During the late years of the 80s, when release as “S.C.U.M.” (1987) and “From Enslavement to Obliteration” (1988) revealed the musical fury of Grindcore to the fans (thanks to NAPALM DEATH for it), and “Reek of Putrefaction” (1988) and “Symphonies of Sickness” (1989) took things to the extremes due the disgusting lyrics and arts (and the music as well), it started an entire movement that was called Splatter Death Metal (later called Goregrind). It’s obvious that acts as EXHUMED started in such way, but evolved to the point of creating true masterpieces, but the early appeal of Goregrind seems to be seductive to may, as to the Californian trio MEPHITIC CORPSE, here with its first full-length, “Sickness Attracts Sickness”.

Again: the genre has many titans as EXHUMED, CARCASS, CANNIBAL CORPSE (that presents many elements of the genre, even being a Death Metal act), and the trio tries to be an Old School Goregrind act with some Old School Death Metal influences, what doesn’t work for them. The reason for this: to be extremely under the shadow of their influences, with the band’s music lacking a particular appeal, something that belongs to its musicians. It sounds like something that ‘I-want-to-be-the-new-EXHUMED-on-its-early-age’, when the world already has one (that’s excellent), and that’s far than enough.

Ethan Camp (recording, mixing) and Dan Lowndes (mastering) created the sonority for the album, but as said above, all is trying to emulate what was left in the past. It means that the choices for the instrumental tunes aren’t good (instead of it, are terrible), everything sounds excessively raw, and the songs don’t sound defined, what makes the audition hard to understand, with that ‘I-am-real’ feeling that makes bands move backwards instead of forward. The crude artwork of Matt Rose depicts clearly what the album is about. Even the singing of David Mikkelsen on “Heart in Tinfoil” and R.R. Seight Ventura on “Painless” are enough to save this release.

The experience of hearing to “Obsessive Compulsive Dismemberment”, “Blistering Red Corpse Under Max Thermostat”, “Grisly Vomit on Self”, “Screwgun my Spleen”, “Intrusive Thoughts Lead to Impatient Butchering”, “Heart in Tinfoil”, “Teething on Clots”, “Painless”, “Rectal Bugs”, “Digested from Both Ends” and “Gutpuked Maggot Treatment” is far from being something good, because the sonority and the band’s need to be someone else than themselves is clear on every moment. Ok, it's just a first album, but’s a loss of time.

MEPHITIC CORPSE needs to mature its music as soon as possible to become worthy of being listened to. But if a part II of “Sickness Attracts Sickness” is coming this way, please, spare me from such an experience.