Yet another great release that seemingly got missed by the metal press,the Entrails debut Tales From the Morgue (available on F.D.A. Rekotz) falls in the same oddball category as Interment’s debut from earlier this year. Both releases are by bands who were at ground zero of the Swedish death metal explosion in the early 90’s but failed to release anything beyond demos until now. As scene contemporaries of Entombed, Dismember and Grave, the Entrails sound and style sticks very close to those pioneered by the aforementioned leaders of the genre and Tales From the Morgue is composed of songs actually written in and around 1991-1992 or even earlier in some cases. Listeners will be greeted by the same fuzzed out, super distorted, down-tuned guitar sound heard on Entombed’s Left Hand Path or any of the Dismember platters. There is plenty of brutality, just enough groove and the vocals of Jocke Svensson are excellently grisly and guttural. The major reason for the success here is the quality songwriting. Yeah, the songs are over 20 fucking years old but they’re very good and sound crusty, maggoty and filthy. At times this reminded me of really old Entombed and other times, Seance (circa Salt Rubbed Eyes) but they really do have a style of their own. Take for example the eerie and haunting solo work Entrails employs to break up the bludgeoning (see “Blood Red” and “Entrails”). This gives the tracks an almost horror movie vibe and it fits perfectly. The production is a winner too and the raw and ugly sound stops just short of muting the music. And let’s hear it for the album cover! Simply classic.
If you love old school Swedish death metal and the newer bands that try to recreate it like Bloodbath or Death Breath, then this is an evil time capsule from 1992 you should unbury and check out. Enter the Entrails! EWWWWWWW.
Highlights: “Blood Red,” “Entrails” and “Euthanasia”
