Review Summary: It’s not that bad guys, stop it.
Torso*** is an interesting band with an interesting reputation. In the brutal death metal community they’re mostly seen as a good band in the genre. Outside of the brutal death metal community (which is most who have clamored about this), this is seen as one of the worst albums ever made.
They complain about how it's “more samples than music” and how it’s just noise. I have but one question. Did they listen to this album?
Torso*** originally broke up around 1999 after the release of their first demo, High-Level Cannibalistic Violence. Then they reformed to do a split with a goregrind band called Lymphatic Phlegm in 2001 and broke up yet again. Around 2002 Goregaistic Records gave them a record deal to record Erotic Diarrhea Fantasy.
In 2007, they had another album recorded, When Semen Blends With Rot, but the master tapes were destroyed in a fire during mastering. In 2009 they played their last show and split up for the third time. In 2011 Scent of A Dead Women was said to be ready to release, but never did.
Finally, they regrouped in Fall 2022 and are still going.
Now time for the music itself. The first 2 and a half minutes is nothing but a sample of a bad porno. I never skip anything when I listen to albums, but this is the one exemption. It’s easily the worst sample on the entire album. Other than that, the samples are short enough to be serviceable (most of the time). The ones that aren't garbage are enjoyable horror movie samples that make up for the length.
The cheesy, poorly edited horror porno trailer sample in Pussy Mutilation is dumb enough to be enjoyable. Even if it lasts way too long. It really should have ended at 1:30 but I swear it takes up an entire two minutes for a three and a half minute song.
Also, whoever decided to do the sampling for Cannibal should not be able to touch samples anymore. I’m sorry as much as I'm willing to look past the issues with this album, making this 6 minute track 4 minutes of samples is too much.
The band specializes in a blend of brutal death metal, goregrind, and slam death metal. Torso*** have certainly cleaned up their chops since their first demo and it shows. Sure, they may have a drum machine, but it’s used a lot better than you would think. It's certainly better than their subpar drummer from the demo. The bass is able to shine here and there with a semi-clean tone, surprisingly.
The slams are really solid, especially on Raped by Elephants. Some of the gutturals on the first track, Mutilated For Sexual Purposes, are kind of crazy. Sadly it's the only time he changes up his brutal death vocals most of the time.
The grind elements are somewhat lost in the muddy production. I also kind of wish the guitar was more punchier and not as muffled. But mixing issues are pretty common within goregrind in general. I’ve heard a lot worse mixing jobs when it comes to this sort of music, and this is pretty average.
If you understand and enjoy brutal death metal, slam, and especially goregrind, give this a listen. When you finally get to the music you can judge if it’s worth it.
If you know you don’t like this genre combo, why are you here?
Recommended Tracks: Raped by Elephants, Fist***ing Her Decomposing Cadaver, Four Legged Whore, Snuffed Freak.