Morbid Saint
Swallowed By Hell

It's been more than 30 years since we've heard an actual release from the Wisconsinian Morbid Saint, one of the most ferocious thrash metal acts in the history of our kind. Morbid Saint's debut record, Spectrum of Death is nothing short of being one of the most wicked and rotten-to-the-core thrash albums, there is nothing that sounds even remotely similar to that level of demonically possessed, malice-submerged maniacal evilness. Their follow-up, Destruction System is also magnificent, even if they never finished it before releasing it. Unironically, that sound and the production worked perfectly in the music's favor. It took years for the band to release this third installment, Swallowed By Hell, we sure as hell had to wait for it after the band announced they were working on a new album. Thankfully, we lived to see the day, and Swallowed By Hell has finally arrived. Was it worth the wait, and can the Morbid Saint still be as lethal as it used to be? Yes, absolutely. The band lost absolutely nothing from their ruthless aggression, relentless hatred, and anger, these guys are still very much the same. This is a truly honorable phenomenon because nothing is more common than 1980s thrash bands getting tired, worn out, lukewarm, and weak, as if they no longer had the driving force they used to back in the day. Some exceptions, like Razor, Atrophy, and Vio-Lence stand out high and tall, and Morbid Saint is now entering that same club. While the band certainly didn't write a Spectrum of Death - Part II or a Destruction System: Volume II, this is still extremely true to the band's name. If this record sounds like anything, it sounds more like the band's sophomore record, because Swallowed by Hell explores more mid-paced territories, and presents the more complex side of things, not necessarily the primal massacre, like the debut. Despite that, the tight, raging riffs, Pat Lind's angry, hateful vocals, and the brutally grinding double-pedaling drumming all combined make you forget all about the past. The production is unusually clean for a Morbid Saint album, but the songs are so God damn heavy that they still sound as ruthless and bloodthirsty as anything, so as you're getting your face punched in with every song, it is very difficult to remember how clearly you can hear the guitars and drums. A lot is to be adored about the material on the band's comeback album. First, the songs are very dynamic. "Rise From the Ashes" is the most boundary-tearing, wildest piece that opens the album with a truly neck-breaking pace that immediately tells you that the band has more fuel left in the tank than you'd expect. Similarly scorching is the catchy "Killer Instinct", which is also no slouch, especially not during the verses. The band still kills those fast-paced thrashers, but where it really shines is the mid to moderately fast tempo. Check out "Burn Pit", which probably has the most ridiculously headbang-inducing verse riff over squashing double-pedal devastation, and listen to how Pat Lind's outraged vocals hold it all down. Ferocious savagery at its finest. Or, how about my favorite off the record, titled "Bleed Them Dry"? The main riff is just disgustingly cruel and merciless, there is something about those filthy, nasty down-picked notes between the gallops that define heaviness and cruelty in metal. It also features a very intuitive arrangement of riffs and verses that follow each other smoothly. Despite the constant switching between slow and fast tempos, the song does not sound choppy at all. One of the most interesting elements in this album is the lead guitar. If you would have told me that fucking Morbid Saint will incorporate flashy, neoclassical-influenced lead playing in their music, I would have laughed my ass off. Well, the joke's on me. That's exactly what they did. I would have seen this coming from a lot of bands, but not from this one. In particular, if you listen to the intro lead melody of "Pine Tuxedo", you can hear some very Yngwie-reminiscent descending notes that sound really artistic and sorrowful, way beyond what we would expect from a band like this in this genre. The frequent sweep-picking is also a new element, which is also not something the band ever performed in the past. This new orientation of lead guitar goes unbelievably well with the band's aggressive style. It is not like the album would be difficult to digest or hard to consume for thrash fans, if Swallowed by Hell had a bunch of Slayer-style whammy-bar ridiculousness on it. It would be perfectly fine. This genre is not about being the most technically advanced player on Earth, and as fans, we don't expect thrash guitar players to be virtuosos. But how nice is it to hear a band go above and beyond what is expected, and create a very unique combination of sophistication and brutality? To conclude, it is great to see Morbid Saint back on track. You can forget all about those 30 years that flew by since the release of their latest (unofficially) full-length titled Destruction System. They can still destroy the place and take you on a thrilling, adrenaline-fueled, extreme thrash ride. Of course, a band like Morbid Saint, who released one of the most devastating, obliterating, violent, bloodthirsty, shattering albums in their respective genre, they are in a difficult situation when releasing a new album. Expectations are through the roof, and people expect this to be a direct sequel to Spectrum of Death, both in quality and the sound itself. Yeah, right. If you truly understand that debut, you know that that level of diabolical intrinsically possessed, sickeningly twisted, hellishly blasphemous obliteration could only unfold once in history. Therefore, it is ridiculous to expect anything close to that album. However, in general, this is an excellent release, and it shows that the guys took this comeback seriously. No fillers are to be found, and the production sounds perfect. I hope this is not the last time we hear from them.