Macabre - Grim Scary Tales
Macabre have always in my mind being an acquired taste, an eccentric death/grind influenced metal trio dedicating their existence to serial killers and murders, much like the UK’s Screamin’ Daemon did a while after the original idea came about with these “Murder Metal” specialists. With their last official recorded output being some 8 years ago, but the band have remained somewhat active and has continued to tour in support of their music.
Four of these tracks came out last year on the ‘Human Monsters’ EP, so most of you would have heard the sounds of Macabre in current times, although being clever they used their best tracks on that EP and added some fodder to the album. ‘Nero’s Inferno’ just makes no sense, it’s more like a hoedown than a metal track, and it depends on your sense of humour I guess. ‘The Black Knight’ is a bit more like it, to be able to tell the story the traditional growl of death is missing, it sounds like sarcasm, but that is simply the style of this band. Their Venom cover is well…normal! A song played to death by other bands but them the most fitting for this bands lyrical theme. ‘Burke and Hare’ is a slow burning grumbler to start with, riffing is precise, bass sound heavy and the constant tour de force is the drumming throughout this release. The overall sound is recorded well, sometimes the vocals take over the dominance from the music, but it also depends on what your sound system is like, try it on a few different ones and you get different interpretations, certainly the modern generation using computers will find the sound thin, you can beef it up on a normal system so no fear folks. ‘Mary Ann’ (about Mary Ann Cotton) is the nearest thing you are going to get to a slow song or even ballad with this crew, showing near signs of being able to sing but it still sounds like they are taking the piss rather than being serious in the delivery, melody and parody go hand in hand, they still manage to let the guitar solo go out of time with the backing music. The hoedown features again in ‘The Bloody Benders’.
Knowing what to expect from this band is a good starting point and you have to have a sense of irony and humour in your metal brain, this band are loved across the world but I myself cannot see what the fuss is all about, there are flashes of normality but overlaid with too much oddball instances that just don’t really work, maybe this makes it a special release? You won’t find any structure or groove. I certainly won’t be hopping on the bandwagon with this release no matter how cult this band may be.
Four of these tracks came out last year on the ‘Human Monsters’ EP, so most of you would have heard the sounds of Macabre in current times, although being clever they used their best tracks on that EP and added some fodder to the album. ‘Nero’s Inferno’ just makes no sense, it’s more like a hoedown than a metal track, and it depends on your sense of humour I guess. ‘The Black Knight’ is a bit more like it, to be able to tell the story the traditional growl of death is missing, it sounds like sarcasm, but that is simply the style of this band. Their Venom cover is well…normal! A song played to death by other bands but them the most fitting for this bands lyrical theme. ‘Burke and Hare’ is a slow burning grumbler to start with, riffing is precise, bass sound heavy and the constant tour de force is the drumming throughout this release. The overall sound is recorded well, sometimes the vocals take over the dominance from the music, but it also depends on what your sound system is like, try it on a few different ones and you get different interpretations, certainly the modern generation using computers will find the sound thin, you can beef it up on a normal system so no fear folks. ‘Mary Ann’ (about Mary Ann Cotton) is the nearest thing you are going to get to a slow song or even ballad with this crew, showing near signs of being able to sing but it still sounds like they are taking the piss rather than being serious in the delivery, melody and parody go hand in hand, they still manage to let the guitar solo go out of time with the backing music. The hoedown features again in ‘The Bloody Benders’.
Knowing what to expect from this band is a good starting point and you have to have a sense of irony and humour in your metal brain, this band are loved across the world but I myself cannot see what the fuss is all about, there are flashes of normality but overlaid with too much oddball instances that just don’t really work, maybe this makes it a special release? You won’t find any structure or groove. I certainly won’t be hopping on the bandwagon with this release no matter how cult this band may be.
- Locusta
- Nero’s Inferno
- The Black Knight
- Dracula
- The Big Bad Wolf
- Countess Bathory (Venom cover version)
- Burke and Hare
- Mary Ann
- The Bloody Benders
- Lizzy Borden
- The Ripper Tramp From France
- Bella the Butcher
- The Kiss of Death
- The Sweet Tender Meat Vendor
Decomposed Records
Reviewer: twansibon
Jan 15, 2011
Jan 15, 2011
Next review:
Foetal Juice - Foetal Juice EP
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