A quick bit of research can help put to rest the alleged claims that Morbid Saint toured with Death, which ironically is what they have garnered a degree of their cult following from. In actuality the band only played a smattering of shows with Death, but something about their Death Metal laced Thrash must’ve stuck as Spectrum Of Death, their legendary debut has seen them upon many an essential Thrash/ Death Metal list. You do have to wonder that had the record dropped just a few years prior then Morbid Saint might be a much bigger entity than they are today. Nevertheless, they remain classic, but just how long can that legacy last? In 2015 they released their second full length Destruction System, an album I was completely unaware of until doing this review. That could have more to do with my ignorance than it being poorly received, but since I pride myself on being a Metal fountain of knowledge we’ll go with the latter. Anyway, let’s get into the third full length and first record in a long time, Swallowed By Hell!
The aptly named Rise From The Ashes kicks things off, and there is a definite stronger air of Thrash than Death. Perhaps akin to the likes of Kreator, Sodom and the wider Teutonic scene. If I’m honest it’s pretty bog standard in the riffs, drumming and even vocals, which is perhaps the one thing that made Spectrum stand out so much. Continuing with the generic nature is the somewhat cringey ‘demonic’ spoken word intro of the title track. I’m keeping an open mind though and genuinely even though it’s still a bit average it’s fun. I will say this though, it’s not very catchy, which I kind of always want from Thrash. Is it fun just because it’s Morbid Saint, a cult name? It’s very possible, if this were an unknown Thrash act I probably wouldn’t have so much forgiveness. Maybe my limit has now been reached, Bloody Floors does give a touch of hooks but it’s still nowhere near enough. Okay, enough is enough the entirety of the first half of this album with the exception of the odd lyrical or riff hook is very lacklustre, my advice, stick to Spectrum Of Death.
Fuck Them All, offers yet still absolutely nothing, fuck who exactly? Bands who can write catchy Thrash? Perhaps I’m being overly harsh. I mean I would absolutely have fun to this at a festival or something but by such a point I’d probably be ten beers deep and shouting out tracks from Spectrum. Bleed Them Dry, shows a few more vocal punches that are much more what I was hoping for/ expecting, but it’s too little too late I’m afraid. Therein lies the root cause of issue for Swallowed By Hell, there are flashes of hope, glimmers of enjoyment and indeed a few standalone songs worth a listen such as the opener. However, as a full record it desperately drags on and with the weight of Spectrum upon its shoulders crumbles into the dreaded forgettable category. To speak more of the actual sound, and particularly the vocals it’s like the Death has slowly evaporated, it lingers but just barely. Whilst Morbid Saint have always primarily been a Thrash band it was their leanings of Death Metal that made them interesting. The album rounds off to no more exciting end, leaving a sadness and a general fall from grace.
I very much appreciate Thrash, it’s a hell of a lot of fun and if you’ve read my reviews before then you’ll know that Death Metal is my favourite genre of all time. When you take the Death out of the Thrash though and then take the fun out of the Thrash you’re left with a bland, hyper generic Metal record. When the redeemable features that remain are that it’s Metal and it’s a cult band then it’s a very sad state of affairs. High Roller Records most likely took this release on with the cult backing, because if this was a run of the mill upcoming Thrash band then I doubt they would be given much time.
(4/10 George Caley)
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