Mortuary Ghoul – Friends Of The Dead

After some first small releases, an EP and a split EP, Matt N. (also active in a whole slew of other bands), the godfather of Mortuary Ghoul, thought it was time for a full-length. And if you haven’t heard of the band before, the combination of the band name, the cover art and the affiliated label will definitely give away of what to expect.

Heavily laced with loads of horror movie samples, slow and swinging tempos and guttural vocals, Mortuary Ghoul for sure just follows all the horror-influenced Brutal Death Metal genre. Of course, Mortician is an obvious comparison, but Mortuary Ghoul also sounds like a way better executed version of a band like XXX Maniak. And with its slow, stomping pace and the sudden violent bursts a parallel with Italian Tenebro is easily made. That last one might not really surprise as Tenebro’s Hannes Grabstein is also the figure behind the Dismal Fate Records label that is responsible for the release of ‘Friends With The Dead’.

With only a few words most of what needed to be said has been said. The album pummels along its 30-minute playing time, delivering enjoyable but very little uplifting Brutal Death Metal. Having a strong penchant for Mortician, this works pretty good for me and comparing to it to Tenebro, Mortuary Ghoul sounds way more interesting and at least it feels less one-dimensional.

If you are craving for a portion of utterly primitive and savage Death Metal in the trademark Mortician way, Mortuary Ghoul is delivering the best of the best at this very moment. So, those who are friends of the dead, should get their hands on this great one-man band’s debut album. A vinyl version, by the way, would be appreciated.