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Pungent Stench - Ampeauty
by Kevin Wierzbicki

Haven’t smelled these guys yet? Well, you’re not alone. But everyone has had plenty of chances. This Austrian trio has been pummeling away since 1988, spewing forth with such appetizing releases as Blood, Pus & Gastric Juices, Mucous Secretions and Been Caught Buttering. The clever titles continue with Ampeauty (pronounced amputee), a record paying tribute to, as the band puts it, “Two frightening and factual fetishes: the beauty of the amputated and the love to amputate.” In short, these disgusting bastards have given you every reason to be repulsed, right? Not so fast, Bucko!

The style of death metal that Pungent Stench play would not be possible if there had never been a Black Sabbath. Since the band is only a threesome, Fabio Testi’s bass playing needs to take up a lot of space, so he is simultaneously creating the rhythm with drummer Rector Stench while hanging a gothic cloud of gloom over everything with lots of fuzzy extended notes. Stench and guitarist/singer Don Cochino kick it into overdrive once in awhile, but never into the land of speed metal. Cochino uses distortion on almost all of his vocals and in just the right amounts. Instead of being a screeching demon from hell, he just portrays a really scary guy. Cochino growls away mostly unintelligibly on the Metallica-like “Got MILF?” before pausing to bark out the song title repeatedly like some robo-horndog. I guess if you don’t know what MILF stands for, the song might not be so amusing. Cochino takes the opportunity to show off his guitar playing on “Invisible Empire” while Stench flails away ceaselessly on the lyrically gruesome “No Guts, No Glory” and “Same Shit-Different Asshole.”

So what’s it all add up to? The Stench-men are mildly shocking with their lyrics, sure to please the juvenile delinquent in all of us. But the real deal is that they know their shit and are a lot of fun to listen to. There’s no reason to be afraid of giving this stink-bomb a try.
 

Pungent Stench - Ampeauty
Label: Nuclear Blast
Release Date: 2-22-05
Rating: 
 

Tracks:  Lynndie (She-Wolf of Abu Ghraib) Invisible Empire The Amp Hymn The Passion of Lucifer Got MILF? Human Garbage Apotemnophiliac No Guts, No Glory Same Shit-Different Asshole Fear the Grand Inquisitor

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