The cover of the album is an amateur drawing of extremely blasphemous content. Male and female demons are pissing (probably with acid) on the rotting corpse which is crucified on the cross. It remains only to guess, who the corpse is ... in the upper right corner is the band logo, made just as deliberately unprofessional. Below in the middle is the album name, made of yellow acid color.
The album, with a total duration of 33 minutes, consists of nine tracks of each approximately the same length. The track titles, as well as the album title and cover art, are blasphemous and perverted.
I’m far from prudish- but I have to admit in the past I’ve disregarded albums with such lo-if & crude covers. So I pleased to report that the music inside a lot better than the cover implies.
I can’t say that Rotting in Piss is something new or innovative. This is an old school & crude Trash with Proto-Black and Death metal elements. If you've heard Kreator's Endless Pain or Slayer's Show No Mercy, then you’ll get an idea what to expect.
It makes no sense to talk in detail about each track because they all follow a similar route/make-up. Quite high speed, not very complex riffs and guitar solos - everything is done according to the canons of the genre. I even thought that if you rearrange riffs from one song to another, nothing will change. But nevertheless, everything was played and recorded with the band knowing their retro craft; I felt the energy of these guys and their openness. Perhaps, this roughshod approach to the genre has made it work so well – as this is one of the most honest albums that I’ve heard, within the metal genre.
Rotting In Piss immersed me in the atmosphere of the beginning and the middle of the 80s, when the current masters of the genre did not think about big money but simply made music for their pleasure. Listening to this album, you just want to shake your head, yell and drink beer with friends.
But, like in many albums, there are a few disappointments. First and most importantly - it seems to me that the vocalist should work on his vocals. We hear a rhythmic recitation of a gasping voice, but I would like to hear something more brutal. Although vocal inserts with growling are pretty good.
Second - It seems to me that the guys are too involved in recreating that very sound, so it turned out somewhat blurry. I would like to hear a drier and clear guitar sound, as well as make a more serious emphasis on the bass guitar, which on the album sounds background and poorly audible.
The third and last issue is the choice of the final song ”Awaiting Execution”. In my opinion, it was worth choosing a more intense track. Yes, the final ninth track differs a little from the whole album by having a lot of keyboards, but I would like to hear the end of the album more stringent.
So in summing If you just want to rest, throw your problems out of your head and release your negative energy, then this album is for you. So Listen, and bang your head (vigorously)! Sergey Pakhomov
|