Thirty-two tracks of sweltering grindcore is what the Italian trio known as Balatonizer dish out on OCCLUSED IN OTTUSITY. What makes this release so endearing is not the Cookie Monster on crack vocals, or the incessant barrage of rapid-fire guitars and inhumane drumbeats, but the samples of real criminals boasting of their heinous acts against society. How's that for a slice of reality? And it's all done in Italian, which only adds to the mystique. If you dig crushing grindcore and THE SOPRANOS, this disc is for you.

By Mike SOS