CoC : Goretrade - Ritual of Flesh : Review

Goretrade - _Ritual of Flesh_
(Displeased Records, 2004)
by: Xander Hoose (8.5 out of 10)

Gore-grind and gore-death bands seem to be popping back to life lately. Does it mean it's the new big thing? I don't know, but I can't say I'm not happy with it. As long as quality improves I'm happy with my served dish of mangled torsos, severed limbs and rotting brains. Goretrade fulfills a fair share of my needs with _Rituals of Flesh_. For a gore band they have a very decent production, and the vocalist manages to squeeze a nice juicy grunt from his vocal chords -- there's not much left to be desired. It is true that the drums could be a little heavier, but that doesn't deflect my attention from the music as a whole. While the bandlogo gives me slight flashbacks of the good old Impetigo times, musically I would love to see these guys perform as opening act to Cannibal Corpse or Jungle Rot. Granted, _Rituals of Flesh_ is not as good as the latest album by Splatterhouse, but this album does feature a member of Internal Suffering! And it does have artwork by Jon Zig! If any of you freaks don't mind spending money on more than one album this month, you should be chopping your way through a mass of zombies right now to make it to the record store.

(article published 31/7/2004)