Review by Lumina on May 5, 2026.

Goregrind is… certainly a genre. While I genuinely enjoy some acts within this filthy little niche, I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t often come across as painfully bland—or just outright awful. And for me, the worst offenders are still the endless wave of anime-themed goregrind bands. But every once in a while, buried beneath mountains of disposable noise, an outlier emerges. Today’s outlier is California’s Sulfuric Cautery.

As expected, this is first and foremost a goregrind record. But it’s executed with such creativity and conviction that you almost find yourself asking: is this really goregrind? A healthy dose of hardcore, noisecore, noisegrind, and straight-up grindcore influence certainly helps separate it from the countless forgettable acts clogging up this niche, but the production plays an equally massive role in making this stand out.

The first thing you’ll probably notice is the snare. Genres like this are notorious for that signature “pengy,” tin-can snare sound, but here it feels less like a mandatory genre cliché and more like a deliberate artistic choice. It actually works—and works damn well.

The vocals are another highlight. As far as I can tell, there are three separate vocal layers at play: one panned left and pitch-shifted down, another sitting dead center with a similarly lowered tone, and a higher-pitched layer off to the right. The result is this bizarre, almost hallucinatory atmosphere that feels both unsettling and strangely addictive. Honestly, I’m surprised I haven’t heard more bands experiment with something like this.

The bass deserves praise as well—super crunchy, upfront in the mix, and absolutely drenched in filth. It adds another layer of grime that makes the entire record feel even nastier in the best possible way.

There’s honestly not much more to say. This is the kind of album you throw on, switch your brain off, and let the chaos wash over you.

Highly recommended.

Rating: 9.7 out of 10