In 2006 Czech goregrinders Jig-Ai unleashed their self-titled debut full length recording, a 30 minute, 18 track slab of relentless down tuned skull crushing, testicle smashing, sword swinging insanity. 2008′s Katana Orgy, a 35 minute, 20 track recording, is an even more violent aural onslaught.

Bursting forth like a pig-squealing alien launching itself out of your chest, Katana Orgy surpasses the self-titled debut in nearly every facet. The main area of improvement is the production value. On Jig-Ai, the band’s music was slightly muffled and the vocals overly processed to give the burps are more gurgly sound. This time around the production is as clear as anything you’d expect from a Swedish grindcore act. The bass and guitars shred through all 35 minutes like a demented samurai hacking up a limbless corpse, the blasting by Psychotic Despair drummer Štefy is relentless and the vocals, while still processed, have a much more clear and powerful sound and are as varied as ever, with the high pitched squeals of a pig being carved alive, the bubbly underwater gurgles of a drowning victim, the shrieks of a torture victim and the deep belching gurgles of a blood crazed beast.

The music of Jig-Ai can best be described as a Czech twist on old school grindcore fused with Swedish grindcore. Take Carcass, Napalm Death, Brutal Truth, Terrorizer, Nasum and Regurgitate, hack them up into tiny little pieces and feed them to members of Negligent Collateral Collapse and Eardelete and that’s exactly what Katana Orgy sounds like. You can hear the influence of these bands dripping off of every track, you’ll recognize a Nasum riff here, a segment of an early Carcass track there with a hint of Negligent Collateral Collapse. It’s truly impressive just how big of an improvement Jig-Ai sounds with a better production.

The album contains three excellent cover songs, the first being a cover of Brutal Truth‘s "Stench Of The Prophet" from Extreme Conditions Demand Extreme Responses, which is one of my all-time favorite grindcore songs. Musically Jig-Ai play the song perfectly, vocally not so much, the high pitched squeals are great but the growling just doesn’t sound right coming from anyone not named Kevin Sharpe, but it’s still a worthwhile tribute. The other two covers are from Carcass‘ Reek Of Putrefaction; "Genital Grinder" and "Regurgitation Of Giblets", two of the most covered songs in the brief history of goregrind. Jig-Ai fucking nail it. If Carcass were to have recorded this effort today, Jig-Ai‘s version is exactly what it would sound like.

Simply put, Jig-Ai‘s Katana Orgy is a goregrind album for fans of old school catchy grindcore. The material is a relentless punch in the face that’ll leave your head bobbing, bleeding and eager for more. If you’re a fan of any of the aforementioned bands, chances are you’re going to fucking love this album. Jig-Ai‘s Katana Orgy is one of the best Czech grind releases in years! Fucking awesome!

Review byTeufel