That Home Reared Meat are having a ton of fun is obvious - but don't mistake them for just a gimmicky fun act, these guys from the Emsland region are consistent purveyors of grindy carnage who, despite throwing in some hilarious interludes, know how to hit hard and get straight to the point.
Truckstop Terror is yet another tasty death metal snack, serving up a full platter of thrashy riffage and typical grindcore outbursts, topped with some hefty death metal avalanches. With pounding staccato riffs and meaty grooves, the band hits you right in the neck muscles. Tracks like the filthy Rim Decapitation, the probable band anthem Home Reared Meat, and the crushing title track are brutal delicacies for true death metal connoisseurs. The only downside is the occasionally sterile production, which causes some unwanted dips in impact - a shame, but not a dealbreaker.
Even when the tempo ramps up and the band's grindcore roots shine through, Home Reared Meat know exactly what they're doing: Spayed By A Teethless Goat, Grindhouse, and the intro/outro-wrapped Speak Italian Or Die! don't hold back and hit like a truck.
And yes, the fun factor remains intact even in the rawest moments. That's clearly important to these guys - not just through delightfully absurd titles like Dirty Butthole or Rearing Farmer Survival Training, but also in the spoken-word samples sprinkled between tracks. Thankfully, they steer clear of juvenile nonsense and instead go for just the right kind of dark humor. It lightens the mood, gives you a good chuckle - and then it's back to business: full-speed blasting.
Apart from the not-quite-perfect sound, Home Reared Meat have delivered another killer disc. Personally, I wouldn't mind if they released stuff more frequently - but if the end result is always this enjoyable, I'm happy to wait a little longer between albums.
