CoC : Downthroat - I've Got My Mother's Eyes : Review

Downthroat - _I've Got My Mother's Eyes_
by: Pedro Azevedo (4 out of 5)

In order to fully understand this demo tape's title, _I've Got My Mother's Eyes_, one must look at what's above it on the front cover: the black and white picture of a badly beaten young girl whose eyes are both -very- swelled and black. Yes, this is brutal death/grind, like it or not. The horror movie samples in the beginning of both sides of the tape are far from innovative, but they certainly do their job in setting a certain atmosphere. However, the band doesn't hesitate in doing some instrumental and sample-based jokes: cartoon samples in the middle of one of the songs? And "he's a jolly good fellow..."? Anyway, it's a good thing that the rest is good enough to prevent these things from becoming too much of a problem -- Downthroat play their death/grind at speeds ranging from very slow to very fast quite well. Even though the production is very acceptable for a demo tape, the growled vocals sound somewhat muffled, although they are supposed to be very impressive live, while the more screamed vox reminded me of Intestine Baalism. Overall, despite the annoying passages described above, Downthroat have made a very good death/grind demo.

Contact: Downthroat, Apartado 1157, 3780 Anadia, Portugal

(article published 19/5/1999)