Holocausto Canibal/Mixomatosis
Morbosa Carnosidade Putrefacta (Split CD)
5.7
A goregrind split is what we have here, and as with many splits, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. Both of the bands are decent, but neither impressed me especially. Most people have a pretty good sense of what average grindcore sounds like, and it’s definitely something that appeals to a specific audience. I’m pretty happy to lap up just about any death metal, for instance, but I’m a lot more selective when it comes to grind. I think that everybody is most enamored with a certain style, and is generally more forgiving towards releases of that genre. Therefore, when I describe these bands as average, the reader must understand that maybe they would be more appealing to someone who is a bigger fan of the genre. Anyhow, without further ado, here is how I feel about this release.
Holocausto Canibal from Portugal are on the first side of this split. They are reasonably adept, but I wasn’t thrilled with the songwriting, which I found a bit boring. Also, the drumming is a bit sloppy, which usually detracts from a grind release. The drummer often breaks into fills when he can’t keep up a straight blast. Furthermore, the production is poor, meaning that arrangements that might have sounded impressive under other circumstances are lost. For instance, some of the guitar riffs are pretty impressive, but the tone is so anemic that it’s hard to enjoy any of these. I think that production can make or break an album, and it pains me to realize that I might enjoy this a lot if it was better recorded. As is, the band has some potential, but I would have trouble recommending them to anyone but the most rabid grind fan.
Mixomatosis are similar to Holocausto Canibal, and perform on the second side of this split (the only way I can tell which band is which is by the language the movie samples are in, so I hope I’m correct). Their production is even worse, and their riffs are less interesting. I found them boring and uninspired. The vocals were pretty good, but there wasn’t much else of interest. Again, with a better production job this might be significantly better.
There’s nothing too great about this split. In fact, the part I liked best was the sample from the movie Dead Alive. This is obviously intended for a small niche audience, and I’m not part of it. You’re welcome to draw your own conclusions, but I wouldn’t recommend this.
