Exploding Corpse Action – Inter-Dimensional Annihilation: Complete Transmissions 1995-1997 [Compilation]

Sci-Fi and Death Metal have always had a love for each other since the early 90s and all the way up to current bands. Artists out there like Frozen Soul and Abominable Putridity have made a name for themselves with strong record labels and punishing music that have garnered attention, but what about the more unknown bands out there who only lasted a few years but still put out some solid music that growled for attention and were largely ignored by the masses (but not the underground)? Exploding Corpse Action is one of those band. Running what seemed to be a short career from 1992 to 1995, these New York Sci-Fi Brutal Death Metal heads had a sound that was like Cannibal Corpse done Grindcore style. Tracks were short, to the point, and gritty and maybe touched by Slam.

Had they lasted until today, they would have been probably monstrous and been part of the whole Old School Death Metal revival that has been kicking up about 2018. But after a demo and a split and a few features on compilations, they called it quits. Their vocalist/ guitarist Sadismo passed in 2002, and drummer Sardonicus and bassist/co-vocalist Sinistar went on to other things, be it other band projects that didn’t quite take off or left the music scene altogether. Still, this little project was a gem, and those who like anything from early Napalm Death Grind Death to early Cannibal Corpse (Barnes era, not Corpsegrinder), will really enjoy this compilation. While there are over 22 tracks, like in true Grindcore fashion, the album clocks barely at 30 minutes.

The music is fast and hard, but not overly noisy and chaotic like a Rotten Sound album. Again, think like shortened versions of tracks from ‘Eaten Back to Life’ and ‘Tomb of the Mutilated’ amped up on speed, and one gets smashers like ‘Robotic Surgery Malfunction’ or ‘DNA Realignment’ which also touches on Deicide. What is there not to love about the guttural vocals, clicking fuzz sound of the guitars, and the freight train of drums that just run ears over… and over… and over. And yet, somehow in the mix of this all, there is still groove to enjoy, Plus, the sci-fi elements of a track like ‘Liquid Nitrogen Abuse’ is about as Brutal Death Metal as one can get. The middle part of the album seems a bit more ‘old school’ touched with that crunchier sound that borders Gatecreeper but not including the Doom or Hardcore elements. The earlier tracks are more the standard Brutal Death Metal fare with layered growls and higher pitched shrieks but definitely more for fans of the ‘Tomb of the Mutilated’ era. A track like ‘Light Speed Impact Crater’ just grooves hard despite the bubbling sound from the bass and drums and it just overflows with that Old School goodness.

The last few tracks of the album are live and do have a bit of a difference to them. Aside from the production being rougher, vocals also don’t seem as gurgling or brutal and have more of that standard higher pitched snarl to them. ‘Human Vivisection’ really pushes the drums and guitars in the front and the vocals are just buried; the grunts are barely heard and the higher pitched shrieks reign supreme. Others like ‘To Whom the Earth is Bequeathed’ barely clock past 30 seconds and feel more like a gust of hot wind that shoots by but still slaps in the face. Ultimately, the average Death Metal fan will probably enjoy the first half of the compilation more than the second, but will not be disappointed by the level of brutality.

True, Exploding Corpse Action had to stand in the shadows of other heavy New York Death Metal bands like Suffocation and Immolation, whose sounds were a bit more technical and maybe slightly more melodic with the same level of brutality, but while bands like that were touching on the more traditional themes of Death Metal, Exploding Corpse Action went the more fun route and while some of their songs may be ridiculous like ‘Decompression: Anal Prolapse,’ one cannot help but enjoy the references in the music while still headbanging to some excellent ‘classic’ Death Metal sounds.