Dutch degenerates Last Days of Humanity have been playing a very particular form of goregrind since 1989, and the clumsily-titled Horrific Compositions of Decomposition is a fine place to jump in for the inquisitive! Not that you should, of course; the only recommendation that comes with goregrind is not to make your interest in this downright weird-even-for-metal racket public lest people think you're strange. And Last Days of Humanity are very strange, from the music which is roughly like early Carcass, all battering drums and grinding riffs (both more technical than you'd assume) to the vocals, which are unique; extremely processed but highly effective alien gurgles. Most tracks are sub-minute long bursts of noise, the occasional sample (usually death-related, often disturbing) there to break up the action and keep the atmosphere oppressive. The most effective, and longest, piece present is opener Hematopoietic System Tissue and Lymphoid Fail, where a voice intensely describes the effects of heavy radiation on flesh (in case you need to be told: not great, Bob!) atop a weirdly infectious groovy riff before the horrific grunting and gurgling begins.

Thematically, tracks are all titled things-that-you-really-shouldn't-look-up like Molecular Pathological Epidemiology of Colorectal Neoplasia and are about all the many, nasty, painful ways your body can let you down (the album artwork doesn't really fit in to this topic but then this is far better to look at than previous albums', none of which are safe for viewing. Please don't google them). This is not subtle music, by any definition. And it's that which makes it oddly refreshing, really. It's the aural equivalent of rubbernecking a terrible road accident, a reminder of mortality and indulging your twisted curiosity all at once. Once you've given this album a couple of listens, you do start to notice the differences between tracks, such as the more ominous tone to Tumorous Parenchyma of Red Corpuscles and the jarringly triumphant horns that open the following Running Through the Blood (Fear of God). But this isn't an album that can really be divided into the sum of its parts. It's one long battering, an utterly repulsive experience, like being repeatedly waterboarded with the juices from a rotting hunk of meat. And you really shouldn't listen to it too much, because it's very worrying when you find yourself enjoying it...