A little background, Crotchduster is the side project of Jason from death metal band Carpharnaum. The obvious starting point when trying to describe the sound here is Mr. Bungle. But be forewarned, as this is just a starting point. While maybe similar in oddity and perhaps execution, Crotchduster operates on a more primitive level. The more I listen to this disc, the more difficult it is to find something or someone that is not ridiculed by the band. Everyone and everything are targets, from metal icons like Slayer and Megadeth to cult 80s movies like Fletch. Every song contains multiple hi-jinks, as Crotchduster transition from theme to theme within songs. For example, it is not uncommon to hear some guitar riffs followed by some random dialogue, followed by some happy sing along chorus. While mostly centering on snippets of all types of metal (particularly death and grind), it is also not uncommon to hear some mockeries of other genres of music such as hip-hop or punk rock. The other thing that is incorporated heavily on this disc is dialogue, and this undoubtedly will be the make or break factor for many people who come across this record. The dialogue throughout is pretty random but it is consistent in being crude X-rated humor. Just taking a look at one of the song titles “Let me into Starfish Land” and this gives you a good indication of what you are dealing with. Lets put it this way…If you have young kids, then you probably wouldn’t want them to hear a lot of this, but at the same time, if you are in high school you might think it’s some of the funniest shit you’ve ever heard.

Crotchduster is pretty much having a good time with this disc and it is certainly not to be taken too seriously. At the same time though, the band does exhibit a certain knack of clever song writing. More than a couple times, I not only found myself busting up laughing at some of the things I discovered on this disc, but was also pretty intrigued on how they could construct such songs with so many elements (just take one listen to “Mammal Sauce”) Also the more you listen to it the more things you will notice. We even have a special guest appearance from Richard Christy. The bottom line is that if you are looking for a few laughs in between your normal rotation of death metal, this is just the disc you want.

[Editor's comment: The album was originally released in 2004 by Willowtip Records in North America and later in 2005 by Earache Records in Europe.]

written by Joe Grammatico