Forensick

When Carcass first made its mark in the late '80s, the British grindcore/death metal unit became known for its gruesome medical references -- in fact, Carcass vocalist/bassist Jeff Walker consulted a medical textbook when he came up with song titles like "Empathological Necroticism" and "Cadaveric Incubator of Endoparasites." Carcass' influence is impossible to miss on Forensick, a grindcore/death metal CD that is full of twisted medical references. Titles like "Spasmobliterance Filtrates Scabs" and "Jaundice of Hookworm" could easily lead you to believe that Walker and Disgorge lyricist/vocalist Antimo have been reading the same medical textbooks. But unlike Walker, Disgorge's members don't speak English as their primary language -- Disgorge is a grindcore/death metal trio from Mexico, although Forensick doesn't get into rock en Español at all. Of course, Antimo might as well be singing in Aramaic, because it's impossible to understand the words that are coming out of his mouth. Like so many grindcore vocalists, Antimo sounds like he's grunting instead of singing. Forensick won't win any awards for melody or variety; the vast majority of the tunes are ultra-fast bursts of noise, and Disgorge usually avoids melodies or real song structures. After you've heard the first track, you've pretty much heard the entire album. But despite its obvious limitations, some headbangers in the grindcore/death metal underground will find this dark-humored CD to be an entertaining, if derivative, throwback to the early recordings of Carcass and Cannibal Corpse.