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GORED EMBRACE
Chicago Death Compilation

Iron Fortress (2024)
Rating: 7/10

We are back in the cesspit of the Iron Fortress with Gored Embrace and what is essentially a compilation of the Chicago, Illinois-based band’s demo and single releases. I like it when labels do this because a lot of demos, especially when released on cassette format, are limited runs and rarely readily available.

Gored Embrace come squirming through the cracks with riffs resembling a fetid mixture of Broken Hope and Mortician. It’s filthy and catchy like a flesh-eating disease and runs for over 30 minutes, in such time seven tracks grind by. Last year’s single ‘Solipsistic Mastication’ chugs with a revolting density and on fleeting occasion promises a tech-death scenario that could drift towards Suffocation. For the most part, though, the five-piece sticks to a relatively simple pummelling technique that wouldn’t seem out of place in the early to mid-90s scene.

Opener ‘Crippled Sanity’ chugs in chunky fashion to the meaty chops of vocalist Anthony Crisanti where elements of Glen Benton from Deicide leak into his coughs and grunts. However, for me it’s the latter stages of the release which I prefer as they are more concise, and sharper in delivery.

By trimming the fat which tended to bog down some of the earlier cuts, Gored Embrace are more hostile and direct. ‘Neurological Deception’ borders on grindcore savagery initially before the rolling joints of beefy riffage take over. Similarly brutal yet efficient is ‘Flesh Constraint’ with its rhythmic grinding and a drum and bass sound that jabs you like a heavyweight boxer.

The catchiness and sheer weight throughout this compilation can only be slobbered over because Gored Embrace clearly have the potential to be a top death metal outfit based on what’s presented here. A full-length studio album is eagerly awaited.

Neil Arnold

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