ALBUM REVIEW: Sour Grapes – Goratory

Just when you thought 2020 couldn’t become any more unpredictable we find ourselves on the cusp of an album which few could have anticipated. Brutal death metal maniacs GORATORY are back and are poised to release their first album since 2004’s Rice On Suede. This effort is out now via Everlasting Spew Records and whilst the members have gone on to participate in a string of death metals finest collectives will they be able to achieve the same level of glory under this reignited banner?

GORATORY shrug 16 years of slumber off like it was mere seconds as Rat King returns to the skin searing riffing and bludgeoning drumming that brought them to the dance. Frontman Adam Mason and his technicolour voice box comes surging out of the gates with demonic pig squeals and gruesome growls. Business as usual! Losing Streak continues the onslaught with rapid fire precision and unrelenting ferocity. Blood curdling screams and jarring guitar work that chops and changes pacing at minimal notice will leave your head in a spin. The delightfully titled I Shit Your Pants has no intention of dialling down the crazy as lightning quick drum flurries fly from all angles. This track has a particular stomping quality as chunky riffs battle for prominence with the ever present insanity.

Bottom Feeder bombards you with a selection box of vocal carnage, splicing pig squeals with barbaric gurgling and a little dash of swift lyrical delivery for good measure. There are so many layers of lunacy which unfold along the way that it is difficult to maintain a grip of what the hell is actually going on but it’s pretty damn impressive. Evolutionary Wart charges forth like a stampeding bull, refusing to let this release offer up any brief moment of respite. Instead, it continues to pummel you into dust with instrumentation verging on blunt force trauma. The People’s Temple injects some neck snapping grooves and mind boggling bass lines into proceedings to keep you guessing.

The next track may give listeners a chuckle with the pretty scathing roasting of the infamous founder of ANAL CUNT in the form of Seth Putnam Was A Sensitive Man. A soundbite is closely followed by waves of intense aggression that include the lyrics “Fuck you cause you’re dead, Now you’re giving Satan head”. Back To The Grinding Machine ensures that Sour Grapes goes out on a spine tingling high as it throws you one final volley of unbridled bedlam. Blistering speed, clinical execution and infectious riffs all combine to form one final flourish of pure devastation

The old school purveyors of filth have done it again. From the utterly bizarre lyrical content and artwork to the sheer intensity that is packed into each and every track, GORATORY have shown that class is permanent. 26 minutes fly by in a matter of moments and it demands to be replayed, even if it is just to fully digest the sheer audacity contained within.

Rating: 8/10

Sour Grapes is out now via Everlasting Spew Records.

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