Morbid Atrophy - No Grain, No Glory

Self Released

 

1.Monster Of Hops 2.A Feast Of Yeast 3.Behind The Cask 4.Dont Forget The Hops

5.Food For Wort 6.Fizz To Pizz 7.Fuggle Me Muggle 8.Go Another Keg

9.IPA (I Praise Ale) 10.Mugwort 11.Real F*Ale 12.No Grain, No Glory

13.Fuggle Me Muggle (Wife Beater Mix)

14. Mugwort (Blench Mix) 15.Dont Forget The Hops (Filth Mix)

 

Second album from ‘Real Ale Grinders’ Morbid Atrophy blasts open furiously with ‘Monster of Hops’ which is an almost black metal infused punk and grind whirlwind of a track. Short, sharp and blast beat laden it’s a catchy opener and sets the tone for the rest of the album nicely. ‘A Feast of Yeast’ follows in similar fashion, the dirty grinding guitars open the track up before the pace is dropped to a filthy crawl before opening back up in a hail blast beats and dirty riffing. ‘Behind The Cask’ is a morbid song, the ultra -guttural vocals accompanying the doomier, slower pace being reminiscent of Autopsy. Again, short and to the point as is ‘Don’t Forget The Hops’ which varies the pace nicely, moving from blasting fastness to a morbid crawl in an instant. Similarly ‘Food For Wort’ takes a similar approach, with the dual vocals being used to great effect here, mixing the screamed and growled vocal style well.

‘Fizz To Pizz’ has a punkier feel to its structure, simple in composition, again a very short track but still remaining grind at heart. ‘Fuggle Me Muggle’ is one of the shorter tracks, clocking in at only 0:59 its over in a flash, blast beats and furious guitars opening the track before the pace is dropped to another doom laden crawl before the pace is re-introduced to end the track. The guitar riffs again taking on a punky black metal sound. The same can be said for ‘Go Another Keg’ which follows on with more punk infused, black metal inspired grind madness and is another of the shorter tracks on the album. ‘IPA (I Praise Ale)’follows on in much the same fashion, short, fast and dirty as does ‘Mugwort’. Sasha’s vocals really standing out here, especially the deeper guttural vocal style which is really brutal when mixed with dirty guitar sound.

‘Real F*Ale’ takes on a slightly different approach, sounding more like conventional death metal but given that it is the shortest track on offer, at only 0:52 it could still be branded as grind. Title track ‘No Grain No Glory’ sounds very much like ‘Ugra Karma’-era Impaled Nazarene blasting furiously, again the black metal influence in the guitars being used to great effect. The final three tracks and industrial / techno re-mixes of three of the songs from the album – wife beater mix, blench mix and Filth mix. These three re-mixes are a recurring theme from the band’s debut album which is as far from the actual songs as it possible to be whilst still remaining extreme. Quite unnecessary but some might enjoy them. Overall, this is another fine instalment of Sasha’s ‘Real Ale Grind’ and the fact that this album has been played by just one man is testament to his ability and dedication to his cause. It’s nasty, it’s dirty and it’s full on in your face grindcore that encompasses several influences (such as black metal, punk and crust) to create an extremely short, but enjoyable album which is a blast to listen to and would probably be excellent in the live arena. Grab a copy, grab a beer…..and grind, you won’t be disappointed.

 

8 out of 10