UMUR "Murder Metal" is the 4th full-length studio album by US, Illinois based death/grindcore act Macabre. The album was released through Decomposed Records in September 2003. It´s the successor to "Dahmer" from 2000, although the band did release the "Morbid Campfire Songs (2002)" EP under the Macabre Minstrels monicker between the two full-length albums.

As opposed to it´s predecessor, which was a concept album, where all tracks followed the life and crimes of US serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, "Murder Metal" is, like "Gloom (1989)" and "Sinister Slaughter (1993)", composed of individual tracks each telling the story of various serial killers and murderes. So the overall lyrical concept hasn´t changed and stylistically "Murder Metal" also feels like the natural successor to "Dahmer (2000)". Both albums feature similar sounding and very powerful Neil Kernon productions, and a rather adventurous (yet still relatively simple) combination of thrash, death, and grindcore, and various other influences ranging from folk traditionals to nursery-rhyme type melodies. The vocal part of Macabre´s music has always been one of their greatest assets, and something which made them stand out, and that trend continues on "Murder Metal", where the vocals vary between deep death metal growling, a more aggressive type of growling, high pitched hysterical screaming, and various types of clean vocals.

The instrumental part of the album is very well performed too. The guitars are sharp, the bass is clearly audible in the mix, which helps cement how talented Nefarious really is, and Dennis the Menace is nothing short of a drummer extraordinaire. The way he drives the music forward and is in complete control of making rhythm- and tempo changes in the most natural fashion, is an absolute joy to listen to.

"Murder Metal" features 13 tracks and a full playing time of 44:19 minutes. As something a bit different the album closes with the 12:48 minutes long "Fritz Haarman der Metzger" (featuring German lyrics and a slight black metal influence). A track length which is highly unusual for a band who usually write songs between 1 and 3 minutes long. It´s not a long "epic" track though (although there actually are a couple of epic moments featured on the track) and it stops after 5 minutes, which are then followed by 5 minutes of low noises, before a "hidden" track kicks in for the last 2 minutes of the track. To my ears the low noise section is a bit of a shame and slightly annoying. Especially considering the brilliance of the two other parts of the track. But that is about my only complaint when it comes to "Murder Metal", which is otherwise packed with high quality material. It´s raw, powerful, and quite unique sounding, and should appeal to those who prefer their extreme metal to sound unconventional.

It´s hard to pick highlights, as all tracks deserve equal praise, but the above mentioned "Fritz Haarman der Metzger", "Fatal Foot Fetish", and "Morbid Minister" are to my ears some of the standout tracks. I´d also like to give a special mention to "The Hillside Stranglers", which features part of the same chorus melody and lyrics as were also featured on "The Vampire of Düsseldorf" from "Sinister Slaughter (1993)". That´s what the late Frank Zappa would have referred to as conceptual continuity, and it works pretty well here. Who would have thought that Frank Zappa and Macabre were kindred spirits. Of course they both made a spoof of the cover artwork for "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)" by The Beatles, but still...the point here being that there is more to Macabre than meets the eye/ear.

Upon conclusion "Murder Metal" is another high quality release by Macabre, and considering the extremely high quality of "Dahmer (2000)", it´s safe to say the band were on an artistic roll in those years. "Dahmer (2000)" still stands as the peak/masterpiece of their career, but "Murder Metal" isn´t far behind, and a 4.5 star (90%) rating is fully deserved.