UMUR "Nightstalker" is an EP release by US, Illinois based death/thrash/grindcore act Macabre. The EP was released in 1993 through Relapse Records. It bridges the gap between the band´s debut- and sophomore full-length studio albums "Gloom" (1989, Vinyl Solution) and "Sinister Slaughter" (April 1993, Nuclear Blast) and features five tracks which would all be re-recorded and slightly re-arranged on the album (in the case of "Zodiac" it would be extended by several minutes).

I´m not sure if this recording was a demo of some of the material from "Sinister Slaughter", which Relapse Records opted to release, but there´s certainly a raw demo quality to the performances and the sound (although this isn´t too primitive sounding to enjoy). "Zodiac" is only 0:25 minutes long and although you recognise the song from "Sinister Slaughter", it´s such a short and unfinished version, that it´s more or less just there. The remaining four tracks are early versions of "Nightstalker", "Is It Soup Yet?", "Sniper in the Sky", and "What the Hell Did You Do?! (James E. Pough)". All delivered in raw, intense, and delightfully aggressive versions featuring lead vocalist Corporate Death snarling, growling, and screaming his high pitched crazy vocals while being complimented by the deep growling of bassist Nefarious.

I always thought this was just a teaser release to "Sinister Slaughter", featuring the same versions of the songs from the album, but these versions are different and more unpolished, savage, and vile, than the re-recorded versions, and "Nightstalker" is therefore definitely a worthwhile release for fans of Macabre. It´s only 6:58 minutes long, but this is a prime example of quality over quantity. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Shitlist" is the first and only official demo (originally cassette tape) released by US, Illinois based extreme metal act Macabre. The demo was originally released in 1987 but later reissues of the demo from 1989 exist with three additional tracks (recorded in 1989). Gore Records released a 7" vinyl version of the demo in 1990 (titled "Shitlist"), which features only 5 of the original 7 tracks from the demo. Most tracks from the demo appear in re-recorded versions on the early label releases by the band: The "Grim Reality (1987)" EP, "Gloom (1989)", and "Sinister Slaughter (1993)".

If you´re familiar with the early deathgrind sound of Macabre, you won´t be surprised by the style of music on "Shitlist". It´s fast, it´s ugly, it´s gory, and it´s incredibly well performed considering this is a 1987 extreme metal demo and the first release by Macabre. The demo features 5 "studio" recordings and 2 live tracks. The studio demo tracks features a lo-fi demo sound quality, but it´s still possible to hear what´s being played and sung and the live recordings are also very raw but sound great.

Although no one would mistake "Shitlist" for anything but a demo release, it´s still overall a decent quality release, and considering the time of release a seminal deathgrind release. What I´m most impressed about though, is how well defined Macabre´s trademark deathgrind style already was this early on. Most artists need a couple of demos to hone their craft and to write material worthy of inclusion on a future studio album, but had the material on "Shitlist" featured a more professional sounding production, this would have been a high quality release, which could easily be released through a label. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Carnival of Killers" is the 6th full-length studio album by US extreme metal act Macabre. The album was released through Nuclear Blast in November 2020. It´s the successor to "Grim Scary Tales" from 2011 and as always features the trio lineup of Corporate Death (guitars, lead vocals), Nefarious (bass, vocals), and Denis The Menace (drums). It´s not often you come across an act formed in the mid-1980s, who have never experienced a lineup change. So it´s not the number of lineup changes which have caused the many years between album releases. 8 Years between the release of "Murder Metal (2003)" and "Grim Scary Tales (2011)" and now a 9 year wait between "Grim Scary Tales (2011)" and "Carnival of Killers". That´s only 3 albums in 20 years...

...oh well I prefer quality over quantity any day, and in that department Macabre have always delivered. Stylistically "Carnival of Killers" continues the eclectic combination of musical styles that Macabre have been exponents for since day one. Death metal, grindcore, thrash metal, punk, blues, country music/bluegrass, folk/traditionals, children´s songs/lullabies, and all sorts of other bits and pieces from various musical styles are put into the melting pot, and out comes the sound of Macabre. The lyrics are as always about real-life serial killers/mass murderes like Ted Bundy, Richard Ramirez, John Wayne Gacy, and Richard Speck. Some have been the lyrical subject of tracks featured on preceding releases by Macabre, but they´ve also found new unpleasant and vile stories to tell. One of them ("Tea Cakes") about female Italian serial killer Leonarda Cianciulli, who murdered three women and then turned their bodies into soap and tea cakes, which she distributed to friends and neighbours.

Some of the real-life stories told on "Carnival of Killers" are so nauseating and vile, that they are hard to believe, and they are much, much worse than anything your typical goregrind/gore themed death metal act can cook up (because they are actually real). Macabre handle the source material in a bizarre humorous fashion, which makes listening to the album a sort of forbidden guilty pleasure. For example take a listen to how Ted Bundy´s story is told on "The Wheels On The Bug", using the traditional children´s song "The Wheels on The Bus", Macabre handling another track about German serial killer Fritz Harmann singing in German on "Warte Warte", or "Richard Speck Grew Big Breasts" about mass murderer Richard Speck eating hormones and growing breast in prison, to be better able to sexually satisfy his fellow inmates. It´s as morbid and bizarre as it gets.

The stories are told in the usual manic and diverse vocals style of Macabre. Clean vocals, high pitched screaming vocals, deep death metal growling, and aggressive raw snarling vocals. Sometimes layered, sometimes not. The musicianship is on a high level. The vocals are well performed and creative, the guitar riffs are sharp and the solos well played, the bass audible and active, and as the icing on the cake the incredibly skilled drumming by Denis The Menace. The latter is an unique extreme metal drummer, who is able to blast away, and play fiercely fast double pedal, but also add more original touches to the rhythm part of the music. His greatest asset though is how he is always able to drive the music forward in the most powerful way possible. The tracks are often pretty simple in both idea and structure, but he is able to get much out of little.

Macabre know they have something special in Denis The Menace and his drums are placed very high in the mix. "Carnival of Killers" is overall a well produced album, and although the drums are high in the mix, the guitars, bass, and vocals are also clearly audible. Upon conclusion the 9 year wait was worth it as Macabre have again produced a high quality release loaded with material in their unique style. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

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.

UMUR "Morbid Campfire Songs" is an EP release by US, Illinois based death/grindcore act Macabre. The EP was released through Decomposed Records and was originally only sold on the band´s 2002 tour under the Macabre Minstrels monicker. It was picked up by Season of Mist for a reissue in 2004. The reissue version features a different cover artwork to the original version. "Morbid Campfire Songs" bridges the gap between the band´s third and fourth full-length studio albums "Dahmer (2000)" and "Murder Metal (2003)".

The 5 tracks on the 18:52 minutes long EP are very different in style from the band´s usual gore drenched serial killer themed extreme metal style, as this is basically a stripped down acoustic EP with Macabre´s versions of various famous traditionals like "Tom Dooley" and "The Cat Came Back". Musically the band deliver fairly "straight" versions of the songs, but they occasionally twist the lyrics a bit in the more vile direction, which of course isn´t surprising if you´re familiar with Macabre. Usually acoustic releases can get a bit tedious, but this one puts a smile on my face, and as it´s only an EP length release, it doesn´t overstay it´s welcome.

The sound production is warm and organic, and it´s a sound which suits the music perfectly. Macabre have shown before that they go outside the often narrow boundaries of extreme metal and successfully incorporate everything from children songs, to traditionals, to blues, to soundtrack music, to their otherwise pretty extreme type of metal. This is the first time they´ve went 100% out of their usual style though, but to my ears the experiment works well, and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.