For God Your Soul... for Me Your Flesh

Boy, Pungent Stench sure love to take everything to the extreme. With their debut album they demonstrated just how far the idea of a "flawed masterpiece" can be taken, being such a fucking awesome album with so many tiny little flaws that manage to be so fucking annoying...

Where to start? Well, an obvious place to begin would be that you get completely different versions of the last four tracks depending on when and where you bought the album. Got the CD with the fat people in gas masks? Tough luck, that means you only have little more than half the original album. And the funny part is that that's the far most wide-spread version of the record. I don't know whether this was the band's idea or Nuclear Blasts, either way I just can't fathom what the hell went through their minds. Hard enough to wrap your mind around digitally remixed and remastered reissues, even hard ever to come to terms with bands re-recording their classic albums. But re-recording only HALF the album and leaving the rest as it is? What the hell? Not even including the original versions of bonus tracks? Oh yeah, that's another one. The original CD release has ten bonus tracks, two from some compilation, the split with Disharmonic Orchestra and the "Extreme Deformity" EP. The reissue has none. Isn't it usually done the other way 'round, the reissue having the bonus tracks. Why would anyone want to buy the reissue if it not only doesn't include half the original album but doesn't even have any of the bonus tracks either??? You know why anyone would, BECAUSE IT'S THE ONLY VERSION WIDELY AVAILABLE!!! Fuck Nuclear Blast, seriously...

Now technically such details shouldn't reflect on the music, but you gotta think, what am I supposed to review here? I mean, if they killed half the original album, maybe they were unhappy with the original mix and consider the production of the re-recordings superior? I must say I do. The 1993 versions have a way more frenetic drum sound and a way more forceful guitar sound, and the vocals are much stronger and less distorted. So yeah, I do think that version has a far better sound. That's only four songs that were re-recorded though, so what's the point? Didn't they have enough money to rent the studio for a full re-recording? Or did they think no one would notice that the two halves of the album sound completely different from each other? Kind of like the first Napalm Death album, eh? At least it somewhat makes sense there. Sure, I could review the original version of the album, but that's not the version I've known for many years and heard many hundreds or thousands of times over that period of time. Listening to the original just makes me think that the original versions of the last four songs suck. Great job there.

Those four songs aren't the only sucky ones in comparison to other versions, either. If you have the original CD release you get to hear the versions of "Extreme Deformity" and "Pungent Stench" from the "Extreme Deformity" EP, which are again superior to the album versions. And if you happen to have the "Praise the Names of the Musical Assassins" compilation you get to hear the even more superior demo versions of those two songs as well. That makes six out of ten songs that are delivered in an inferior version on the original version of this album. The other four have never been recorded in any other versions, so they are good for what they are. Well, three of them are good for what they are, the fourth - the title track - is terrible for being billions of years long. So in total we have six inferior versions of great songs, the extremely lame title track, and only three tracks for which this album is worth buying in its original shape and form. The irony is that even this is enough for me to recommend getting this, because even the inferior versions kick ass, and the three unique tracks - Hypnos and Bonesawer in particular - kill some more.

It's what Pungent Stench do, furious death metal, alternating between blistering speeds and crushing grooves, with lyrical content far beyond the macabre, and they have their formula down to perfection, making this the masterpiece it is. Unfortunately, for all the aforementioned weaknesses and annoyances it is probably the most flawed masterpiece I have ever come across. I suppose it's best seen as a compilation for people who are new to Pungent Stench rather than a whole album experience, because no matter what version you'll get there'll always be something wrong about it.

1990 was a year where death metal really started to blossom around the world. Bands like Entombed and Carnage released their debut full-lengths (which would later go on to be some of the most respected albums of the entire genre) and soon to be giants of the genre Deicide and Cannibal Corpse would also release their first albums. But what about little ol' Pungent Stench from Austria? Their debut "For God Your Soul... For Me Your Flesh" is a really fun mix of death metal and early grindcore, basically sounding like a cross between Obituary and Terrorizer.

The vocals are almost identical to John Tardy's, but that's not the only reason this band could be compared to Obituary. Some of the more thrash-oriented riffs, as well as the doomy chords reek of "Slowly We Rot" influence, the title track in particular. The opening chords are heavy and have that doomy feel, the midpaced riffs masked by the incoherent growls of the vocalist and the whammy fest all sound like they could find a home on an Obituary record. The Terrorizer influence comes from the very catchy midpaced riffs that are made to wreck your neck. In place of a typical death metal tremolo section, amazing midpaced riffs are to be found instead like on the track "Just Let Me Rot" as well as the awesome riffs in the song "Pungent Stench." Seriously, if you can't hear the resemblance between some of those riffs and the midpaced monsters from "World Downfall," then you need to seek psychiatric help.

One thing about Pungent Stench that is really intriguing is the lack of any kind of melody or technical proficiency. This album is just raw and aggressive, but at the same time highly memorable. The simplicity of songs like "A Small Lunch" and "Blood, Pus and Gastric Juice" are perfect reminders as to why primitive, early death metal is indeed the best way to make this kind of music. Both songs feature a great mix of the slower and near sludge sounding chords and riffs with some brilliant heavy riffs, while also giving the bassist a chance to show off his skills and add some serious low end heaviness.

While "For God Your Soul... For Me Your Flesh" may not be the greatest death metal album ever, or even the year that it was released, it is still a quality listen that any fan of filthy music could enjoy.

Highlights
"Just Let Me Rot"
"Pungent Stench"
"A Small Lunch"

Originally written for Nightmare Reality Webzine.
nightmarerealitywebzine.blogspot.com

Pungent Stench have always been just below the “gods” of grind and death metal, which is a shame really: these guys should have been up there with Hypocrisy, Dismember and the rest of the more well-known bands of that era.

Pungent Stench, four their first two albums and single EP, played a style of death metal that feels like it could’ve come from a landfill next to a swanky sadomasochism club.

The sound is mostly what you would expect: raw, filthy, played with conviction and definitely without regard to what anyone would think.

Martin Schirenc’s vocals differ on some level from those usual suspects: the generic “swallow the microphone” method. It seems that it’s coming from his gut, but with a pronunciation that can be understood. He was definitely one of the better vocalists on Nuclear Blast Records – as a matter of fact, my favorite save for Hypocrisy when Peter took over on vocals.

The guitars are well played, with a decent amount of leads here and there, and these leads actually fit exactly into place – like a person who solves logic problems in order to find the perfect flow. Martin excels on this album.

The drums and bass play nicely off of each other, keeping it interesting with some oddly placed (yet once again effective) time changes and some stop-start, stop-start playing at times. The bass isn’t completely audible, but on a good stereo, you can hear it clearly. If you’re not at the advantage of having good AV equipment, you really have to listen for the bass, but it doesn’t ruin the record by any means.

As I stated, the band is old-school death metal, with shades of experimentation thrown in to keep the mix interesting. Nothing “tech death” or “melodic death” here: just the brutality of venting emotions in a heavy way.

Lyrically, I can see some people getting turned off by this, as some of it is over the top. But, for the most part, the songs are tame compared to later output.
Also, the lyrics sometimes focus on the inhumanity of a “civilized” culture. Extreme Deformity is about people shunning people with psychical defects, then treating them horribly and finally killing them. By the time the final lyrics kick in: “The real monsters are you!!!” you can tell which side of the fence they’re on (for the record: pro-humanitarian and disgusted with their general treatment.

Typical death topics are also done with some creativity: Necrophilia (For God Your Soul… For Me Your Flesh), interesting ways to die (Embalmed in Sulfuric Acid; Hyposis; Bonesawer) and some black humor (Blood, Pus and Gastric Juice is an ode to drinking disgusting bodily fluids; A Small Lunch discusses cannibalism on a grandmother, and so on).

If you like your death metal raw, dirty, yet somehow catchy, this is a good starting point on your introduction to Pungent Stench. Later, they would experiment with more demented lyrics, but as the first true album, this one is simply solid – definitely not horrible, but not just yet up to par with where they would go.

I’d highly recommend this to anyone needing a fix of old-school death metal, and doesn’t like what’s been coming out lately. Definitely a worthy listen and highly advised by someone who used to love the Nuclear Blast roster (pre-2000’s).

If you see this, definitely pick it up and enjoy the ride. Nuclear Blast put out quality releases before they started branching out. This one is for the old-schoolers as well as the new schoolers who want a good lesson on how some of the old death metal bangers got into the scene.

So you’ve tired of the more household names in death metal and are looking for something even more brutal and disgusting than what you had previously heard. You don’t have brutal technical death in mind because that might be a bit boring. Yet you’re not particularly looking for any gore grind either because you still prefer some semblance of structure and complexity. No, what you are looking for is death metal that retains strong thrash influences but with some gruel. Well, I have one such an album from a band that does death metal this way.

For God Your Soul…For Me Your Flesh is a raw deal. That’s right; there are no melodies to be found here, no overly complicated soloing just pure visceral grotesqueries with raw riffs and some terrifying sixteenths crashing down with primitive fury under doom-ish bass tones. This Pungent Stench LP release came out back in 1990 when death metal was in its heyday. This is similar to Slowly We Rot Obituary-style death metal but the drumming here is more leaden than what Donald Tardy does. The guttural death vocals are mid-range in volume but very low and throaty. Martin Shirenc uses some impressive reverb on every track with them. They bring a balmy feel to the songs that were nascent for death metal at the time. Intro/Extreme Deformity is the first song that commences with slow pulverization until it builds up to a fast thrash metal riff. Some death metal bands are only too obliged to start into the chromatic chord progressions right away but Martin is pretty conservative with them right off the bat. They are placed where they are and used sparingly so as not to be too inevitable plus they allow for building up to proper speed and tenable rhythm. For God Your Soul (the best song on here) is a pretty good example of this. If there are abrupt tempo actions, they don’t force the issue they just transition with natural discharge. The band sounds comfortable alternating at whatever speeds they feel are appropriate. There is a confidence here that works very well in conveying the right atmosphere of brutal perversion like on Just Let Me Rot. Many death metal bands feel compelled to adhere to just two speeds: fast and faster. Not Pungent Stench. These guys know how to bring pace down to a savage grind when the song calls for it. And just when you think Embalmed In Sulphuric Acid is going to stay mid to semi pace in the rest of the song, it floors top speed guided by a light blast beat current.

I had heard about this band back in high school but didn’t actually hear them until much later. They were one of the first European death metal bands I had come across. I was drawn to Pungent Stench because they have the usual death metal themes but do the gore and dismemberment subjects styled in high gross out comedy. The perverse nature of their lyrics with extreme metal sound was not lost on me like other death metal groups who I could barely understand what they were singing about anyway unless I saw the album covers. I could actually make out what Pungent Stench was growling about and the overall sound kept me interested even more. I haven’t heard any of their later work so I consider myself lucky not to be tainted by what I am supposed to be impressed about in relation to whatever else they did. This sounds like death metal should. If you are not familiar with any non-American death metal, this is one of the albums I would tell you to go check out first.

Recommended for sleazy sister kissers, fishnet fetishists and serial killers with smooth-egg balls.

I will review the original album here. Not the version which includes the first EP and split album, nor the version with some re-recorded songs. Just the original 1990 classic. The production was vile and sludgy. The instruments sound very low and somewhat flat (excepts some leads). A bit of extra definition could have done some wonders but in fact the album is good as it is since this gives it a certain underground feeling.

As with their previous releases and next album Pungent Stench combine fast d-beat and thrash inspired death metal with doom and throw in some funny moments. Not too much to be called a comical act though! Please don’t think they were a parody or something like that. This band always had a certain sick kind of humour which worked well with their filthy music.

There are several short and furious death metal tunes here like for instance “Hypnos” and “Embalmed In Sulphuric Acid” but the best songs are the most dynamic ones. The song “Extreme Deformity” is well crafted and really starts raging after a lengthy (but briliant!) intro with several breaks. The titletrack has a similar take on diversiy in paces. It takes seven minutes yet never bores!

The most catchy and classic song here is “Blood, Pus And Gastric Juice”. Once again the song goes through different paces, had lots of breaks. Yet it remains catchy, has memorable riffs and the lyrics are even understandable at certain points.

The weakspots of the album are easy to identify. On faster material the band tend to sound a bit too sloppy. Secondly –as said- the production should’ve had slightly more definition and thirdly Martin Schirenc grunts more than adequate but does not sound as manic and disturbed as on other releases.

The essence of this release is clear (mixing speed, doom and humour ) but the band didn’t fully achieve the perfect blend until their next album. Therefor this album as a whole is great yet overshadowed by the earlier (almost briliant) split LP with Disharmonic Orchestra and their later masterpiece Been Caught Buttering.

If you are taking the time to read this you should just stop and go buy it . Pungent Stench's first full length (not including the split 12" with Disharmonic Orchestra) is nothing but absolute perfection. Released in 1990 in the heyday of the death metal and grind god days this is one that should not have been over looked by any one. If you were around at this time and got this when it was released it would have pissed on most of the stuff you found to be heavy and paved the way for what was to come in the underground.

From the intro that goes into extreme deformity you are about to get blasted in the face with a sonic two ton fucking sledge hammer. Perfection in their guitar sound , bass that is so distorted that you will want to go purchase ear muffs and vocals that were totally unique for this time period ; wait they all were back then weren't they? Their is no denying that this band was perfect!

The blast beats , the unique thrown in quirky yet heavy as fuck changes in their song structure and just get up and slam your self to death , bouncy , groovy , funky sick sick pits makes this one a classic from the first day i got it when it was released. Their is nothing better in the old school scene than this. Praise is just not possible when trying to put this into words!

Make no mistakes , don't second guess , their is absolutely nothing boring or redundant on any early Pungent Stench release. This being their early masterpiece with the likes of Slayers reign in blood , Celtic Frost's morbid tales , Black Sabbath's master of reality it is up their with all the greats and then some. This is what Sabbath's Iommi would have sounded like if he were in an early 90's underground band.

I miss the days of such perfection on vinyl as i'm sure anyone reading this that was there does. You just can't find anything like this anymore and if you could i'm sure in a perfect world to any die hard old school death collecting freak like myself , thank god their aren't millions of albums like this or we'd be broke. All hail the perfection that is for god your soul and pray a band doesn't come along this great ever again because in this world you'll only be able to see them in fucking stadium seating. Pungent , Fucking , Stench!

One more thing try to stay away from the compact disc release because three songs are remastered! If you can't play albums then get it anyway because your still getting seven of the greatest grinding , sludgy , masterpieces you will ever have the privilege of owning ; period.