Yet another split CD from Australian No Escape Records. This label have a flair for locating some of the most fucked up and brutal music on this planet and the new split CD with Meatyard and Maggots is no exception either.

Meatyard play some seriously fucked up sludgy goregrind heavily inspired by cult bands like Rottrevore, Impetigo and Autopsy. The music is mostly kept in the slow end, almost bordering to doom, but there are still plenty of room for a blastbeat or two. It's nice to hear a band that doesn't just rely on being fast all the time, but also allow lots of space for the slower and grinding parts. Despite of the music being extremely slow at times it never becomes tiresome or one-tracked. It still maintain the energy and nerve that goregrind usually have.

Maggots is quite different from Meatyard. These Dutchmen have a buzzsaw guitar-sound very similar to Dismember, but the music doesn't have much in common with the Swedes other than the sound. Maggots blend death metal with grindcore and crust. Perhaps not an entirely original blend, but it works and that is what counts. Unlike Meatyard Maggots rely heavily on the faster parts, but the Dutch maggots doesn't just blindly blast ahead. There's also lots of groove which often gives the music an almost rock 'n' roll kind of feel.

If you're a fan of any of the two bands then this split CD is unavoidable. And if you've yet to hear any of the two then this is a great opportunity to check out some of the most bizarre and brutal to come out of New Zealand and Holland.