Artist: Lord Gore
Country: USA
Label: Extremely Rotten Productions
Formats: 12″ EP / CD EP
Year: 2025
It’s not exactly the first time I’ve said that I’m not really interested in contemporary Grindcore, Death/Grind or related genres, but I do have a soft spot for the stuff that was released from the late 80s to the early 00s. From the first steps of those genres to the more professional-sounding and technical Grindcore-infused Death Metal of around 2000: I love it. I am therefore delighted that a number of labels have been re-releasing many classics in recent years, or even releasing them on vinyl for the first time. Now, I wouldn’t go so far as to call Lord Gore’s first demo a real classic, but I’m just as happy with this recent reissue on Extremely Rotten Productions.
This reissue, made available on both CD and a single sided 12” EP, do contain the original five tracks as well as a bonus track in the form of ‘Breakfast At The Manchester Morgue’, originally recorded by Impetigo. That bonus song is not entirely new, but was previously featured on the rather cult ‘Wizards Of Gore’ tribute to Impetigo album from 2000. In case you haven’t ever heard Lord Gore, the inclusion of an Impetigo cover song reveals just about everything that Lord Gore sounds like.
Compared to the band’s debut album, ‘The Autophagous Orgy’ from 2002, it is obvious that ‘Dark Lords Of The Cyst’ sounds a little more raw and unpolished, befitting a first demo recording. But that is precisely where the appeal of these first recordings lies, such demos always had some sort of undeniable and irresistible energy and youthful enthusiasm. That’s why I still like to listen to a lot of such older demos from bands like Regurgitate, Dead, Nasum, Dead Infection, Dahmer and C.S.S.O.. So, don’t expect anything that’s flowing flawlessly, but it is that rather clunky mixture of old school Grindcore, some Death Metal riffs and lots of Impetigo worshipping gore that makes this first Lord Gore demo a juicy and fun listen. Definitely worthy of a vinyl treatment!
