Ghoul - Transmission Zero

Ghoul
Transmission Zero
Tankcrimes

Before we get into the skinny on Ghoul's fourth album, 'Transmission Zero' - their members are or were part of other groups such as Impaled and Exhumed, and keen inherit their gory themes across from those bands. This is known despite their efforts to keep their identities secret, performing in executioner-style masks and going by the monikers of guitarists Destructor and Digestor, bassist Cremator and drummer Fermentor. Oh, and all their songs revolve around happenings in their 'hometown' of Creepsylvania (aka Oakland, California), which I assure you is as welcoming as a bout of voodoo-induced insanity.

Review Roundup: †††/Moloch/Obsessor

††† (Crosses)
EP

First up in this review round-up, an out-of-the-blue EP offering from  ††† (or verbally, Crosses), featuring Deftones’ Chino Moreno and Far’s Shaun Lopez teaming up for some electronic rock that’s not too far away from Chino’s previous side-project Team Sleep. The result is five tracks of mostly beat-driven music, with some occasional guitar flourishes, with Chino’s trademark vocals all over everything but the closing instrumental, ‘†’.

Although Chino’s presence doesn’t help this stand out much from his major concern, the EP’s fairly enjoyable as a whole, without bringing anything new to the fore. There’s some an occasional eeriness about one or two of the beats, particularly opener ‘†his Is a †rick’, but there’s some great moments embedded in here as well – I can imagine ‘Op†ion’ sticking around on my MP3 player for a while – although it’s not quite enough to get the pulse racing. It’s more of a grower than an instant hit, and again, it’s not diverse enough to stand out from anything Chino has done with Deftones. But give it time, you might well be pleasantly surprised. It’s available for your e-mail address, and was released somewhat unexpectedly – so free of that hype, go ahead and delve in.

††† (Crosses) official site (enter e-mail address for EP)

Cannabis Corpse - Beneath Grow Lights Thou Shalt Rise

Cannabis Corpse

Beneath Grow Lights Thou Shalt Rise

Tankcrimes

Despite what you may think about the gimmicky approach, this band is all business. They don’t play parodies of death metal classics, instead focusing on delivering their own songs with an old-school bent to them. None of the technical approach that’s flooding the scene a la Obscura, Necrophagist et al (not to knock that); just riffs that shred and beats that blast so hard your long hair better be windmilling, or you ain’t worthy.

Following on from 2010’s ‘The Weeding’, ‘Beneath….’ is eleven death-metal slammers (and an intro) all in name of the leaf. Whereas previous releases ‘Tube of the Resonated’ and ‘The Weeding’ lifted and twisted song titled directly from Cannibal Corpse, the new album chooses instead to play on Deicide and Morbid Angel titles. The intro, ‘Visions From The Dankside’, sets up perfectly for ‘Lunatic of Pot’s Creation’, and before long, you might well find yourself yelling in unison with the band, particularly during ‘Dead By Bong’, ‘Slave To The Chron’ and the slow groove of the title track’s chorus, pumping your fists in the air and rocking out with reckless abandon. Riffs are tight and killer, the bass is audible and providing perfect groove, and the drums provide suitable momentum at all times.

For all their parodying and silliness, Cannabis Corpse are doing far more than simply paying tribute to old-school death metal, they’ve dragged it into the modern day and are delivering it with aplomb. And it’s incredible to think they were just bassist Phil ‘Landphil’ Hall’s side-project to Municipal Waste a couple of years ago. I think it’s safe to say they sit comfortably alongside Landphil’s main band with their own identity. Put simply, the quality of this album puts this year’s death metal disappointments firmly in the shade, and by golly is it good to see younger bands coming up, taking the mantle and slamming into into several tiny pieces on the pit floor. Get this album and worship the leaf that inspired it.

Peter Clegg

Purchase ‘Beneath Grow Lights Thou Shalt Rise’ via the official Tankcrimes Bandcamp page (full album available for streaming)

Or, direct from here, if you prefer

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