Formed in 2017 and harking back to when death metal first emerged as the bastard child of thrash metal, Murderworker are a Spanish act who delight in tormenting the listener. Comprised of scene veterans, largely shorn of melody, and with a morbid fascination for all things gory, on Where The Scum Becomes Dinner Murderworker offer up ten perversely-titled tracks that, for all the necro trappings, are surprisingly well-produced, without being over produced.
The album opens to what sounds like a kidnapping and torture session, before the band unleash Grandma’s Culinary Secrets. Built around Fran’s surprisingly crunchy guitar and Jesus’ mid-tempo drums, it’s death metal with an Obituary vibe and a doomy undercurrent, all of which neatly prepares the stage for Negro’s threatening entry. With the remaining song titles offering distinctly unsavoury culinary advice, the band unveil Skewer Of Kidneys And Marinated Eyes, a faster number with a tough, Autopsy feel to it. A gruelling gore fest, complete with bowel-rupturing vocals, Liver With Sesame And Mustard Cream opens with a simple riff and harrowing screams, before Jesus’ unhinged blast beats send us screaming into the abyss. Paying particular attention to the capitalist menace, Banker’s Cancerous Lung Pie shows the band have a sense of humour, even if I have concerns as to the quality of their cuisine. A strong contender for best song on the album, Banker’s… has some seriously tight riffing, while the vocals – delivered in a near spoken rasp – are particularly potent here. The first half concludes with the refreshingly fast-paced Nun Blood Jelly With Brain Sorbet, which explodes into a swirling cloud of sulphurous fumes, churned by the multi-limbed percussive assault of Jesus (there’s not a sentence I ever thought I’d write).
Kicking off the second side, the devastating Surprise Eggs (Stuffed With Chopped Ear) slams almost physically into the listener with an intro that simply starts screaming at you with no warning. As a means to gain the attention, it works, and it helps that the track is built around a hefty, yet surprisingly groovy riff. The clergy come in for some stick next, as the band unleash the toxic riff of Priest Stomach Stew With Potatoes – a relentless track that, despite its apparent simplicity, still manages to get under the skin with its scything rhythms and layered vocals. The spiralling riffs of Crispy Lawyers Heart provide a nice counterpoint to the battering ram that preceded it, once again bringing Autopsy’s frantic thrashings to mind. Emphasising the doom-laden approach that worked so well on the opening track, Pedophile’s Testicles With Barbecued Mushrooms provides space for some blistering lead work amidst the evilly distorted bass and thunderous double kick. It leaves the stabbing horror of Mommy Style Smoked Spleen to bring things to a close with a psychotic, flanged riff and relentless blast beats proving to be the order of the day.
With barely a moment of respite over the course of its thirty-nine minutes, Where The Scum Becomes Dinner is relentless, old school death metal at its finest. Very much a product of their influences, Murderworker eschew innovation, opting to simply refine the death metal formula to its rotten core and, in this, they are ruthlessly efficient. With strong production, impressive musicianship and song-titles that read like Hannibal Lecter’s cookbook, you probably already know if you like Murderworker, but for those keen on their unrepentant death metal, this is surely an impressive offering 8/10
