After a six years wait since the release of “Scooping the Cranial Insides”, Portuguese death/grind masters Grog are back with “Ablutionary Rituals”. A rich and well written album, proving that despite this is only their 4th album in over 25 years of activity, the band is in excellent shape.
Musically speaking, this record is pretty tight and with a cohesive sound. In here we can find some excellent bass lines, brutal and shredded riffs, some stellar drumming work and blasting vocals, making it a flowing mix between old school grindcore and a more death metal sound. Another example of that is the fact that most songs are longer than what is usually standard in a more pure grindcore release, which gives all the tracks a different, and sometimes more brutal and powerful, outtake.
The record starts out with “Revelation – Open Wound”, a dissonant and brutal intro, with a somewhat spooky feeling. Despite being a rather homogenous record, some tracks have small details that make them stand out, like the bass line in “Utherine Casket” or in “A Scalpel Affair”. The songs “Gore Genome”, “Savagery” or “Flesh Beating Continuum” are the ones that present a clearer picture of the quality, and of all the elements, included in Grog’s new work.
To close the album on a high note, the track “Katharsis – The Cortex of Doom and Left Hand Moon” provides us with an epic, and almost cathartic, moment that wraps up this release in a tight way. Note also the special appearance of Rui Sidónio (Bizarra Locomotiva) on the vocals of this closing track.
Overall, it’s a very complete record, with much to add to the band’s career. Grog’s “Ablutionary Rituals” is recommended for fans of death metal and grindcore, who like brutal music that dares to go outside the box.
