Picture this, brah brah: You’re out enjoying a nice meal with the in-laws. It’s a pleasant setting—a beach vacation, let’s say. The sun gently peeks above the horizon, illuminating the tides as they roll in and wash away the footprints in the sand.
Another golden hour with the family.
Moments later, a familiar bubbling rises from the pits of your stomach. But the moment is too perfect. Hues of purples, pinks, and blues sit above; you’re telling your in-laws about how well your 401K is performing. So you continue cramming food into your fat mouth. This time, lobster. Lovely.
Your significant other begins touting your work around the house—how nice the yard looks, the way the pictures hang so level on the walls. You wrap your arm around their shoulders and crack a proud smile of your own, a few remnants of ocean critters planted between your incisors.
You start listing off your partner’s accomplishments. The lovely decor. The flower garden. The bird bath. The work promotion. But you stop momentarily—the stomach ailment rears its head again. As a distraction, you start picking at the shrimp cocktail on the table. Your mother-in-law, directly across from you, giggles and says, “Hungry today, are ya?”
She raises for a toast.
You begin projectile vomiting.
Chunks of lobster, oyster, and shrimp hurl towards the family. The white tablecloth is now stained orange and red by way of that tasty cocktail sauce. Now, food chunks sit atop your father-in-law’s noggin. Your mother-in-law’s new dress? Ruined.
But, the meal?
Awesome.
And an awesome allegory for this disgusting new Pharmacist album Vertebrae After Vertebrae.
I’m a tad younger than the OG Carcass fans. Sadly, I missed out on the worldwide debut of the vomit-inducing Reek of Putrefaction, Symphonies of Sickness and Necroticism. But those records stand the test of time and inspire new bands year over year. Look no further than today’s subject. Japan’s new-school-old-school grind purveyor Pharmacist does Carcass worship right. Catchy riffs, disgusting atmosphere, medical terminology, etc., etc. And unlike most worship bands today, the Carcass necromancy doesn’t necessarily copy and paste Necroticism, Symphonies or Reek riffs. Instead, there’s a mashup of each era. So, if you can’t decide which record to pull off the shelf, Pharmacist offers a modern smorgasbord of each, dating back to Medical Renditions of Grinding Decomposition and Flourishing Extremities on Unspoiled Mental Grounds.
Vertebrae After Vertebrae, the project’s third LP, is the most well-produced Pharmacist record, ironically similar to the trajectory of…you guessed it…Carcass. The opener, “Propelling Inwards” pops like a sebaceous cyst, steering away from the more melodic offerings found later on — see “Vertebrae After Vertebrae” and “Endogencia” — but it still leans into the Symphonies of Sickness sound. The snare rattles under the pitch-shifted vocals and groovy riffs, following a similar formula to something like an “Exhume to Consume.” The two melodic points, the title track and “Endogencia,” revel in a more “Empathological Necroticism” or “Corporal Jigsore Quandary” flow.
“Lazure Sphacelation” does a nice job of transitioning back into nasty grind. And that’s a critical element here. The bouncing back and forth between the completely off-the-wall relentlessness and more earworm melodies keeps Vertebrae After Vertebrae from becoming too bogged down with sheer brutality. You can also hear a little Jeff Hanneman on “Lazure…” — perhaps akin to a “Behind the Crooked Cross” or something of the like. Whereas “Mimicring the Organics” is chunkier, especially during the power chord-heavy verse riffing. While I appreciate maneuvering between downright heavy and catchy, the song, as a whole, is a tad on the lengthier side, approaching the six minute mark. It takes a bit away from the track, which had the potential of being a standout if a little meat was taken off the bone. The interlude around the 3:35 mark could have been trimmed, for example. It just kind of falls flat there, not adding much to the song. But they bounce back quite well in the final minute and a half.
The album closes on a high note with “Zenith of Mnemonic Forensication,” which briefly carries over the melodic sensibilities of its predecessor, “Bubonic Malacia Bloom,” before weaving in ideas and motifs from across the record. It’s something Pharmacist does particularly well—they have a knack for giving their releases a satisfying ending. While “Zenith…” is plenty catchy on its own, several moments recall the chaotic intensity of a “Propelling Inwards” or “Lazure…” Look, it’s full of blastbeats, tremolo riffs, chunky riffs, and even a breakdown. It’s good, okay?
All in all, Pharmacist continues their streak of gnarly grinding tunes that perfectly pay homage to the mighty Carcass. And while that remains their primary influence, fans of ‘80s thrash might take a liking to some — KEY WORD HERE: SOME — of this, too. That is, if you also enjoy bile-soaked vocals in the style of the great Jeff Walker. Nonetheless, I really love these Pharmacist records. Each album has slightly eclipsed the previous, and that’s really all you can ask for.
Now, back to that beachside dinner. Yeah, the evening concluded with a crustacean-powered geyser coating your in-laws from head to toe, but let’s not lose sight of what really matters here: the meal was incredible. And much like Vertebrae After Vertebrae, the path to utter disgust was an absolute blast. Pharmacist once again stuffs every nook and cranny of its music with melodic riffs, grisly imagery, and enough gore to make even seasoned pathologists wince. But, it’s one you’ll gladly revisit after the cleanup crew clocks out.
