Embalming Theatre / Hacksaw Surgery - D-Composition

In the tradition of the split-CD in the metal genre, (there aren’t in fact that many genres that release split CDs, Maybe just metal, punk/hardcore, and some niches of the electronic music scene. I am sure here are others but generally I think my assertion here is correct), this split, released by Grindhead Records featuring the Swiss Embalming Theatre and the Aussie hacksaw Surgery is basically a good one for its contrast. D-COMPOSITION showcases ten tracks of brutal brutality by ET and six by HS. Embalming Theatre plays a chainsaw style metal in which what is actually heard is not the roar of the machine or the whirring of the blades, but the actual sounds of the individual blades slowly cutting into their intended victim. The result is something quite heavy but not as smooth as Invalid Libido (Poland) or Plasma (Germany). My favorite song in their segment is the last one, “Combine With A Turbine,” It opens with the sound of a jet engine, that’s right, a turbine, but as the song carries forth, something like the "schwyzeroergeli" (an old tradition Swiss folk instrument, similar to an accordeon) adds this most entertaining counterpoint to this most dark of a band. Embalming Theatre runs this motif twice in the track, the second time is much slower, the goregrind vox accompanies it as the band plays a rhythmic line underneath keeping time. Very cool.

In contrast, Hacksaw Surgery’s contribution to D-COMPOSITION is not quite as heavy, partly because the mix polishes the overall sound into a flatter aesthetic. But the vocals are pure goregrind and the music is fast and constant. I can almost see the singer doing his vocals but I don’t think this is particularly great because I feel something of the amateur in this project. Hacksaw Surgery’s songs lack something of teeth in a way that sounds good but not great and heavy but not scary. Don’t get me wrong these guys are playing their hearts out, but as Franz Kafka comments on art, the block of ice inside me does feel threatened. This is a criticism of the recording. But saying that, I also believe that these guys would play one hell of a live event. With what I hear on D-COMPOSITION, Hacksaw Surgery needs to keep building their sound.

Embalming Theatre
1. Intro
2. Do You Hear Me?
3. Buried Alive I: Undead In The Morgue
4. Travelling Dismembered
5. The Ultimate Pregnancy-Machine
6. With The Flesh Of The Deceased
7. Lucid Fairyale (cover Napalm Death)
8. He Raped His Dying Daughter
9. Buried Alive VII: Watch Them Dig Your Town Grave
10. Combine With A Turbine

Hacksaw Surgery
11. Instrumenstrual
12. Severed And Eaten
13. Born On A Vomit Soaked Operating Table
14. Mangled By A Lawn Mower
15. The Aussie Grind Anthem
16. Hacksaw Surgery
Grindhead Records
Reviewer: Jesse
Feb 26, 2009

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