Metal Underground.com

Who knew that “Brewtal Porncore” would ever be a sub-genre of metal? Combining the somewhat tired old school death metal style of Cannibal Corpse, lyrics and atmosphere that aren’t meant to be taken seriously, and occasional touches of impressive musicianship, Scrotum is a bit of an uneven band. There are bits and pieces that will be liked by fans of various death metal styles, but not ever enough of any of it to make the “Osculum Scrotum” EP anything spectacular.

Despite the label of “Porncore,” there is very little “grind” to be found, and essentially no “core” at all. At its heart, Scrotum is a death metal band of the tried and true American style. There are deep death grunts, lots of heavy drum beats, and an overall tone of flesh being ground to dust. What’s interesting is that there is a certain melody added into segments that raises the music out of the muck of mindless death metal noise for brief stints.

“Fontanel Fucking” is the gem of the album, opening with a brief acoustic intro and slamming into a heavy guitar part that hits the right blend of insanity and melody. The entire song showcases a variety of differing guitar styles that launch the track way past traditional death metal. “Fontanel Fucking” is the aberration on the EP, however, and can’t really be used as an indicator of the band’s style.

The opening of “Osculum Scrotum” reveals where the band wants to be in the musical world. The screaming at the beginning initially sounds demonic, but then devolves into hillbilly hoots and hollers that belong in the background of a redneck trailer park barbecue. Song titles like “Granny’s Pusscunt” don’t exactly show a dedication to seriousness or a desire to craft lyrics that anyone needs to be able to understand. Cheech Marin even makes an appearance in the title track, with a sample of the blazed Marin chanting “My Scrotum!”

With members of other Dutch bands like Nepenthe and Sinister, it shouldn’t be a surprise that each individual musician is good at what he does. The music is crushing and entirely made for head banging, but only with a beer in hand and no expectations of any groundbreaking. While there are instances where the brutality comes off right and sounds more like Bloodbath than Cannibal Corpse, these instances the exceptions rather than the rule. Scrotum has done itself a disservice with the lame name and song titles, as it’s a band that could be serviceable if it dropped the nonsense and got a little more serious.