The Impetigo portion of this split consists of a single live cut, “I Work for the Streetcleaner.” And while the recording quality might not exactly be the greatest, it’s not bad, and I’m just glad to have any kind of live Impetigo, anyway. As for Ingrowing, we get a great new song, and a cover of none other than Impetigo (“Bitch Death Teenage Mucous Monster from Hell”)! This is a very fitting team up, with the legendary, and if there is any justice in the world, the soon to be. I must also mention the extreme coolness of the disc itself. It’s got a clear outer ring, so that the printing makes it look as if it were very uniquely shaped. It’s really got to be seen. And heard!

At last! After waiting impatiently for 9 years, this classic is finally available on CD, thanks to my friends at Morbid Records. In case you want to be extra sick, you can also get a picture disk 7-inch version. No Death Metal collection could possibly be complete without Faceless (and the Horror of the Zombies album, by the way). This is easily as important a release as Left Hand Path, Beneath the Remains, or Deicide. Admittedly, the Death/Grind on this CD is not as over the top as some of the Grind bands of today, but these are four songs that have passed the test of time and proven themselves to be more than extreme for the sake of extremity alone. That’s not to say that your head won’t still get ripped off! “My vengeance needs blood!” ‘Nuff dead.

Correct me if I’m wrong but I really don’t believe that this is this is Necromantia’s fourth release (or even full-length album). There was the split album with Varathron, Cross the Fiery Path, Scarlet Evil Witching Black and Ancient Pride. That would make Malice V, not IV. If you take out the split album and Ancient Pride (which was an EP), that would make this III. Mathematics aside, IV: Malice is Black Metal in the way that only Necromantia can play. The dual bass attack of this band sets them apart from all others, and to date nobody has even attempted to copy them. That being said, they don’t really cover a lot of new territory on this LP. If a comparison can be drawn, this sounds like a fusion of their previous two full-length releases. Granted, this album kicks ass and I fucking love it, but don’t expect Baron Blood and Magus Wampyr Daoloth to do something totally out of left-field. This is Necromantia at their most lethal, doing what they do best. No Nine Inch Nails, no Manson, no Kid Crock, no Pantera - Necromantia is Necromantia, and that is good enough for me.

Interesting. A slower pace isn’t what I was expecting from Morbid Angel. But then again, neither was a tour opening up for those shitstains, Pantera. That disgusting fact aside, this is a great (and don’t get me wrong, it’s often fast, too) album, although perhaps not quite as flawless as some members of the Metal Curse staff would claim. New growler/bassist Steve Tucker really comes into his own with this release, even writing some music as well as most of the lyrics, and as insane as it might sound to long time fans, I really can’t say that I miss David Vincent at all. Certainly anyone reading this must understand how unnecessary it is to even mention the awe inspiring drumming and guitarwork, but since this blasphemy machine has had a few less-than-memorable moments in the past, I’m glad to say that the occasionally slower tempos, combined with less technical riffs (which doesn’t exactly mean simple) and more repetition thereof, has made this album the band’s most consistently memorable in quite some time.

Any band with a song called “El Ataque de King Ghidorah” is fucking cool. End of story. Machetazo up the dose even further, with their unique brand of Grind Gore, that while perhaps not the heaviest, is ultra intense. I assume that the lyrics are equally as sick as the artwork and the music itself, but I don’t have a lyric sheet, and don’t speak Spanish anyway, so just this once, the lack of printed lyrics doesn’t matter. For added insanity, they even cover Abscess (“Suicide Fuck”), and S.O.B. (“Delusion of Terror”). There’s a weird “hidden” bonus track, too. Psycho (a.k.a. Death, of “Dear Death” fame) plays this disc when he needs to makes his harem start vomiting.

After an inspired intro by (possibly) Reverend Fishbone, we’re treated to the sickest, most perverted Death Metal I’ve heard in… Well, okay, maybe it’s not absolutely the sickest, and I guess there might be a band or two who are more perverted. Maybe. But who’s cooler than Lividity? Just to prove it to any residual doubters, they even cover Impetigo’s “Bloody Pit of Horror.” I guess it’s not exactly perfect, but despite that (or maybe because of it), The Age of Clitoral Decay is destined for classic status.

Like Carcass? Decrepit Septic Death Gore. Just look for the Roto-Rooter enema on the cover.

After a split 7-inch with Cephalic Carnage, two demos and two appearances on Razorback Records’ Gore Is Your Master series of compilation CDs, Oakland’s Impaled have finally released their debut album. Much in the vein of General Surgery, this has that “Sunlight” sound mixed with the pathological style of lyrics. If you don’t remember General Surgery (they only had one album and a 7-inch, both I believe were released on Nuclear Blast almost a decade ago), imagine the crossbreeding of Dismember and Carcass with the offspring possessing Dismember’s music and Carcass’ lyrics. Impaled plays in the mid-paced range most of the time, slowing down and getting heavy and occasionally kicking in with a burst of speed. This range is probably the best for this style of music as the over-distorted guitar sound gets real messy at high speeds. The best thing about this album is the fact that all the songs are memorable without losing any brutality. I only had two gripes about this album. I personally thought that the guitars were a bit low, and secondly, that 15 or so minutes of silence at the end of the last song just annoyed the fuck out of me. I absolutely hate it when bands do that. Other than that, this is a real ass-kicker. Oh yeah, is it me or does Sean McGrath (Impaled’s guitarist/vocalist) look an awful lot like our fearless editor Ray Miller? [It may just be you. -Editor]

Finally!! I’ve lost track of the years I’ve been waiting for a new album from Macabre. After all this time, could anything possibly live up to my expectations? Maybe not. This is, after all, not Sinister Slaughter Part 2 (although I’ve heard that their next album, Murder Metal, will be!). There’s less concern about extreme speed, and perhaps more placed on sing-alongs. That’s not to say that this is an un-heavy disc. It’s intense, and as you’d guess, plenty sick. But there are times while listening to it that I think it’s more “Murder Punk” than “Murder Metal.” Nothing new about that, though. Dahmer is certainly a memorable album, but for the most part, its extremity does lie more within the lyrics than the music. I don’t have a problem with that, but some might. So, is this the perfection I had been waiting for? It’s pretty close. And in some places, the playing is absolutely stunning, which is made even more so by the fact that they use their technical skill to write memorable songs, and not just show off.