GORGONCHRIST – AND JUSTICE FOR BALLS

(Our Denver-based writer Gonzo prepared the following review. And with that, we’ll get out of the way and let him explain what’s going on here.)

Before I get too far into this, a few answers to questions you likely already have:

No, the UK’s Gorgonchrist is not a goregrind or pornogrind band.

No, this album isn’t a Metallica cover album.

Yes, those are disembodied human testicles on the cover art.

I think that should cover it for now. But brace yourselves, because this review is probably gonna get fucking weird.

While I’d normally just include this album in a monthly roundup of new music I happen across, the new album from unhinged exports Gorgonchrist just kind of… struck me. What the hell is this album art, I thought as I opened the band’s Bandcamp page for the first time.

My first impression? This was obviously a harkening back to the days of Autopsy’s Shitfun and basically anything Anal Cunt ever released. Expecting to have my ears bleeding after half a song, I hit “play” with about as much morbid fascination as I’ve had when giving an album an inaugural spin.

Much to my surprise, the opening bars of leadoff track “Toaster Inferno” came galloping out of the gate like a D-beat barnstormer. It’s not unfair to compare them to Disfear. Huh, I thought. This is unexpected.

Another surprise? The songs aren’t the expected under-a-minute length of grind’s signature brevity. For all the over-the-top imagery and song titles (we’ll get to those), these cuts are solidly crafted and feature much more developed musicianship than you’d think.

There are still moments of spastic grind (“The Dragon’s Treasure”) minus the overt cheese you’d get from power metal, but then “Questions from a Victorian Mortuary, Pt. 4” kicks in with what I can only describe as a Heilung-like chant followed by more spastic grind outbursts. These dudes are nothing if not original in their own depraved little way.

My favorite cut on And Justice for Balls, though, is “I Cum Brulé.” The chorus is catchy enough to find yourself screaming “I CUM BRULE” completely unironically. I’d love to experience this feeling during a Gorgonchrist gig sometime.

“Anal Civilisations,” “Satanic Cunt Slicer,” and “Monkey Pump” round off this 45 minutes of an unhinged thrashy love letter to everything your mom thought Marilyn Manson was talking about in 1994. The thing is, though, Gorgonchrist take what should be a roll-your-eyes formula and turn it into something oddly palatable, catchy, and dare I say….fun? (Minus the shit.)

https://gorgonchrist.bandcamp.com/album/and-justice-for-balls

https://www.facebook.com/gorgonchrist/