Death is an inevitable part of life. In a culture rife with horror films, first person shooter video games, and nightly true crime stories, and even our own subculture that has since spawned an entire subgenre centered around it (death metal), it’s easy to become desensitized to this concept of death: This imminent reality that, one day, you and I will close our eyes, never to wake up again. It conveys an array of emotions: Fear, confusion, dread, denial, and so on and so forth. All of these feelings and more are perfectly captured on Deceased’s latest album, Children of the Morgue.
For nearly 40 years running, Deceased has specialized in “death metal from the grave”. Like most first generation death metal acts, they truly are a band unto themselves, boasting their own unique sound and character that’s theirs and theirs alone. As the ’80s turned into the ’90s and death metal bands became fixated on adhering to the Florida sound, Deceased walked their own path, fusing early death metal with outbursts of ripping thrash and the adventurism of ’80s traditional metal. This approach has resulted in a series of wildly unpredictable yet compelling albums, each one offering a harrowing glimpse into the collective psyche that is Deceased. Children of the Morgue is no exception.
As the album’s title suggests, Children chronicles various tales of untimely demise. It is a death metal album about death, through and through. Yet whereas other death metal acts use death as a cheap sales ploy or something resembling a shock tactic, Deceased tackle death on this affair with deep emotion and musical intensity. The blistering title track immediately takes hold of the listener, laying down the law with its blistering death/thrash meets prime Maiden maneuvers established back on Fearless Undead Machines (1997). There are many incredible things about this band, their uncanny ability to keep listeners attention on lengthier cuts such as this being just one of many.
From there, we’re treated to old school death metal ragers like “Eerie Wavelengths” and “Brooding Lament”, that take us back to the era before death metal was so strictly pigeonholed to an amalgamation of Cookie Monster vocals, chug riffs, and blast beats. These faster, more lethal cuts are contrasted by emotionally gripping moments like “Terrornaut” and “Fed to Mother Earth”, which boast unorthodox chords and an aura of grimness that lies somewhere between Voivod and ’80s goth rock. It’s bizarre to be making such comparisons in a death metal review, but as I stated earlier, Deceased isn’t your typical death metal band. Rounding it all out are ripping death/thrash/heavy metal suites like the doomy “The Grave Digger” and bombastic “Farewell (Taken to Forever)”, the latter of which serves as a sort of reprise of the title track.
Like damn near every Deceased album before it, Children of the Morgue is a masterpiece of deadly proportions. Many things can be said about King Fowley and his band of metallic miscreants. One thing that can’t be said is that this is a band who ever phoned it in or cranked out an album for the sake of fulfilling a contract. No, everything Deceased creates comes from the bottom of their zombified hearts, and we should be so lucky to have a band with such integrity still tearing up the scene today. Take notes kiddies. THIS is death metal done right.
10 out of 10
Label: Hells Headbangers Records
Genre: Death/Thrash Metal
For fans of: Necrophagia, Autopsy, Slayer