Jungle Rot

Possibly named for a nasty foot disease of soldiers in the bush, Wisconsin's Jungle Rot has been around the indie label block a few times (most recently with Pavement Records) but never seemed to strike it lucky with any of them. Dead and Buried, the band's fourth release, displays the solidification necessary to take the band to the next level. "Virus" takes the old-time death metal formula of Slayer and Morgoth and knocks it back a few notches, preferring to pummel with calculated repetition instead of shredding with hyper-speed riffage. Guitarist/main throat Dave Matrise has both the deep, death-y sustain and high-pitched gargle of Chris Barnes, which makes "Misplaced Anger" and "Strangulation Mutilation" sound like early Six Feet Under outtakes. Guitarist Jim Bell's stratospheric leads in "Red Skies" and the title track recall The Bleeding-era Cannibal Corpse, and the rhythmic death march of "Psychotic Cremation" and "Another Fix" brings to mind the signature throb of Gorefest. Not as rappy as Six Feet Under, but just as cyclical as Obituary, Jungle Rot keeps its metal plain and unadorned to notable effect, though some might call it simply monotonous.