ALBUM REVIEW: Gluttony – Foetal Juice

Bursting onto the scene with a name that’s both as clever as it is disgusting, the filthy foursome known as FOETAL JUICE have been destroying local venues and extreme metal festivals for over ten years now with their blend of horror and black humour infused death metal.

Rolling on from their sickeningly impressive 2016 full-length debut Master of Absurdity, the band now unleash their sophomore effort upon us in the form of Gluttony. It’s a twelve-track onslaught of death metal with a taste of black and grind interspersed with humour and shocking lyrical content.

The album kicks off with a bang with the curiously titled Take Your Face For a Shit. A hard-hitting gut punch that sets the scene nicely for the brutality that is to come. Filled with blast beats and riffs galore, FOETAL JUICE have arrived. There’s no time to breathe before you’re thrust into follow up tracks Septic Mollusc and Manifestation of Falsity. The latter is an early highlight of the album with its unrelenting energy and drive that toys with some black metal influences.

Venomous Domination features a thundering riff midway through its four-minute runtime that provides the listener with an instant neck-snapping moment. Worthless Delusion also features a similar headbanging moment that is reminiscent of Miasma-era THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, showcasing the band’s ability to not only create rapid-fire riffs but also a ton of weighty groove.

You can probably already tell from their band name and track titles that their lyrical content isn’t going to be for everybody. Neither is the non-stop onslaught of brutal noise that penetrates your ears with utter disregard but that shouldn’t deter fans of genres outside of death metal. A perfect example of this is the one-two attack of Trepidation and Nether Pandemonium the latter in particular with it’s driving riffs and delectable bass lines showcasing the band’s individual talents that shine through the dirge of sound.

Carnage isn’t just a clever name and unleashes a barrage of thunderous low-end that surges underneath a groovy thrash riff that fires home the tracks glorious conclusion. The record is a fantastic amalgamation of death, thrash and black metal throughout its runtime. The drums are hurried and urgent but commanding and are in perfect sync with the bass, which is clear and powerful. The vocals, while not the forefront of the album are gritty and hit hard, however, it’s the guitar work that shines on Gluttony and provides the listener with skull-crushing riffs galore that would have any festival pit circling within mere moments.

The album comes to a close with the longest track on the album Spirit Leech, which is again another slab of death served up raw and rolls to a close with a fade-out that allows the listener to finally breathe after being sonically attacked for twelve unforgiving and undeniably unyielding tracks….in a good way of course!

Gluttony shows us FOETAL JUICE at their fastest, heaviest and most aggressive. They’ve taken the fire and surging adrenaline of their live shows and have harnessed that power and it’s been manifested into their sophomore record. Full of grit and gristle that will not be for everybody, but if you fancy some gloriously grotesque death metal, look no further and indulge yourself in a bit of filth.

Rating: 9/10

Gluttony is set for release on June 12th via Gore House Productions.

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