Satan Is a Cunt

I appreciate the fact that Neuropathia probably disgusts many people on a musical level. The very idea of a fusion of grooving hard rock and Regurgitate style grindgore is I'm sure enough to send most atmospheric black metal and old school death fans into absolute fits over how very 'artless' it is. Its lack of pretense probably inspires Pain Of Salvation fans into acts of tearful jig-ai from the first note. Even the title breaks Ihsahn's heart.

While crafting and playing music, an attitude of not giving a shit is generally best employed when the band in question COULD give a shit but chooses not to. Neuropathia falls into such a category; they don't care at all, but there's enough skill to be found that caring could be a conceivable course of action were they more up in their own asses about the whole thing. Fortunately for the listener, they staunchly refuse to care at any point during this record, and the result is phenomenal, memorable music that the handful of people not writing twelve page screeds on what 'Master Of Puppets' really, like, means man would probably love.

The fusion of rock and goregrind generally isn't so much a fusion as a reinterpretation of rock music itself, giving it a splattery, more distorted aesthetic which generally catapults it not far away from punk in feel. It's spiced up with a handful of blastbeats and some gurgling vocals and that's generally the extent of the forays into extreme metal, because no one's listening to that sort of band for the grind parts anyway. Much like in slam, the grinding sections are just a way of building tension before the release in the form of groove. What makes Neuropathia so great is that the tension building has a lot of sick Regurgitate-worshiping riffs and the release involves old horror movies or growling 'bad boys go to hell' in what might be the best track on the album. The grooves are immense and benefit greatly from the very warm production and the great instrumental performances. Of course, the songwriting is probably more than a little bit of it too; these tracks are clearly the products of an endless series of rehearsals, with small variations popping up here and there as a natural product of the familiarity the musicians have with the songs.

Were this an album released on Razorback, it would come with goofy (or goofier, depending upon your interpretation) cover art, an overly precise aesthetic, and an overweening infatuation with not taking itself seriously. Neuropathia doesn't take itself seriously, but feels no need to go out of their way to indicate how they feel about things one way or another. It's probably more than a little queer of me to care so much about whether or not a band cares about its own existence, but I'd say that when you're writing (admittedly excellent) songs called 'Plan 9 From Outer Space', you have a pretty fine line to walk without seeming douchey at any point. They manage to walk that line surprisingly well, without ever falling on one side or another.

Anyway, musically this is very simple and everything you hear is just a natural extension of rock music, just with denser note structures, gurgly, growly vocals, and songs about gore and horror. There's the occasional pure grind track here and there but they're gone as quickly as they come. It's a fun album that doesn't obsess over the idea of being fun. Go fast, go slow, but more importantly, go RIGHT for what the songs need at that moment. It's not the sort of album that needs much explaining: you understand most of it from the fact that it's fucking called 'Satan Is A Cunt' and I'll leave it at that.

Have you ever gone to one of those sleazy strip bars? You know the kind that you pretend not to enjoy when talking shit with your buddies, but once alone you got an off and on semi going on in your pants as you drive to the bar. Inside, the place is a real shit-box filled with blood red vinyl chairs with rips, warped tables with fold coasters under the legs to keep them level, lousy domestic Budweiser, and toilets that smell of combined piss-puke. The strippers are defective in one form or another, too much crack, too much booze, and too much ass-fucking. Yet, they are somehow attractive to the point that you go back again and again to blow your entire paycheck on doggy style lap dances in the cum scented “Private Room.” Yeah, don’t lie, you dig the filth and that is why you will love Neuropathia and their new album “Satan is a Cunt.”

These Polish animals really know how to play Goregrind. The songs are fast and the riffs will blister your ears. Making the album even better is the outstanding production that puts the bands musical talents in your face. As a whole the music is extremely catchy with a heavy rock groove that alternates back into Goregrind and out again effortlessly. Musically their style is a combination of Pungent Stench, Lord Gore, Nasum, and Egoleech era Cock & Ball Torture. They even do a cover of Blood Duster’s song Pornstorestiffi.

Despite the Heavy-Groove-Rock Neuropathia is still a Goregrind band and they employ this style quite effectively. The guitars come across like a gangbang saturated in cocaine, going from fast to groovy in a mix of hooks, rhythms, and simple solo’s that are ceaseless, the bass is a punchy down tuned slice of porn star ass, and drums are a blast beat ridden mayhem played at a variety of tempos matching the guitar in pugilism. The vocals take on 3 varieties: 1. The classic Grindcore scream/shout, 2. Deep growls, and 3. Even deeper gorier gurgles. This shit is every twisted maniacs dream. Seriously, this is the type of music that a stalker plays on the way to a predetermined crime site.

The only negative to this album is that some of the samples, particularly in the bonus portion of the disc, are way too long and overloud. Yet, that takes nothing away from the musicianship, and limpid production in album featuring 26 total tracks that closes out with three covers of songs by Impetigo, Repulsion, and Brutal Truth. Another bonus to this album is the cover artwork that is adorned with an S&M leather clad hottie with a black devils tale winding its way around her waist. Real fucking sexy, and just the thing to inspire a quick trip to the local sleaze pit of a strip bar with Neuropathia cranked loud and a hard-on steering the direction.