Birdflesh - Mongo Musicale (2006)

Country: Sweden
Language: English
Genre: Grindcore
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© 2006 Candlelight Records USA
Review by Ken Sanford for Sea of Tranquilty.org
Swedish grinders Birdflesh make their musical return to America with their newest release Mongo Musicale. After being released overseas in late 2006 it will finally make its debut on this side of the pond, coming out via Candlelight Records. The band has been around for some time, about fifteen years now, with this being only their third full length release. They have done several split albums with bands such as Carcass Grinder, The Kill, and Splatterhouse, to just name a few.
These are three funny guys. They enjoy wearing funny outfits and infusing their songs with tongue and cheek humor. Birdflesh are a band that grinds hard, but doesn't take themselves too seriously. Just serious enough to have a little fun while trying to pound your head in. This is quite a collection of gems the boys have put together here. 25 songs, clocking in at just over 35 minutes. For the uninitiated, don't panic, this is grindcore we're talking about here, all those songs jammed into that small space is perfectly acceptable. One of the first things that stood out was how surprisingly good the production was on this album. Everything sounds good and is mixed very well, sounding clean without sounding sterile. All three members share vocal duties, so besides all sounding great, it helps add variety to the songs. These guys cover all the bases, growling, screaming, shouting, and even a little good old fashioned singing. There are also some serious riffs on the record as well, and the band runs the gamut as far as music styling. One minute they are blasting like crazy and the next they harken back to an S.O.D type feel, just meaning they bring you back to the days when a lot of this type of sound was first being developed, one can't help but be reminded of S.O.D. The whole album, while brutal, still maintains that "fun" feel. With 25 songs it's hard to talk about a mere few. Some more memorable ones are "The Friendly Call" and "Moonwalk Massacre". Believe it or not they're all entertaining in their own way.
This is one really fun, and really good grindcore album. Don't let the sense of humor fool you, these guys know how to really kick ass as stated earlier. You would think that things would get real stale after say the first 12-15 songs, not really the case here. Birdflesh manage to keep it fresh throughout. With so many bad grindcore bands seemingly coming out of the woodwork these days, (thanks Myspace), this is a pleasant surprise. Any fan of grindcore, or anyone interested in hearing some pretty good grind, Mongo Musicale would be a great album to pick up.

tags: bird flesh, mongo musicale, 2006, flac,