HAEMORRHAGE

It is 1997 and a quintet of mutant rats has just surfaced from the Spanish sewer system spreading a disease called "Grume". The virulent strain remains to this day, incapable of being eradicated by modern medical methods. One thing than be said with impunity about HAEMORRHAGE is that the nasty little gore grinders do a CARCASS tribute about as well as anyone in the business and this second full-length, now reissued by Relapse with bonus tracks, is a quintessential example of it.

Some point to 2006's "Apology for Pathology" — also reissued by Relapse — as a career highlight and while the point may be inarguable, "Grume" showed the world that when CARCASS-esque goregrind is as spirited and smartly written as it is on this album, the impact felt is that akin to an RPG exploding in the middle of slaughterhouse floor; just good sickening fun, sticky entrails and all. "Grume" benefits from a production defined by rawness with clarity, as well as an approach that is filled with rhythmic chunk, blasting grind when necessary, and a surprising amount stuttering swing. Though now staples of the genre, the gurgling growls and maniacal screams are patterned to perfection and demonstrative of some of the best work in the game. While "Apology for Pathology" features a wider, relatively cleaner (and I do mean "relatively") compositional range, "Grume" is no one-trick pony, as least as far as goregrind is concerned. One only needs to take a quick tour of the track list to hear it. "DissectExhumeDevour" sprouts lead guitar lines that are just melodic enough to raise the level of the song, "Torrent Like Eventeration" is thrashy within its grinding parameters, and "Intravenous Molestation of Obstrecutionist Arteries (O-pus 2)" crams more blast 'n puke into 46 seconds than you can shake a stick at. Amidst all the blood gurgling and gut bubbling is one hell a lot of a lot of groove (check out "Formaldehyde"). The band's one-minute-and-47-second version of "Proud Mary" is just plain brilliant and surely TINA TURNER's worst nightmare.

As a stand-alone revisiting of goregrind's blood spattered past, "Grume" is an album that should not be overlooked. As a repackaged reissue with demo and live tracks that are of more than sufficient quality (and equally as entertaining),"Grume" is a nearly mandatory purchase for fans of the style, the originality snobs of the world notwithstanding. Time for another shower.