When Razorback Records Billy Nocera sent me the Dark Lords Of The Cyst demo tape for Portland’s Lord Gore, I was instantly addicted to their sloppy gore and couldn’t wait for more. Unfortunately their debut full length, The Autophagus Orgy, didn’t live up to my expectations and I quickly lost interest. The demo had a really gritty, ugly, disgusting, and sloppy sound and feel to it which I loved, but the full length had a much clearer sound, a faster pace and a generally less intense feel to it. Two years have passed, and along comes their second full length offering, Resickened. In the 5 years since their demo was recorded, it’s obvious the band have come a long way as far as musical ability is concerned, but, then again, in that same span the band have had enough line-up changes to make Malevolent Creation seem stable. Guitar duties on this release are handled by SCSI and Maniac Neil (Whore/Frightmare/Maniac Killer). This time around the duo have written far more guitar-driven tracks than in the past, with more emphasis put on song structure and melody and have written infinitely more intricate tracks than the group’s prior efforts. Drumming is handled by Engorged’s bassist Kevin aka Colon Bowel, who does a solid job of beating along with the guitars; he doesn’t overpower by any stretch of the imagination, but basically fits in and lays down a strong steady beat throughout. Vocals are handled by Gurge who continues to be one of the most sickeningly inhuman throaty vocalists in metal. Musically, Resickened is a definite improvement over The Autophagus Orgy, but is still often hit-or miss with some tracks making you want to thrash around the house with a knife in hand, while others will leave you looking for the "Next" button. The album does contain several killer tracks that remind me of my original appeal in the band with songs like "Gastric Gore-met", "Liquid Lunch", "Son Of Forgotten Flesh" and "Megacephallus", but others like "Brainfucker", "Trash Hole" and "Human Bot-Fly" are completely skipable. The overall tempo is far higher paced than I was expecting, and, unfortunately, most of the more memorable moments on the disc are when the music crawls along. Once again, the release contains an annoying bonus track, this time the "hidden" bonus is at the end of "Trioxin" with the music from one of the tracks (or maybe all of them) played in reverse super fast. The artwork is handled by the sick and twisted mind of Waita Uziga who has outdone himself by going way way way over the top with his demented artwork that is bound to offend and anger many a parent should they find this CD in your collection. On the whole, Resickened is much better than The Autophagus Orgy, but not enough to keep my attention through the entire CD. Thankfully, members of the band are in several side projects that play in a style I find infinitely more appealing. While Lord Gore is a good band, I’d definitely recommend picking up Frightmare or Whore instead if you’re more into the gritty slop that I am.

Written By: Teufel