Friday, March 25, 2016

Morgue Supplier - Self-Titled (2016)

Chicago's Morgue Supplier features former members of Crematorium, but that's far in the past now. These guys have been together since '99 even though this is only their second album. You might be surprised to know that this is a side project of Drug Honkey, who band mastermind Paul Gillis also plays in. Along with World Of Sin's Eric Bauer and current bassist Steve Reichelt, these guys craft a mixture of death metal and grindcore that is the literal polar opposite of anything you'd find in the LSD trip gone wrong mixture of doom and death that is Drug Honkey. As a matter of fact, it more often than not feels like the auditory element of one getting beaten to a living pulp. The drums pound ferociously, even if the guitars have slowed down to an almost doom level and the vocals never seem to let up. There's definitely a bit of experimentation here and there as well, which keeps these fourteen pieces from becoming boring. Songs will range anywhere from a little over a minute to nearly five minutes in length, but the majority of the cuts here are close to a mere three minutes in length, which is pretty long for anything with the word “grindcore” in it's description box. This is the kind of grind that utilizes solos as well, but the record isn't really bombarded with any extra element other than the sheer brutality and vehemence that we might expect from such a punishing disc.

That being said, sometimes there's a lot of technicality, sometimes we get a few sections of doom atmosphere (like that of Drug Honkey, but not so psychedelic) and other times we just get unbridled mayhem. Morgue Supplier is the kind of record where riffs actually get the chance to stick out every now and again as well, so it doesn't always sound like a mass of monstrous mess. I can recall acts like Pig Destroyer when I hear this, and if you're a really big fan of those guys and similar, you're going to want to pick this one up. I'd definitely say that it's as good as Pig Destroyer record I've heard and like the aforementioned, it actually manages to do more with grind than just grind. Grind has always been a tough genre for me to get into, but certain bands manage to make it stand out, especially when they're adding new elements to the genre that make it worth listening to. That being said, there's really no black metal influence here (aside from some sections in the album closer) like you'll hear with another grind crossover act, Anaal Nathrakh. Though that's a good thing, as I wouldn't want a band like Morgue Supplier or even Pig Destroyer to traverse the same territory as their peers.

Morgue Supplier haven't released a full-length album since '04, which means that many have been waiting a long time for this one, but rest assured that your wait was worth it. I'm pretty sure that you'll end up playing this record more than just once and come back to it many times through, at least until they release another record. But let's give them some time, as this disc is more than good enough for me.

(14 Tracks, 40:00)

8/10

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