EL THULE
Green Magic
(Heavy Birth)

HALF MAKESHIFT
Omen
(Profound Lore)

MOSS
Sub Templum
(Rise Above)

DETRITUS
Fractured
(Ad Noiseam)

FROGSKIN / TAUNT
Split
(Streaks)

DEADBIRD
Twilight Ritual

(At a Loss)

THE ROTTED
Get Dead Or Die Trying 

(Metal Blade)

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Checking out the powerful new album by these Brits proves one thing right; their ballsy move to switch monikers from Gorerotted to The Rotted was nothing but wise. Instead of isolating their most fervent fans and losing all those not into the band’s progressions, these dudes were self-aware enough to realize that their current sound could no longer faithfully represent the name Gorerotted. The gore is gone I guess. And like most people that age, with growing up comes not necessarily a change of outlook but a desire to expand one’s own horizons. Clearly, The Rotted still love their grind, their hardcore, and their metal, but as the vocalist puts it, “I was 18 when I joined this band in 1999. Back then I was into sick and offensive shit for the hell of it, I was a youngster looking to become more involved with the scene, but things have definitely changed now.” And who can blame him? If Get Dead or Die Trying sucked, then yes, I would make an effort to portray them as traitors to their roots, but ever the objective pseudo journalist that I am…it doesn’t. Miles from it.

Get Dead or Die Trying is firstly the best produced (in charge was Russ Russell who has worked with The Wildhearts, The Exploited and Napalm Death amongst others. No wonder why they picked him) album by Gorerotted…or I mean The Rotted. It’s crispy as fuck, but it has punch. There is power and there is no wafer-thin drums or razorblade guitars, instead chunky and jumpy punkish rhythms take up most of the band’s mid-tempos. The voice is guttural, but not as ever. If you are a fan of the genre you can make up whatever the vocalist is saying.

Best of all, the music is very well-crafted and in more than a handful of occasions The Rotted break in grindcore mode, pushing and piling riffs as if it came easy. There are a lot of melodies, and they even mix some clear string along with distortion. “Kissing You With My Fists” seems to taunt us with a one note riff that abruptly segues into a black metal arrangement. There are also some all balls out tunes, “Angel of Meth” is just that; a crazed and out of control two minute song, as it culminates it twists itself in bizarre ways. Very well done.

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