Dahmer

Macabre have definitely defined themselves in the genre of metal as murder metal, this release adds to it for sure. This whole album is about Jeffrey Dahmer, which is just awesome in so many ways. Not of course because he was a serial killer but just interesting how Macabre can pack 26 amazing songs about him into this album.

26 songs about the same person, might get boring? Hell no! This album has all the same ideas but the lyrics are genius. Every song seems to tell a snippet of the story behind Jeffrey Dahmer, and to a person who may find him interesting, just reading the lyrics can make your day. But I wouldn't just read the lyrics of course, listening to the songs get the point out even better.

The production quality of this album is by far probably the best sounding recording I have personally ever heard. It is just so crisp and clear and when a band is telling stories and things like that in their songs, this kind of production is needed. They definitely went the right way with this producer.

The songs on this album are for the most part pretty fast songs, with great melodies and breaks. My favorite track is actually the slowest song on the album, which is "Hitchhiker." The song "Hitchhiker" is almost like a giant breakdown but of course better. But if you like them fast then every other song on this album is definitely for you and is like all the rest of their songs off previous releases. One of the best things I can say about Macabre is the fact that even though a three piece band, they have some of the best musicians out there. Their drumming is absolutely amazing, his speed and precision really show on this album. The guitarist and singer are definitely a focal point on this release as well, the guitar riffs on the songs on this album are fantastic. I think Corporate Death really wanted to do something insanely heavy on this album and boy did he succeed, this is definitely Macabre's heaviest album that they have ever released.

Stand out tracks "Hitchhiker" Dog Guts" "Blood Bank" "In the Army Now," just to name a few, but they all are great!

Macabre is a pretty unique band in the death metal scene. They formed in the mid-80s, and have survived to this day without a single lineup change. They aren’t too well known, though, possibly because their material’s a bit goofy and their vocalist, Corporate Death, has a piercing scream that’s kind of hard to deal with at first. They also haven’t released many albums, with just 4 full-lengths and a handful of EPs since their debut in 1989. Still, they’re highly revered among those versed in their work, and it’s not hard to see why.

Dahmer was released on Halloween in 2000. Like all of their work, it’s about a serial killer, but this album was a first for Macabre in that it’s a concept album, not a collection of songs about different serial killers. Dahmer isn’t strictly a metal album, as Macabre dips a bit into hardcore punk quite a bit. The lyrics are another example of Macabre’s great black humor, and most songs don’t stick around long enough to get stale, as there are 26 tracks in just 52 minutes. A few songs stick out as filler (the 20-second “Media Circus” in particular- I correctly guessed its tune just from the title), but most are fairly solid. I thought that “Blood Bank,” “Drill Bit Lobotomy,” “McDahmer’s,” “Scrub a Dub Dub” and “Christopher Scarver” were the catchiest tunes on the album.

Most of the songs are played quite fast, although they do slow it down a bit for “Scrub a Dub Dub”. The songwriting dips from the “gory nursery rhyme parody” one too many times for my tastes, but all the songs are over quickly so nothing really drags. The musicianship is pretty good, with Corporate Death’s guitars and Nefarious’ bass being strong throughout, but I thought Dennis the Menace’s drumming was pretty workmanlike (with the exception of a few tracks). The production is quite good; producer Neil Kernon knew how to make the songs sound gritty without being muddy, and contributes a solo to the song “Jeffrey Dahmer Blues”. This is my favorite album in Macabre’s all-too-small catalogue, and I would recommend it to people who enjoy comedic metal, as well as bands who mix punk elements into metal well.

Originally posted at metal-jerks.com