UMUR
"Dirty Rhymes and Psychotronic Beats" is an EP release by Austrian death metal act Pungent Stench. The EP was released through Nuclear Blast Records in April 1993 and bridges the gap between the band´s 2nd and 3rd full-length releases "Been Caught Buttering (1991)" and "Club Mondo Bizarre for Members Only (1994)".
Stylistically the music on "Dirty Rhymes and Psychotronic Beats" also bridges the gap between the two albums, as the new original tracks on the EP are less death metal and more death´n´roll in style. It´s only "Viva la Muerte" and "Horny Little Piggy Bank", that fall under the catagory of new original tracks though. The 7 track, 33:35 minutes long EP features two new tracks, two cover tracks, an intro, and two re-recorded versions of "Blood, Pus, and Gastric Juice" from the band´s debut full-length studio album "For God Your Soul... For Me Your Flesh (1990)".
The two originals are among the best tracks on the album but the Mentors cover "Four ´F´ Club" and especially the Warning cover "Why Can the Bodies Fly" are both pretty great too. To my ears the inclusion of female backing vocals and handclaps on the latter mentioned are a brilliant move. I can´t say I´m too thrilled about the two versions of "Blood, Pus, and Gastric Juice" though. The original track wasn´t too interesting to start with and the "rare Groove mix" version on "Dirty Rhymes and Psychotronic Beats" is only slightly better than the original. To my ears the "Tekkno-House mix" version that closes the EP is not that interesting either. It´s an electronic version.
The sound production is raw, distorted and powerful. The snare drum has a tendency to sound like someone is beating on a cardboard box, which can be a slight distraction at times, but it´s a minor issue. Despite the fact that only four out of seven of the tracks on the EP are really great (the intro track is a bit redundant too) and especially the "Tekkno-House mix" version of "Blood, Pus, and Gastric Juice" drags my rating down a bit, I still feel that a 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is deserved. The band are by the way still as sick and twisted as ever, which should of course be apparent already by looking at the vile cover artwork (which exists in several censored versions), but certainly also if you read the lyrics. Sexual perversions mixed with blood´n´gore. It shouldn´t be taken too serious though. Pungent Stench was always a band out to have fun and never took them themselves or their music too serious. I guess the fact that they chose to cover a Mentors track says a lot about what kind of an act they were.