UMUR "Rotten To The Core" is the 5th full-length studio album by US metal act Deceased. The album was released through Malt Soda Records in January 2004. It´s the successor to "Supernatural Addiction" from 2000 although the "Behind the Mourner's Veil" EP from 2001 bridges the gap between the two full-length studio albums. On "Rotten To The Core" Deceased have added drummer Dave Castillo to the lineup, and lead vocalist/drummer King Fowley therefore only plays drums on some of the tracks. He would from this point step down from the drummer position for a couple of years (until 2010) and solely concentrate on performing vocals.

"Rotten To The Core" is a covers album, featuring Deceased performing hardcore/punk covers by artists like Ramones, Cro-Mags, Bad Brains, and Sex Pistols. The album features 16 classic hardcore/punk tracks and is obviously a project Deceased have done for their own satisfaction first and secondly for the fans (which is often the case with cover albums). It´s not the most original idea to make a hardcore/punk covers album, and many other metal artists have done it before (and after) Deceased (including Slayer with their "Undisputed Attitude (1996)" covers album).

Deceased deliver some convincing performances and they manage to put a little of their own spin on the source material, while still staying fairly true to the original tracks. "Rotten To The Core" features a decent quality sound production, which is raw and suits the material well. Overall "Rotten To The Core" is not the most interesting release by Deceased though, and considering the high quality of the last couple of Deceased releases before this one, the drop in quality is pretty big. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.