Putrefukation - Vortex of Zombified Mortuary Procedures vs. Atrocious Abnormality - Echoes of the Rotting

Here we have a battle between two relatively unknown American Brutal Death bands from California and North Carolina respectively.

Putrefukation starts off with fairly standard deathgrind. I decided to buy this because I really liked the band name and Andy had told me good things about them. Most of the songs are under 3 minutes and you get blasts and gurgles to your heart's content. Every once in a while a nice slam sneaks in there to switch things up. I especially like the vocals witch are often dual tracked. I have always liked it when you can hear the vocalist breathe when doing death vocals (seems more real and fierce to me) and that is what you get here. Reminds me of if Ruben from Devourment did the "ree"ing style of vocals. What makes Putrefukation at all notable however is that they add some unexpected things to the deathgrind formula like a few rather impressive solos as well as some old school sound riffs. This makes the album a little more memorable than your average blast-and-gurgle. This does come at a price though as the album sounds a little disjointed and unfocused at times. All in all a solid, albeit uneven, album.

Atrocious Abnormality is a fairly new band that I mentioned late last year as an underground album that deserved a little more attention. Well I finally got it myself and it's definitely a worthwhile album. Containing members of Lust of Decay, including Steve Green who also runs Comatose Music, this band can certainly play their instruments well and let it show with tight riffs and well-written songs. Fans of Lust of Decay will recognize Steve's riffing style but with Atrocious Abnormality he also taken over vocal duties. AA is also more brutal in my opinion. Basically what you get here is technical, well-played riffs interspersed with some solos and some fun groovy sections. Nothing really stood out on this album as fantastic, but there was nothing bad either. They also included a cover of The Misfits' "Mommy Can I Go Out and Kill Tonight?", which actually sounds pretty good. Again, although nothing outstanding, Echoes of the Rotting is sure to please all the brutal death fans out there.

Verdict: This was a close one, but I think Atrocious Abnormality wins. If Putrefukation can focus their sound they might be able to take it to the next level, but until I'll stick with the proven veterans.