Intermediate Level Hard​-​Core

Forever in a weird balance between being messy punks, being nerdy metallers, and being properly extreme, Ghoul arriving at this release seemed likely enough. Intermediate Level Hard-Core is more than just an oxymoronic release title, but a pretty good description of the music, since the Californian horror thrashers cover five hardcore punk songs, putting their own spin on the music and upping the ante slightly in places. Not being a massive hardcore fan myself, I don't know too much about Dayglo Abortions or Willful Neglect, but I do know that Ghoul like being crude and political, even turning some of their album storylines into political satire.

The majority of this short EP is done at high pace, only the closing 'Proud to Be Creepsylvanian' (which, unusually, is a term that Ghoul use for themselves) features slower pace in its opening bop of a riff. Mild crossover thrash tendencies get pulled out for 'Blow Up the Embassy', just jacking up the simple riffing to boiling point, while the vocals from Ghoul are harsh and even gargled, which certainly was not the case on the originals. Three guests join the band for various vocal duties, the most obvious of which is Oderus Urungus guesting on the Gwar song 'Americanized' a year before his death. It's difficult to say what the purpose of Intermediate Level Hard-Core was beyond the obvious having fun and playing with the guests, though exposure enters into things somewhere, since this was a Record Store Day release. Certainly, the songs reveal musical and lyrical influences on Ghoul.

If you're into the hardcore originals, liking Ghoul is probably a requirement for appreciating what they've done to the vocals, though there's no denying that the band's musical chops easily bring the level of playing up to intermediate. This is the kind of EP I would put on while eating a quick breakfast on a day that looked annoying. Fun and snotty.