Review: “Unholy Baptism” by Chorg

Somewhere between the realms of primordial ooze, black tar rivers and obsidian sludge lurks a beast that survives on instinct fuelled by primal rage. That beast adorns the cover artwork of “Unholy Baptism“, a debut EP by Chorg, a graphical representation of what their hybrid blend of Grindcore, Brutal Death Metal and Slam might sound like… they actually core it “core grindy grind core for your holes“. Hailing from Huston Texas, the band embrace a DIY or DIE work ethic with guitarist John “JJ” Jones mixing and mastering. He surrounds himself with like minded individuals in vocalist Chris Tey, bassist Jacob Benavides and former Of The Fallen drummer Adrian Sandoval and together they have shared stages with the such household names as Blight Feeder, Demon King and Prophecy thus far…

If you hadn’t already guessed it by their chosen stylings, Chorg are the Metal equivalent of a handbag snatcher. They see what they want, sucker punch their victim, grab the handbag and then run like hell. Short, fast and razor sharp, their tunes have no excess fat to be trimmed. Dark and foreboding “No God / No Master” begins with the harsh whisper “God has abandoned us!” before slapping the discerning listener in the face with beatdown riffs galore. The sound is on the raw side but overly so as the drums sound relatively crisp compared with most. After a sample the blood gargling Slam vocals come into play with “Unholy Baptism” during which Tey burns through the warranty on his larynx. Distinctly reminiscent of the work of Gutalax, if there are any lyrics they’re lost to the winds of plague as the throat becomes an instrument of mass ear canal destruction. A whirlwind of riffs swirl around them with a groovy Grindcore orientation making the track as much fun as you can have without losing a limb and the same can be said of “Eternal Suffering“. Bouncing along like a dambuster with throat splitting vocals, it may be a little primitive but that’s part of its charm. Samples between the tracks add a spice that’s nice before the thunderous percussion of “Evisceration Chamber” reaches Twitch Of The Death Nerve levels of pandemonium. Racing away at breakneck speed with blast beats galore before slowing down for something a little more groove orientated in the finale, this one is the perfect soundtrack to a building site brick fight. Pop and eyeball and end up high on laughing gas in the emergency room. “Lust For Blood” brings down the bloodstained curtain on this collection with Death Metal riffs and pummelling percussion painting the town red. Arguably the finest of the five, it sounds exactly like what you’d expect the cave dwelling beast depicted in the cover art to sound like as it stalks its prey in the witching hour [7/10]

Track Listing

1. No God / No Master
2. Unholy Baptism
3. Eternal Suffering
4. Evisceration Chamber
5. Lust For Blood

“Unholy Baptism” by Chorg is out 13th April 2025 and is available over at bandcamp