Tape Review: Maggot Cave – Pub Full Of Maggots 9.69 (Grindcore)

Written by Carcassbomb

  • Maggot Cave
  • Pub Full Of Maggots
  • Grindcore
  • Sydney, Australia
  • July 4, 2019
  • 9.69/10

Bandcamp – Facebook

I knew I was in for some grindcore but I wasn’t expecting it to be this good. The deal with this project is that if I can, I will listen to an album for the very first time on tape. It’s a great approach that leads to a lot of surprises and discovery. There’s things you just don’t notice or care about digitally because our attentions spans are just fucked when we’re given a screen. There’s quite a few vocal techniques used throughout the tape – even at one point offering a howling heavy metal scream which completely caught me off guard. Combined with the great use of comedic samples there’s a lot of appreciate here, most of which seem to be taken from films, sitcoms and Australian radio shows. They all sounded super familiar to me but I can’t quite place them, I suspect the opening one is from Reno 911. 

In true grindcore fashion the cover is basically a bunch of assets from old horror movies slapped in a collage. This is grindcore worshipping grindcore at it’s best. They’re always playing to their strengths which I consider very important for such a short release (Both sides have the full album). I believe the absolutely strongest aspect of the music is the bass which dominates. They must have one of those bassists that can play an instrument (I kid). The samples are also an important part of this release with consistent use but also great placement that actually builds towards a hype. Humor has a way of exciting a person and combined with the anticipation of grind music, it’s impactful. On some level it’s about curation.

“This is grindcore. You’ve heard about it your whole life. This is it.”

Giving this one a high score in the context of grindcore because they achieved exactly what they wanted to and in a way that is interesting and effective. If you like grind then this is an essential listen for 2019. 


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