When reading the title of this release, I knew it had to be good. No, I'm not gay for Kurt Russell, but the title is way funnier than the movie "Big Trouble in Little China". Sure, the film has characters such as Wang and Egg going way gay in it, but Foetal Juice still are funnier. In a brutal fucking way! Banging out (to) some gore death metal, this quartet of Mancunians (hailing from the city's Gay Village area?) formed back in 2005. After four demo, EP and split (did you really expect I'd add the word "beaver" right after this?!) releases, it was time for another EP. 'Big Trouble in Little Vagina'... Fuck me, that's just way too funny a title, innit?!??!

Anyway, Foetal Juice's death metal is somewhat similar to their countrymen Gorerotted's and Desecration's styles, while adding influences from Belgium's Aborted's modern stylings as well as from US Impaled (who, on the other hand, have rather huge boner for Carcass). Foetal Juice are usually going fast, but manage to sound heavy, too. Occasionally dropping to slower speed-o-meter readings, the songs do not stagnate, but infrequently. It's about balancing between brutality and grooviness. While the title track is assaulting modern death metal, the following 'Brewkakke' presents the band's love for punky death metal. 'Semen Evil, Smear no Evil' offers some devilish riffing during its short duration, as well as the next one, 'Serpents of the Northern Lights', which in turn suffers from its longer duration. 'Service Station Masturbation' is another funnier piece, as the title implies. Every song is rather catchy in its own right.

This quartet's got drive to them. Their performances are fucking energetic. Insane vocals consist of throat ripping scream or gutsy growling, and are heard both simultaneously and singly. The guitar tone is chainsaw-ish, ripping and unclean. Perfect for this kind of stuff, really. The bass is rumbling and backs the guitar nicely. The drums sound a bit machine-y, especially the kick drums. But for a low budget production, it's good.

'Big Trouble in Little Vagina' is a nice EP for gore death metal fans, who opt for more modern-sounding realisation. It's rabid at its best, but are the band ready for a full length album? I mean some songwriting weaknesses are still evident here and there. Still, give it a listen.

Rating: 7- (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
11/09/2013 23:37