Intestinal - The Rottening

Sweden’s Intestinal formed around 2008, their debut release of a couple of years later, ‘Human Harvest’ was a raw bloody interpretation of the rotten old Swedish death metal sound. This new release ‘The Rottening’ continues in the same vein and lives up to the album title with a barrage of groove converged with some intense speed that eventually transpires during opener ‘Flesh for Living’. When the speed is increased, the sound does get a little bit untidy, but when its mid-to-slow-paced, you are in for a heavy treat. Yes there is the usual expected trademark guitar sound, the overall production is authentic and full.

Abruptly and unforgivingly I would say that the songs are nothing special, but they are however entertaining as they follow a formula, a  particular vision, and it is this vision that commands acknowledgement flowing from the arrangements. There is no point delving into their influences, you all should know who they are by now, what I feel is challenging for bands in this genre is the ability to distinguish themselves from the many other bands that play the same style (hence my earlier comment about following a particular vision). I cannot in all honesty make any disjointed connections, the songs are full bodied and pleasing, the only difference I can hear is the sound of the recording. This is more vintage, some of the recent releases of this ilk have tried to re-define the sound, there is nothing wrong with the original tone to me, Intestinal make it real, honest and brutal. As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, their debut was brash, harsh and in your face, ‘The Rottening’ still has those redeeming qualities and through self-development Intestinal have worked out the bugs and have recorded tracks that are that little bit more “mature”. They have warm textured feel, but make no mistake, they still retain their ferocity. Such ferocity is conceived during ‘Sensation of Death’. This has an abundance of groove, and a heart racing change in tempo to contend with and such the balance of the vocal levels match this increased intensity, a lot of albums forget this when producing the SweDeath thick and beefy rotten racket.

Whilst I love this genre and I think that Intestinal hold their own against many of their peers, I don’t have an instant difference factor with this album, but having said that, I couldn’t really care less, ‘The Rottening’ is what it is by its title…that being rotten/putrid old school death metal. For me as a fan, this is one of the most exciting genres and ‘The Rottening’ is a valued addition to this genres arsenal, if you are a fan of this style, Intestinal are worth a good few moments of your time especially when the d-beat takes control of your hearing, your soul will tear itself to shreds.

  1. Flesh For Living
  2. Vaginal Vomitation
  3. Sensation Of Death
  4. Torture
  5. Gut Fucked
  6. Vessel For The Dead
  7. Undead Unleashed
  8. To Die, To Rott
  9. Reborn In Gore
  10. Slaughter
  11. Eating Your Inner Organs