Shroud of Despondency, Fuckpot, and Leonard- Split

At first glance, it’s hard to find any connecting thread between the three bands on this split CD from AcidVictim Records; death metal, techno, and acoustic guitar instrumentals are a pretty unlikely trio. A closer look, however, reveals that there’s more in common to these three bands than meets the eye. Shroud of Despondency starts things off with some stripped down but very technical grindcore, all played by Rory Heikkila. Though it might not be immediately apparent for people who don’t speak the arcane language of guttural grunts that passes for singing in this pharticular genre, there’s definitely a humorous side to Shroud of Despondency, with introductions (“One…two…three…four!” and “Uno…dos…tres!”) yelped in a high-pitched falsetto and song titles like “Sex (Tonight It’s Better If You Stop Talking).” Next up is Fuckpot, a techno act that takes much of its inspiration from poking fun at death metal’s themes (“Satan Is Our Pal”) and celebrities (“I Whupped Varg’s Ass”). While a lot of these tracks are pretty much novelty songs, “Acid For Breakfast” would fit into most gabber sets, and “Rave Murder” is legitimately creepy, thanks in no small part to samples of Christopher Walken dialogue. Then there’s Leonard, the third band on this CD. While it lacks the brazen Satanic humor of the first two bands, it’s still plenty metal, in an acoustic guitar sort of way; Leonard is a side project of Shroud of Despondency’s Heikkila, with additional guitars from Ian Brush, and the guitars are just as technical as Heikkila’s metal material, if significantly less loud and distorted. Showing off three separate aspects of the grindcore aesthetic, this is a nice odd little addition to any obsessive metal-head’s collection.

For more information on these bands, visit the record label at www.freewebs.com/acidvictim.