Mortician - Re-Animated Dead Flesh (2004)

Mortician is a band that I can only take in small doses. Earlier, in the years prior to their full length excursions, I found them to be quite exhilarating as I have always been a sucker for a low-tuned, sludged out guitar sound and at that time no one came close to Mortician. I especially dug the slower moments where you felt as if you were being beaten to death in slo-mo beneath a strobe light. Muted chugging that bitch-slapped even the likes of Suffocation. Fast forward to the band's second full lenght, 'Chainsaw Dismemberment' and it was painfully obvious that the band had all but run out of ideas (though there was never a fucking shortage in insanity inducing movie intro's). I could tell that any semblance of clever riff configurations were rapidly becoming a thing of the past. Let me point out that Mortician were never going to be the death metal equivalent of Rush as vocalist Will Rahmer's bass "skills" were extremely limited thus boxing in exceptionally talented guitarist, Roger Beaujard into a very small space with which to work within.

Needless to say, Mortician's next three albums were a trio of duds with maybe a riff or two worth note among them. Hardly a reason to go run out and join their fan club. Then... as if the band had been re-animated by Herbert West himself... "BANG!!!"... out comes the ironically titled 'Re-Animated Dead Flesh'! This was the full length that I was hoping to hear so long ago after having been brutalized by the 'Mortal Massacre' 7". The pointless and overlong intros are still here, to be sure, but the riffing and more importantly, the intent is far more severe than anything the band had released since '91. If this is to be the band's final album then I am happy to say that they went out on a high, er "low" note and more than made up for the previous snore-fests. By the way, SICK fucking album cover! Love the glowing green "Re-animator" style logo as well!