Review by Carl on January 10, 2024.

The time has come to shine a light over one of the earliest releases by a band that does not need any introduction to those who are familiar with the noble and fine art of old school grindcore. Brazilian noise commando Rot has been around for years, and in that time passed, they have built themselves a huge reputation as a live band, and I can confirm that it's no lie. But as usually goes with bands who are fierce live, this feeling does not translate easily to studio recordings. Is that the case here? Let's check that out, I say.

When it comes to their chosen style, we can state with 100% accuracy that Rot play grindcore, the way it was done in the late 80's. They keep the middle between early Agathocles and "Scum" era Napalm Death, but traces of Fear of God (SUI) and Unseen Terror are present as well. The mandatory fast sections are propelled forward by fierce blast beats and simplified riffing rage, but in some of the tracks the band does allow tension to build up by the use of slower, more rhythmic parts. Used in cuts like opener "Rubbish Country", where the listener is eased into the record, only to get a blast of grindcore fury forced into their face soon after, and "Almight God", where a midtempo section is book-ended by burst of savage grinding ferocity. Needless to say that, in true grindcore fashion, the songs are short, with both "No More" and "Dear Sorry" being simple blibs of distorted noise in the best "You Suffer" tradition. It's a pretty abrasive and sometimes hectic mix of insane velocity and stomping midtempo, held together by the gruff and unrefined growling vocals of Marcelo, even reminding me of Max Cavalera on Sepultura's "Morbid Visions" at times. It's fierce stuff, alright.

But now we have to answer the question if their live reputation has been translated onto this recording. Well ... no. Keeping in mind that this is a 1991 underground grindcore EP from Brazil, it's very safe to assume that this is going to sound kinda coarse, which it does, but it's not as bad as you'd be tempted to think, perhaps. All the instrumentation sounds totally natural, and surprisingly balanced out as well, with drums, bass and guitars all coming through on an equal sound level. Which cannot be said about the vocals, because when Marcelo opens his mouth, the music is crudely shoved into the background. I will admit that this utterly unrefined production sounds brutal, raw and very underground, which I'm personally all for, but it unfortunately also sucks a good deal of the energy out of the tracks, which I'm not for, at all. The music still kicks major ass for sure, it's just that their live energy is missing because of the iffy production.

So there, solid stuff from a solid band, delivered with a 'lo-fi or die' esthetic, which makes it sound a good deal less solid than it is. For the true old school underground grindcore maniac this should do well enough, because crappy soundmixes are part and parcel in that scene, but for those into the more nowadays acts in the genre, this might be too crude, as well as being too simplistic as well. Personally, I can dig this stuff. It's a bit of a bummer that the energy is somewhat lacking in places, but I do like my grindcore simple and raw, so this suits me just fine.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10