“Gateway Metal,” for lack of a better phrase, deviates little from this concept. Quite simply, it is metal that serves as a bridge between the mainstream and the extreme, sharing affinities with each while laying claim to neither. Almost all avid worshippers of the extreme flirted with metal in a more accessible form prior to crossing into the genre’s netherworld – a fact that many are too embarrassed to admit for whatever reason. Like the nameless fellow who dabbled in hair bands before someone slipped him a copy of Master of Puppets – his gateway into mid-era Slayer and the initial rumblings of death metal.

Why take the time to flesh out this seemingly insignificant distinction? Because Rotten Sound’s Still Psycho has the capability to convert more “nu-metal” fans to extreme metal than Bible and bike-peddling Mormons to Christ. A less than subtle hint of metal’s darkest side that won’t send newbies retreating to the hills of commercialism’s comfortable confines in abject horror. Basically, what Six Feet Under does for death metal, Rotten Sound does for every other branch of the musical black arts.

But you shouldn’t let the band name fool you, since it’s rather misleading. A misnomer in fact. To state it slightly differently, Rotten Sound is certainly a befitting moniker for a band striving to emulate the anarchistic grind of such bellwethers as Extreme Noise Terror and early Napalm Death. But that was seven long years ago, and the sound – due to stellar production and the advent of superior recording technology, not to mention the maturing interests of the band members – has progressed. Sure, the band’s grindcore roots still emanate from the core of the music, but the recorded-in-a-bathroom vibe that has long been an integral component to the grind ethos has been supplanted by a squeaky clean production job, showcasing the band’s disparate influences, which range from scorching black metal to a death metal infusion that is as reminiscent of At the Gates as it is early Fear Factory. Blackish death grind? Like most labels, this one is limiting, especially in this particular case.

One factor that works in favor of Still Psycho is its abbreviated length , a MCD consisting of six songs – an  ideal dosage for those who mistakenly perceive Korn to be the heaviest band on earth. And the tunes themselves are often nothing short of amazing, short and explosive blasts that highlight the band’s technical aptitude not only to perform a variety of extreme styles with mind-numbing proficiency, but also its rare ability to coalesce these influences into a non-convoluted fashion that is as brutally diverse as it is unique. What earns the distinction of most calculated move on Still Psycho, however, surfaces at the tail end of the EP, an inconspicuous turn that juxtaposes “Lack of Awareness” – a  “single” that sees the band flirt with one of those grooves that induces the oh so annoying crowd bounce popularized by many of the Cali-metal bands – with a blistering cover of the Carcass classic “Reek of Putrefaction.” Whether or not this propagandistic ploy will be the impetus that invokes kids to run out and purchase a copy of Symphonies of Sickness remains to be seen. But it is a stroke of genius nonetheless.

Adding a visual dimension to the Rotten Sound catalog – and more bang for the buck, so to speak – is a hidden live set consisting of nine tracks that can be viewed from your computer.  That’s the idea, anyway. To be honest with you, I still haven’t figured out what is limiting each of these tracks to about two seconds before cutting out and returning to the main menu. Bad luck? General ignorance? Whatever. Regardless of my technological deficiencies, the fact remains – the CD is well worth the money spent.  Actually, I would venture that it is worth more than the money spent, considering it is specially priced as a MCD.

Still Psycho should be as alluring to fans of the extreme as it is to followers of the heavier end of the mainstream. A door hovering seductively between the two poles intended to lure the unexpected into a choice: metal as a lifestyle versus metal as a phase. Give Rotten Sound a shot and see where it takes you.
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