It seems like most every Jungle Rot review of the last ten years or so starts something like this: “Ever heard a Jungle Rot record? Then you know what you’re getting here.” Kenosha, Wisconsin’s most famous death metal act has been pushing their particular brand of groovy old-school mayhem for fifteen years or so now, and while they show no signs of letting up, they also show no signs of (nor interest in) progressing one iota. And since almost every review of this predictable-but-enjoyable band begins that way, who am I to buck tradition?
So for the new initiates to the world of Jungle Rot, what you get from these guys is thrash-based, simplistic, caveman death metal, straight out of about 1992, but not as dunderheaded as Six Feet Under, a similar band treading similar ground. Jungle Rot is the epitome of “stripped-down.” Their riffage is so non-technical that it’s better described as “anti-technical,” but yet, like AC/DC or more aptly like Bolt Thrower (the twin acts to whom metal bands with such single-minded creative focus are inevitably compared), that lack of intricacy, that absence of flash, is so pronounced that it transcends limitation and becomes instead the band’s calling card. The lyrical slant on Horrors is almost entirely war-themed, same as usual, with a brief deviation into some personal attacks in “Two Faced Disgrace.” (The intended recipient of said attack is unknown to me.) The songwriting is on par with previous Jungle Rot efforts, with no real standouts and no total duds. The only real complaint with Horrors is that it’s about three songs too long, dragging on a full fifteen-or-so minutes past my point of diminishing interest.
Those among you who need music to be challenging will enjoy What Horrors Await not one smidgen more than you would enjoy any other Jungle Rot record. I find these guys to be a fun listen from time to time, a non-cerebral adrenaline rush for those times when I want only to smash something, not to think, although in truth, I usually turn to Bolt Thrower for this type of fix. Regardless, in the same manner as the five records before it, What Horrors Await succeeds in getting my heart rate up, if not in stimulating my brainwaves. Any criticism beyond that? Well… It’s a Jungle Rot record. Same as the last one. Same as the next one, I’m sure.
Ever heard a Jungle Rot record? Then you know what you’re getting here.
