Gorerotted were an English
deathgrind
Grindcore is an extreme fusion genre of heavy metal and hardcore punk that originated in the mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from abrasive-sounding musical styles, such as thrashcore, crust punk, hardcore punk, extreme metal, and industrial. G ...
band formed in 1997 that disbanded in January 2008 and reformed with new members as The Rotted. Gorerotted's lyrics and song titles were largely inspired by horror films and serial killers. The band's song titles often incorporated humorous rhymes or puns such as "Cut, Gut, Beaten, Eaten", "Put Your Bits in a Concrete Mix", and "Only Tools and Corpses", a pun on the popular British sitcom ''
Only Fools and Horses'', the latter beginning with a similar introductory drumbeat to the sitcom's theme music.
Musically, Gorerotted employed a distinctive dual vocal style. Originally with Ben McCrow delivering a deep,
death growl
A death growl, or simply growl, is an extended vocal technique usually employed in extreme styles of music, particularly in death metal and other extreme subgenres of heavy metal music. Death growl vocals are sometimes criticized for their ...
-style, and Mr. Gore (Jason Merle) providing contrast to this with a high-pitched yelling and screaming. When Wilson joined as the band's bass player on the album ''
Only Tools and Corpses'' he also added to the vocals by delivering high-pitched growls and additional screams, thus the band had three different voices going at times. After Mr. Gore's departure in 2004, Wilson took over his vocal parts in the older songs. The guitar riffs are often fast and technical, with the bass usually doubling these parts. Both the guitars and the bass are tuned down one whole-step (guitars are tuned to D), to achieve a heavier sound. The drumming is extremely fast, often making use of
blast beat
A blast beat is a type of drum beat that originated in hardcore punk and grindcore, and is often associated with certain styles of extreme metal, namely black metal and death metal,Adam MacGregor, ''PCP Torpedo'' by Agoraphobic Nosebleed rev ...
s and
double bass
The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...
.
During their time together, the band toured the UK and Europe extensively with acts such as
Nile
The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered ...
,
Decapitated,
Cryptopsy
Cryptopsy is a Canadian technical death metal band from Montreal, formed in 1988.
History Necrosis (1988–1992)
Necrosis was formed in April 1988 by drummer Mike Atkin, guitarist Steve Thibault and vocalist Dan "Lord Worm" Greening, initially ...
,
Vomitory and
Pungent Stench
Pungent Stench is a death metal band from Vienna, Austria, formed in 1988. Their last known lineup consists of Martin Schirenc (vocals/guitar), Danny Vacuum (vocals/bass), and Mike G. Mayhem (drums). Pungent Stench achieved early on prominence in ...
, visited the US to play at
Maryland Deathfest in 2007, and appeared in an advert for
''The Sun'' newspaper, as well as on the soundtrack to two films, namely ''The Incredibly Strange People Show'' and ''
Porn of the Dead'', a zombie-themed
hardcore pornography
Hardcore pornography, or hardcore porn, is pornography that features detailed depictions of sexual organs or sexual acts such as vaginal, anal or oral intercourse, fingering, anilingus, ejaculation, and fetish play. The term is in contrast wi ...
release.
Ben Goreskin and Tim Carley renamed the band The Rotted in 2008 when their new material took on more of a
death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...
/
punk vibe and continued to tour and record until splitting in 2014. Ben now co-fronts
grindcore
Grindcore is an extreme fusion genre of heavy metal and hardcore punk that originated in the mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from abrasive-sounding musical styles, such as thrashcore, crust punk, hardcore punk, extreme metal, and industrial. G ...
/
hardcore punk
Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...
/
crust punk pioneers
Extreme Noise Terror
Extreme Noise Terror (often abbreviated to ENT) are a British extreme metal band formed in Ipswich, England in 1985 and one of the earliest and most influential crust bands. Noted for one of the earliest uses of dual vocalists in hardcore,Bonn ...
.
Discography
*''
Her Gash I Did Slash'' (Demo, 1998)
*''
Mutilated in Minutes'' (Relapse Records/Dead Again/IBD, 2001)
*''
Split Your Guts Vol. 1'' (Deepsend Records, 2002)
*''
Only Tools and Corpses'' (Metal Blade Records, 2003)
*''
A New Dawn for the Dead'' (Metal Blade Records, 2005)
Members
;Final line-up
*Tim Carley – guitar (1997–2014)
*
Ben McCrow – vocals (1999–2014)
*Nate Gould – drums (2008–2014)
*Reverend Trudgill – bass (2008–2014)
;Former members
*Jeremy Gray – guitar (1997–1999)
*Jason Merle – vocals (1997–2004)
*Dave Hirschheimer – drums (1998)
*Steve Smith – bass (1998–2001)
*David 'Dicksplash' Hewitt – guitar (1999–2001)
*Matt Hoban – guitar (2001–2007)
*Jonathon Rushforth – drums (2001–2008)
*Phil Wilson – bass, vocals (2003–2008)
*Gianpiero Piras – guitar (2007–2008)
;Touring musicians
*
Dan Ford – drums (1997)
*Lakis Kyriacou – guitar (1997)
*Dan Knight – guitar (2006)
External links
Official history website
{{Authority control
English death metal musical groups
Musical groups established in 1997
Musical groups disestablished in 2008