Although the "video nasties" controversy in the mid-80s is probably the best known example of British censorship, heavy metal is often under the gun in England. Dismember's Indecent and Obscene was restricted by custom agents. Government officials have raided the offices of Earache Records and Peaceville Records and confiscated material. UK death metal act Desecration has also been under investigation. All of this leads me to wonder how Gorerotted managed to release Only Tools and Corpses, because this is some of the nastiest death metal to come out of England in quite some time.
Gorerotted's first album Mutilated in Minutes contained such delightful tunes as "Bed 'em, Behead 'em" and "Severed, Sawn, and Sold as Porn". The band was basically a Cannibal Corpse clone, but they were one of the better ones. Not much has changed this time around, except the band has helpfully included a lyric sheet. And what lyrics they are. Here's a sample from the track "Zombie Graveyard Rape Bonanza" - "Pustulous blisters bursting/Hair comes out in my hands/the blackened skin peels easy/fluid oozes from my glans". If that doesn't get you on the dance floor, nothing will. Despite the gruesome subject matter, some of the songs are actually kind of funny, such as "Village People of the Damned" and "Masticated by the Spasticated". Obviously, people who are offended by song titles like "Her Gash I Did Slash" should stay far away from this, but death metal fans in search of a good album will eat this up.
Mutilated in Minutes won a lot of praise, and was even included in Terrorizer magazine’s "Top 20 gore albums of all time" list. However, Mutilated in Minutes looks like amateur hour compared to Only Tools and Corpses. Along with Aborted and Gorgasm, Gorerotted in shaping up to be one of the most exciting death metal bands of recent years. They are definitely worth keeping an eye on.
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