ALBUM OF THE DAY: GUT, THE CUMBACK
So we used to do this thing called “Album of the Day,” and then we stopped, and now we’re starting again. It won’t be a daily event, just a “Whenever the mood strikes whomever the fuck on the MS staff” thing. So enjoy. Or don’t. We don’t especially care.
You may know Gut for their groundbreaking work on legendary releases like Fistful of Sperm, Cripple Bitch, and Odor Of Torture. Along with The Meatshits, 7 Minutes of Nausea, Ulcerous Phlegm, and Anal Cunt, they were pioneers of the late 80s/early 90s wave of pornogrind and noisecore. Obviously this stuff isn’t for everybody, because it makes even slam metal seem accessible by comparison (see Anal Cunt’s 5,643 song 7″ for perhaps the most extreme example), but I loved it then and I love it now. As far as I’m concerned, those bands were the most extreme music ever recorded to this day, because they pushed the boundaries of music to the absolute limit — anything more would just be noise. Gut were my favorites, largely because they were the first to emphasize groove riffs, and because they had the sickest porn samples — way cooler than the tiresome horror/gore samples that their unimaginative death metal peers relied on.
Four of the best songs from “The Cumback,” including my personal favorite “Three Handsome Guys.” Love the minute-long sample from “Team America” before the third track, “Next Level Shit.”
Amazing fan video for “Jenna Haze (You’re A Pro),” one of Gut’s best songs. This is borderline NSFW, and may require you to verify your age to watch it. If so, click here to view it on Youtube.
As much as I love their older material, Gut didn’t really peak until their 2006 full-length The Cumback. They’d always had a much more groove-oriented approach than their blastbeat-centric peers, but on The Cumback they took it to a new level. The songs were much longer, with many several minutes in length (just like “real” music), the arrangements much more focused, and most importantly introduced a huge hip-hop/R&B influence. If pornogrind could ever be considered accessible, this is it!
“Can’t Wait For Tonight (ft Beyonce Bowels)” is next-NEXT-level shit, non-ironically combining pornogrind with R&B. Decades ahead of its time!
Needless to say, Gut isn’t for everybody, especially this album (which alienated many fans who expected more of the “orthodox” pornogrind they did in the 90s) — getting down with The Cumback requires an appreciation of both pornogrind and mainstream rap/R&B. There just aren’t a ton of people who think that pitchshifted sewer vocals and downtuned groove riffs over a Swizz Beats track sounds like a good idea, and that’s basically what this album is. But for those of us who are on the same page as the boys in Gut, this album is an avant garde masterpiece that will probably never get the recognition it deserves. Busters ain’t got shit on their steez!
-Sergeant D.
