It isn’t often I review EPs and for a couple reasons. 1. EPs today don’t hold the same weight as they did 35-40 years ago, back when the music on these mini releases was expected to be of the same caliber as that of a full length. 2. It’s hard to come up with 500+ words on a release that’s only 3-5 songs long. There are, however, some exceptions to the rule, especially when the band in question hasn’t released any new music aside from a single here and there in *checks calendar* 8 years. Wait, that can’t be right. Give me a minute here.
Yes, Virginia, it has indeed been 8 years since Creepsylvanian splatterthrashers Ghoul last assaulted us with new tunes. The long awaited follow up to 2016’s Dungeon Bastards, a staple of my high school days, has arrived in the form of a new 5 song EP, appropriately titled Noxious Concoctions. Now if you believe everything the metal tabloids say (and I know some of you do), the last 8 years have seen the members of Ghoul busy with other bands and projects, specifically Exhumed. To which I say, balderdash! Everyone knows Ghoul are 100% mutant, the same way King Diamond lives in a haunted castle and Gene Simmons can split blood on command. To imply they’re merely human isn’t just inaccurate, but insulting.
What’s not inaccurate is that Noxious Concoctions is a ripping collection of bloodthirsty death/thrashers, guaranteed to appease headbangers of all ages. The EP opens up with the nearly 8 minute “The Eyes of the Witch”, which takes up almost half of this release’s run time. Unorthodox and ambitious by Ghoul standards, the song is an over the top death metal voyage, filled with eerie atmosphere, raging guitar solos, and musical changeups akin to Deceased. It’s not only the strongest cut on this affair, but also one of the finest Ghoul songs to date. The blistering title track keeps the death metal insanity going, blasting away with reckless abandon and sounding straight out of the genre’s golden age.
From there, it’s a one-two punch of braindead thrasher mania. The mosh-friendly “Shotgun Gulch” boasts those rowdy crossover tropes characteristic of early Ghoul releases, specifically chunky down-picked riffs and shout along (or in this case, growl along) choruses. The grossly titled “Ratlicker” also sticks to a nasty midtempo pace, guaranteed to get the pit spiraling out of control, before the EP closes with “1-900-DTH-LINE”: A cover paying homage to cult death metallers, Funerot. With its necrophilia crazed lyrics and punk rock aggression, this ripper has Ghoul written all over it.
Noxious Concoctions is the musical equivalent of reuniting with a long last friend after years of estrangement…only the friend is a flesh-eating maniac who just so happened to find a guitar and make enough sense out of it to create something resembling music. It’s not for the faint of heart or stomach, and that’s just how I like it. I give these cretins two horns up and a celebratory shot of Malort. Lord knows THAT noxious concoction is the only elixir in the Chicagoland area that would agree with their foreign palettes.
7 out of 10
Label: Tankcrimes
Genre: Death/Thrash Metal
For fans of: Exhumed, Impaled, Nekro Drunkz