Spawn of Satan/Bloodsick
Split CD
6.1
My month as a human being hasn't gotten much better. My computer keeps fucking up, my dad's kidneys and pancreas keep fucking up and my personal finances keep fucking up. I gotta say, I am about sick to fucking death of complicated bullshit right now. Ever get that way? Just want to sit in a nice comfy chair, read a good book and listen to some old fashioned down home thrash metal, man. What would make it even nicer would be if that thrash metal was produced with death metal meat.
Well hold the fucking fort, there Dan'l Boone: we got us a split CD with TWO simplistic thrash metal outfits that are played so that death metal chunkers can 'perciate 'um. Ding dang doo. Just what the doctor ordered.
Spawn of Satan starts things off, and the name really tells you just about everything you need to know. What kind of band calls itself Spawn of Satan? An old death metal band. And that is just what these guys are. OLD death metal. Their style is nearly pure 1989 Earache, with the only update being the relatively bright and carnaceous production. The tempos are polka-fast, just the way grandma used to play them, but rarely delve into modern blast or syncopation. It's melodic because it is, not because it tries to be. It's a time warp that really sounds great. But make no mistake; it's not at all innovative or radical.
Bloodsick takes the wayback machine even waybacker, with a seriously scooped thrash record. Thrashed, black vocals, way, way down in the mix, with a ton of biomatter heaped on top of it. For some reason I just think of the out of the way thrash bands of old when I hear this band, the ones who ended up on compilations but whos records I could never track down. Almost protoblack but with really great sounding guitars.
Overall, the production is gritty for both bands, but the Spawn of Satan is meatier, with a nice thumping kit sound. The guitars of both bands are wild, slaughterhouse meaty and dripping with texture. As far as musicianship, both bands are adequate. But this stuff is concerned with other things than showing off.
Bottom line: This is a good split for people who want to hear some unchallenging, familiar, yet still heavy and grooving thrashy deathy blacky metal. Two bands of somewhat different but complimentary styles it's easy enough to get just the amount of either you need. This is not shifting any paradigms. It's just decent heavy metal. As such I will listen to it again.
