When I first stumbled upon Cartilage last year, it was love at first listen. Their EP, Tales from the Entrails: A Necrology, proved that it’s possible to be a modern goregrind band and still come up with fresh ideas, captivating riffs, and so forth. I kept a close eye on these fiends, eager to see when they’d strike next. Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait too long. A little over a year and a half from that 11 minute slab of gore metal glory, Cartilage have returned with their third full length, Operating Altar: A 9 song opus that sees the band reaching new heights of metallic sickness.
Whereas Tales was a wonderfully sloppy, old school goregrind affair, Operating Altar seems like a much more straightforward, traditional death metal release. Sure, there are still grinding outbursts throughout, and the gore is present in its underlying demeanor, but the overall riffs, arrangements, and execution on this one seem in line with death metal’s early ’90s peak. In other words, if Tales drew from the well of Carcass’ Reek of Putrefaction and Symphonies of Sickness days, then Operating Altar is Cartilage’s Necroticism – Descanting the Insalubrious: Lethal and surgically precise from start to finish.
The opening “Metal, Bone, and Sinew” wastes no time whatsoever, storming out of the gate with a blur of grinding drums, frenetic riffs, and some of the most demented vocals in the scene today. The melding of highs and lows recall Exhumed and even Macabre, as the highs at times evoke the demented frenzy of Corporate Death. “S.C.D. (Sudden Cardiac Death)” keeps the intensity going, fusing pathological thrashing and blasphemous blasting in a manner that’s distinctly early ’90s by manager. As stated earlier, Cartilage wears their influences on their sleeves, or rather their lab coats, yet never come off as blatant clones.
While the entire band goes balls to the wall on Operating Altar, the real MVPs on this release are guitarists Mike Flory and Teresa Wallace. On every cut, its their organ-pulverizing dual riff attack that sets the foundation for the rest of the unit, allowing frontman Mark Wallace and drummer Adam Houmam to deliver the punishing final blow. Whether it’s out and out goregrind (“A Lymphatic Labyrinth of Roiling Rot”), repulsive groove death (“Anatomical Incantations”), or even, dare I say, proto-melo death worship (“The Sanguine Fiend”), this band can do it all and then some, leaving nothing but a trail of guts and devastation in their wake.
In true old school fashion, a little over a half hour is all this band needs to wrangle, strangle, and mangle their audience of all too willing bonafide death metal maniacs. Considering we’re teetering on a decade since the OSDM resurgence, and the majority of players from that scene have either crashed and burned or morphed into hardcore bands, Cartilage are a breath of fresh air. And by “fresh air”, I mean the stench that can only be produced from a well-decomposed cadaver, innards untouched and flesh beyond festered. Breathe it in!
8 out of 10
Label: Everlasting Spew Records
Genre: Death Metal
For fans of: Carcass, Exhumed, Impetigo
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