2nd chances w/: Rotten Sound

Swedish grind byway of Finland

I love Rotten Sound. The fact that I missed them on their last American tour has already put a damper on my entire 2011. Their latest record Cursed, is a beast. The only problem is, it's a quite a different beast than the previous Rotten Sound albums we (and by we I mean I) know and love.

In the April 2011 issue of Decibel, the band reveals that their sound has slowly evolved since the release of their 2006 EP, Consume to Contaminate, their first recording with drummer Sami Latva after former PhD in blastology Kai Hahto left the band. Kai was renowned for his insanely fast double bass and blast beat implementation as well as mind boggling drum fills. His playing helped make Rotten Sound's rabid grindcore acceptable for technical metal dorks to appreciate. Since Kai's departure, the band has begun amping up their punk rock and sludgy roots, using current drummer Sami to exercise an unprecedented amount of groove. None more so than on their latest record, Cursed.

So yeah, much like my experience with the last Misery Index album, I listened to Cursed waiting for Rotten Sound to kick my ass in all sorts of new and creative ways but instead got a nifty rockin' album from my old Finnish friends. This is arguably, the band's most controlled and accessible record to date. Less blast beats and break neck tempos, more groove, punky d-beats, unholy sludge riffs and the occasional howlin' guitar solo! Good stuff all around. My only real complaint about Cursed, is it's lackluster production job. This album sounds a little too low-fi/DIY compared to the tone of their previous albums. Production aside, my initial reaction to Rotten Sound's latest release has changed from, "oh...cool," to "oh...COOL!"

Any curious Rotten Sound newbies might want to start with this album, and work your way back to their older, crazier stuff.