Whorrid are an old school death metal band from Chicago, U.S. of fucking A. No triggered drums, no special effects, no fancy melodies, no bullshit, just pure pure raw true metal, as it was in its archaic beginning. This trio started under the monicker Redrum back in 2001, but were intelligent enough to change their name to Whorrid (whore + horrid???) in 2003.

I think Whorrid pay due respect to their fellow citizens, grand old uhhh... master Paul Speckmann's Master. Dirty punk-biased death metal, with both thrash and black metal roots sprouting in it. 'Desensitized' launches straight into hellish action, without any flashing off, just fucking hitting it! It's clear from the beginning, that Whorrid trust in good ol' formula of riffs plus beats. There's plentiful of both on the album, believe me, but nothing is unheard of. 'Embrace the Remains' starts fast, but plunges into doomy pace with its horror part. Whorrid know how to be menacing, they are able to build momentums, they catch your ear by other means than fancy melodies and also can build good songs, even though from these familiar pieces they're loaning from. Some for a bit too long time, as on at first fantastic 'Choose Your God', but the song lasts too long, simply. At times, the album gets into somewhat repeating states, to tell the truth, the song 'Retaliation' being one of them. Try the "shuffle" option on your player to handle that problem for some point. But, it still is a problem. More varying song-smith would have helped. Maybe next time...

Guys can definitely handle their instruments, and mostly they do it a simple way. Guitar sound is warm yet ripping, bass pulverizing, but not loud enough, and drums... Well, they kick arse, but are at times a bit sloppily bashed. But it kind of fits with the primal feel of this all. Generally, very, very organic. Vocals are dry yet powerful throaty growl and shrieks, that both raise individuality of the band. You can hear the voices coming from a human being, but from a very annoyed and afflicted one. Most of the lyrics are good, but duo 'Cunt Killer' and 'Whore Hostage' are not! Okay, they might be understood from other points of view, too, I guess... Anyway, the song titles reveal a lot of the lyrical contents of the album.

As a plus for some pervies, the cover includes a naked gray man with a gray penis, but I suggest the fans of old school North American death metal to check out 'Infecting the Soul' for its music. It's a beauty in nowadays' plastic metal market. A beauty in a right way, you know..? Hearing something like this, it makes me think of soooooo many once great, fallen into greed for cash bands... Gladly some bands still do it this way. Best served with skin-tight leather undies and a truck-load of (chemical free) beer. Mind yer neck!

Rating: 6+ (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
08/22/2008 14:20