Horse Butcher – S/T (Also Under the Name of Bestial Deathgrind)
Oh, God… Now, I’m well aware that Sentient Ruin Laboratories has totally crowned himself king of the darkest of underground vileness, but I don’t think I was entirely prepared for Horse Butcher (featuring members of Hissing) and their debut full-length, also under the name of Horse Butcher. References to Carcass probably seem replete for this one, but that gives too much credit to Carcass. We appreciate what they did, perhaps not so much what they still do, and they weren’t nearly as feral as this.
Horse Butcher dug deep into humanity’s pre-evolutionary roots to raise the bestial quality of deathgrind. This kind of sound comes from a species that died off prior to Homo Sapiens, yet somehow mated with it. A hideous combination of bludgeoned remains, it’s blackened, in the charred body sense, and gory, in the feasting upon the self sense. When you listen to older releases from classic bands that went with this angle, gone is the tongue-in-cheek approach to anatomy and pathology. Instead we are dealt reality and feel all the more mortal because of it. Horse Butcher treats the listener to twisting, acrid riffs, and the vocals, delivered through bubbling remains, create an aural slaughter that actually feels disgusting to hear. It all reminds you of the frailty and weakness of flesh in the face of death.
Written by Stanley, Devourer of Souls
Horse Butcher – S/T
Sentient Ruin Laboratories
Cover Art: Adam Medford (Strange Creature Collages)
4.2 / 5
