Grindcore is a genre that, in all honesty, is not on the top of my heavy listening regiment. Sure, there are the classics I’ve returned to more times than I can count (i.e. Napalm Death’s Harmony Corruption, Brutal Truth’s Extreme Conditions Demand Extreme Responses), but when it comes to going any deeper into the recesses of the genre, I need to be in the right headspace. In other words, on days when one feels the only logical option is to punch their closed fist into a brick wall, or worse yet, commit mass vehicular homicide, grindcore is the answer. And perhaps no band today better fits this specific mood than Melting Rot.
Formed in 2017 (Where’s the time gone, boys?!) by some staples of the Chicago metal scene, Melting Rot has unleashed a string of singles, split appearances, an EP, and a full length album in their time. During their nearly decade run, the band has consisted exclusively of frontman Ted Soukup, guitarist Brian Koz, and drummer Aaren Pantke. Sick horror freaks will be more than familiar with Soukup and Pantke, the former for his even gorier vehicle, Organ Failure (Dead Ted!), and the latter for death-thrash deviants, Molder. And while there are occasional flashes of both bands on Melting Rot’s latest album, Infatuation with Premeditation, for the most part, this outing is its own thing.
One of my many bones to pick with grindcore is, similar to modern day doom metal and post-second wave black metal, a lot of it sounds the same. One “song” (if you can call them that) blurs into the next with little to no variation. Melting Rot buck this trend with an emphasis on Koz’s nasty riffage at the forefront. When confronted with cuts like “Short-Term Memory, Long Term Decomposition”, “Aiming for Construction Workers”, and “Open Casket Vomit Spew”, it becomes clear as day that this riff-master graduated from the University of Bill Steer with high honors. Neither the riffs nor songs themselves are as blatantly gory as early Carcass, but the influence is certainly present without ever coming off as braindead apery.
Pantke keeps the unit interesting as well, opting for more than your usual one size fits all blast behind the kit. He’s sure to throw in various beats from across the spectrum of death metal, thrash metal, and punk, and when those d-beats come a-flyin’, you better run for cover! I absolutely love the explicit punkish attack of “The Surgeon was Comatose” and “Morbid Infatuation” (D-beat city!). Topping it off is Soukup, whose vocals explore a full arsenal of growls, gurgles, screams, and snarls. Those familiar with Organ Failure are well aware of his vocal talent at this point, but in the context of Melting Rot, he’s able to show off a whole other side of these chops, leaving even the most hardened of grind maniacs reaching for a throat lozenge.
Ironically, the closing “Forklift Facelift” happens to be a revisitation of the song that introduced us to Melting Rot way back in 2017, opening their eponymous debut EP. Some might call it closing the circle. I call it refreshing whatever’s left of the listening public’s collective cranium that hasn’t already been grinded to a pulp by this terrorsome trio. Whether you’re a casual grind case like yours truly, or a “no melody, only blasts” psychopath, Melting Rot’s Infatuation with Premeditation will leave you infatuated with metal’s most brutal, punishing subgenre for days, weeks, and even months to come. Grind on, Melting Rot! Grind on!
7 out of 10
Label: Hells Headbangers Records
Genre: Grindcore
For fans of: Carcass, Dead Infection, Organ Failure