Severe Tort... I mean Bloodboil come from Netherlands. They sound a fuck lot like Severe Torture. And like Cannibal Corpse, of course. Sick and fast death metal; that is what 'Festering Fornication' is all about.

Twisting tremolo and hacking riffage, a million and one tempo changes and unvarying low guttural subwoofer vocals are on menu here. Mostly, songs flow quite well, despite some abrupt drum pattern shifts. Still, Bloodboil were a pretty well-oiled machine, and sounded more seasoned death metallers than many right on their debut full-length album. One obvious "like it or hate it" element is nursery rhyme melody utilization (Macabre, anyone?), like heard on 'Purulent Mucus Remains', for example. It adds to sick-o-meter or not, it depends on listener's mind. They certainly throw loads of clear cut sick-sounding stuff around the album. The band were keen of being playing fast, and without doubt, blasting. Thankfully they knew how to push break pedal every now and then, delivering some killer headbanging moments, too. Everything isn't as infectious as measles, but there are some very outstanding moments to cling to on many a song, 'Self Devourment' being one great example of this. Is it varying, the album, then? Definitely not! It's a full-on morbid gangbang of goredeath. And no, the lyrics are not about anything else than someone or something eating human flesh, and killing, with as sick details as possibly...

Soundwise this is good. It is punchy for sure. The drums sound organic enough, and not like a machine. The guitars are dirty and harrowing. The bass is heard, too, due to the guitar tuning; enough tuning differences. The cover artwork, with two cover alternatives, is juvenile, but yeah, very much suitable. Both male and female genitalia are well on display. I mean, I do not think the artwork would stop buyer from getting this.

'Festering Fornication' is a nice piece of Severe Torture / Cannibal Corpse molestation. I do not focus on this kind of death metal, but the album easily stays in my collection. It's short, but there's loads to hurt yourself to. Inspect it, if aforementioned bands are on your hit-list.

Rating: 7 (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
08/18/2016 20:24