DECEASED – children of the morgue – CD

Death Metal, Heavy Metal, Thrash, Doom Metal – Hells Headbangers

Enter Children of the Morgue, DECEASED’s darkest record to date. The album’s concept is on dying and all that it entails, and suitably do the band integrate nearly every element of their past and present arsenal into its 55-minute runtime. “There will be fast parts, slow parts, melodic parts, noisy parts, and everything in between,” Fowley claimed pre-release, and he’s not wrong! But how DECEASED manage to thread everything together so seamlessly speaks to the strength of their songwriting – always recognizable, but never resting on past laurels. Here on Children of the Morgue, moody-yet-melodic riffing and lead-work take center stage as Fowley narrates this epic-length tale of life and death. The album’s exceptional pacing and engaging, always-going-forward song constructions heighten the sensation that the record is a lot shorter than it actually is; however, if one was to do some quick math, he’d surmise at least half these tracks are indeed EPIC – at or above the eight-minute mark. Nevertheless, the sum effect is mesmerizing and even majestic, unremittingly DARK as the subject matter may be. The final icing on the cake (or slamming of the morgue’s doors?) is the warm & rustic recording courtesy of Oblivion Studios, where the aforementioned Fearless Undead Machines and co-classic Supernatural Addiction were rendered onto tape.

Nearly 40 years since their formation, DECEASED show no signs of stopping – and, in fact, are arguably more potent than ever. You can now add Children of the Morgue to their list of undeniable classics…but this is not the end!