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Wormrot: Abuse

09/11/09 || Habakuk

Ever heard a grind band from Singapore? I hadn’t, but I’ve actually been there now. Isn’t that exciting? My stay was about one hour long and the only impression I got was that it was about 30° Celsius (that’s about 1000000³ degrees Fahrenheit) in the middle of the night. Better stay in the airport building folks, as heat is considered a stressor and hence a potential factor in the development of violence. Hmm, I wonder how big the Grind scene in Singapore is!

If it’s like Wormrot, it can’t be big enough, for all I care. These three guys have had a close listen to some Extreme Noise Terror and are unleashing a fine barrage of grind the brutal, crusty way. I’ve seen them mentioned alongside Insect Warfare, but comparing 2008’s “World extermination” to “Abuse” seems like a far stretch to me. While there are some similarities, Wormrot sounds too much rooted in punk for me to support that comparison. If we only talk quality though, I think I might almost agree.

First of all, they’ve got a singer that makes both singers in ENT proud (the dude with the high screams as well as the one with the growls, moron). One minor complaint I’ll have to state though is that there are a few songs where Arif (the singer)- at least I guess it’s him – tries to give us his best impression of a hardcore shouter being choked or something. I hope that’s meant as a joke, because it sure sounds like one. Then again, I hope it’s not a joke, ‘cause like I stated before somewhere sometime, jokes in music… not for me. Good thing there is only one short and un-funny sample at the very beginning of the disc. Bottom line for that one: These vocals suck. That applies only to two or three songs, though, and with an average song length of under one minute, that’s almost acceptable, considering the rest of the vocal delivery is top notch. Fitri on drums and Rasyid on guitars are doing a pretty ace job, too, only Sanjiv left before the album was recorded and sell-out was imminent*. The guys are not rocket scientists on their respective instruments, but this is grindcore after all, the guitars rip, and everything’s played tight, which is fair enough. All the great metal brains have gone into the lyrics anyway:

Spikes or die, crucified, pussified
Evil for fuck!?

Engrish for fuck!? They also put a Yeah Yeah Yeahs cover, namely “Rich” on the album, and that aptly titled song is a fine piece of chopped-up pop culture grinded it into one big pulp. Nice one. Taking into consideration that there is no bass player (at least not credited, and I can’t hear one either), they’ve gotten themselves a pretty heavy production job, too. They say thanks to Martin from Extreme Noise Terror Productions, and they should, as there’s enough organic grit to add to the listening experience instead of trying to get everything sterilized for the sake of a “heavy sound”. That means I’ll hand out another big bonus to these guys with a hint to use it wisely.

Alright, alright, let’s not get too emotional with this. “Abuse” is really good grind. If you’re into really good grind, I’ll say that this is the 2009 release you shouldn’t miss out on, especially not the track “Murder”, which by the way is not an Extreme Noise Terror cover.

Spikes or die!

8,5

*If you haven’t been on the forums for years, start now and you’ll get the next reference. Promise.

Information
Released: 2009
Label: Scrotum Jus Records
Website: Wormrot MySpace
Band
Arif: vocals
Rasyid: guitars
Fitri: drums

Tracklist
01. Lost swines
02. Exterminate
03. Double-feeding
04. Born stupid
05. Sledgehammer
06. So fierce for fuck!?
07. Dis-appointing
08. Good times
09. Freedom to act
10. Indonesia
11. Shitlack
12. Condemnation
13. One round away
14. Fuck… I’m drunk
15. Operation Grindcore
16. Rich (Yeah Yeah Yeahs cover)
17. Overgrown asshole
18. Blasphemy my ass
19. Fix your broken mind
20. Newkiller nuclear
21. Uncovered and proud as fuck
22. Murder
23. Scum infestation and last song

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