There’s something charming about homages: they’re quirky, reminiscent of days gone by, and if performed right they can be down-right awesome. Unfortunately, in most instances, homages to the bands of the past fucking suck ass. They usually get too caught up in themselves, are poorly executed, or just plain fucking suck. However, Spanish grinders Machetazo’s The Maggot Sessions EP manages to get the fucker down pat. Right from the Fulci satire of Number of the Beast Eddie on the album art to the Iron Maiden live intro to the Carcass Peel Sessions live setup and the Venom cover, this thing reeks of British metal homage, and does it fucking right.

The EP is a live radio recording of a bunch of older songs (plus a cover) and a whole lot of smirking nods here and there to the bands that come before them. "Trono de Huesos" opens up with that infamous live intro from Iron Maiden’s "Ides of March" and from there goes straight into non-stop insane grinding. The album for the most part is setup a lot like the old Peel Sessions of Carcass; luckily, Machetazo performs just as good in this "live" setup as they do on their normally recorded tracks. The shit is fast, furious, harsh, and horrific. If you have Trono de Huesos and Carne de Cementerio you know what to expect from the tracks featured on here: straight goregrind fury.

However, what adds to the experience is the Venom cover. You can add this to The Day Everything Became Nothing’s cover of "Fuel for Hatred" in the Book of Black Metal Covers by Non-Black Metal Bands that Don’t Fucking Suck. If Cronos heard this, I’m sure he’d shed a tear and then wonder why he doesn’t just send Machetazo back in time to record the original, because he sure as hell couldn’t do it as well. Yes, I just made a crack on Venom, go cry about it somewhere else.

Overall, the EP is a fucking nice- if short- jaunt down Machetazo’s previous material and some nice tribute to the older English bands that paved the way for them. If you’re a fan of Machetazo and got $8 to waste, it would be in your best interest to pick up a copy.

Written By: Necro-tron