The Accused

It's been a lengthy hiatus but splatter rock is finally back. Issuing their first album in six years, really old school thrashers the Accused have compiled 14 more bouts of overbearing, noisy metal celebrating the world of horror and disgust via hyperactive tracks such as "Bodies Are Rising," "Festival Of Flesh," "Avenue Of The Dead" and "Die Violently." As expected, absolutely nothing has changed about this quartet over the past 30 years. Each tune is a redlining mess of raspy guitars reminiscent of D.R.I.'s finest moments, drums bashing away at a tempo Toxic Holocaust have tried to ape for a decade and vocals sounding like shredded meat being pushed through a wind tunnel. It's an overdose on every level, and it rules. There's a reason the Accused are responsible for influencing the likes of Brutal Truth, Pig Destroyer, Phil Anselmo and more; they know no boundaries. Yes, it's kind of sloppy but that's the point. Crossover at its finest, The Curse Of Martha Splatterhead is a rousing bout of 14 tunes in 29 minutes; this is a gutter-laden rival to Slayer's most expedient masterpiece.