Putrid Offal: What a cheery moniker! All kidding aside, Putrid Offal is a band whose name I’ve heard tossed around for the better part of a decade plus, but have never gotten around to actually listening to. From the sound of it, they’re one of those bands that J-Dawg of Hell’s Headbangers infamy would probably brandish me a “poser” for being previously unfamiliar with, alongside every other no-name, dime a dozen death metal band who released a demo between 1990 and 1995. They’re also a band who, if we’re keeping with the J-Dawg lingo, pulled a “We’re back!”, splitting in ’95, only to resurrect nearly two decades later in 2013.
In the 12 years since their comeback, Putrid Offal have been more than making up for lost time, releasing a multitude of studio albums (something they never got to during their initial run), EPs, and even a live album from Hellfest, which just so happens to take place in their home country of France. Yes, that’s right, today we’re tackling French death metal (quite the odd commodity). If you like your baguettes and escargot with a side of maggots and innards, grab yourself a seat and prepare to feast, because this review is about to get utterly disgusting.
Upon first listen of Putrid Offal’s third album, Obliterated Life, I find myself face to face with a brand of death metal that is VERY Carcass inspired. I wouldn’t go so far to call it goregrind, but it’s definitely old school death metal that tends to lie on the grindy side, boasting an unhealthy obsession with gore, guts, and other things of a pathological nature. For the most part, the band specializes in less “songs” proper and more frenzied blasts of deadly noise, which is apparent in the chaotic riffing, blinding blast beats, and brief run times.
The rare moments that Putrid Offal surpasses the 3 minute mark, they do offer some interesting musical ideas. “Privilege of Pain” is a disorienting display of old school deathgrind bordering on the technical, twisting and contorting in directions unimaginable. “Darkness Awaits” lumbers about with brooding menace, boasting a Necroticism era Carcass intro that absolutely crushes, before going for the jugular with midtempo aggression. There’s even some gory death/doom in the form of “The Black Veil”, which serves as the proper closer excluding the album’s two bonus tracks. Occasional experimentation aside, however, Putrid Offal are at their finest when deathgrinding it up with the frenzy of a demented mortician. Splats like “The Sweet Fragrance”, “Boning Hall”, and “Mass Murder” even boast a punkish bite reminiscent of Abscess.
Although I don’t see myself revisiting Obliterated Life, or Putrid Offal as a whole for that matter, anytime soon, that doesn’t mean this release is for nil. It’s an outing that can be filed in the “ol’ reliable” category, not reinventing the wheel by any means, but keeping it spinning at a murderous pace. In other words, gore-soaked death metal done good, which is a breath of foul air in today’s age of overproduced, major label death metal/hardcore hybrids who continue to water down the underground. Let’s hope those thirty-something year old “kids” make the inevitable leap to Weezer tinged alt rock once and for all, and leave the putridity to the likes of Putrid Offal.
6 out of 10
Label: Time to Kill Records
Genre: Death Metal
For fans of: Carcass, General Surgery, Haemorrhage
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