“mortician”
Mortician
Chainsaw Dismemberment
Relapse
Just like the early Friday the 13th installments are to the horror film genre, Mortician has remained for most of the 90’s the most predictable yet archetypal band in the death metal genre. Commandeered by bassist/vocalist Will Rahmer, the New York band has embodied every cliché and stereotype – from album covers to lyrics, both lifted straight from horror films – death metal has ever offered. But when nearly every contemporary of theirs jumped ship for black metal trendiness five years ago, you’ve got to hand it to Mortician: It takes a lot of guts (no pun intended) to be so crusty.
Chainsaw Dismemberment , the band’s latest offering, is as interchangeable as any other of Mortician’s five records of gore-grind. However, a real drummer now replaces the band’s much-abused drum machine. The tempos range from fast to furiously fast, downtuned guitars and fuzz bass keeping apace, with some doom-chug crapped out here and there. It’s a good (?) thing all of Chainsaw Dismemberment ‘s lyrics are printed, for Rahmer’s uber -guttural vokills are nothing short of aural vomit. Then again, most mentally sound individuals won’t be reciting such semi-haiku as “ knife tears through the flesh/hatchet in the head/disembowlment “ (“Slaughtered”) any time soon. Which begs the question: Why does Mortician exist? Therein the answer rests the band’s value.
Relapse, P.O. Box 251, Millersville, PA 17751; http://www.relapse.com
