MACABRE (IL) — Dahmer (review)

Album · 2000 · Death Metal

5/5 · 2016-04-01
Vim Fuego

Concept albums often have very dark stories and themes behind them. Queensryche’s “Operation: Mindcrime” deals with heroin addiction, assassination and insanity. W.A.S.P.’s “The Crimson Idol” is the story of a rock star dealing with the loss of his brother, his own alcoholism, the emotional distance from his parents, and his eventual suicide. “Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son” is possibly a concept album, or possibly not, depending on which member of Iron Maiden you ask, but it does cover clairvoyance, foreseeing death, madness and the meaning of dreams. All these pale in comparison to Macabre’s “Dahmer”.

“Dahmer” is particularly shocking and achingly dark because it is a true story. This album follows the tragic true story of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer from screwed up childhood to eventual rather messy death. Dahmer’s life and crimes are particularly famous because the brutality and perversion behind the seventeen murders he committed caused a media shitstorm like no other serial killer in history.

This album kicks off with “Dog Guts”. Why? Because a young Jeffrey Dahmer loved playing with dead animals. Second track “Hitchhiker” covers Dahmer’s fucked up teenage years, culminating in the murder of a hitchhiker in 1978, his first victim. Macabre is well known for sticking the odd nursery rhyme into their music, and there’s a few on show here. “In The Army Now” and “Grandmother’s House” steal the tunes from “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” and “Over the River and Through the Woods”, lightening the grim mood somewhat. “Coming To Chicago” borrows from “She’ll Be Coming ‘Round The Mountain”, which is a truly disturbing sing-along about cruising gay bathhouses, looking for victims to fuck, photograph, kill, photograph, fuck, mutilate, fuck, disembowel and finally fuck again. Another borrowed tune, “Jeffrey Dahmer And The Chocolate Factory” has the immortal lines “Oompa loompa doompity dah/Jeffrey loved eating/Men from gay bars/And he lived in happiness too/Like the Oompa Loompa doompity doo”. Oompa Loompas don’t seem quite so innocent after that.

Dahmer tried to lobotomise several of his victims, in order to acquire a zombie sex slave, but kept messing up the operation. The song “Konerak” describes how victim Konerak Sinthasomphone managed to escape during this process, but through some of the most inept police work of all time, the cops returned him to Dahmer, and in doing so, missed seeing a decomposing body in Dahmer’s apartment, and all that was ever found of the the Thai teenager was a few bones.

As you can imagine, there’s nothing progressive or operatic about “Dahmer”, as is often common with concept albums. It’s a death metal record, but like Macabre’s previous two albums, it’s not exactly an ordinary death metal record. Macabre’s style of death metal has always had something of a cult following, rather than really breaking through into death metal’s mainstream, possibly because these guys enjoy a laugh. “Jeffrey Dahmer Blues” for example, is a swinging blues song, topped off with a solo by producer Neil Kernon. “McDahmers” is an anthem for cannibals everywhere. “Into The Toilet With You” hits a tech-death rhythm, while describing how acid dissolved flesh was flushed down the toilet.

Of course, there would have been no Dahmer, no court case, and no album unless Jeffrey was caught. “Media Circus” covers Dahmer’s arrest, using the cheerful circus music melody. “Temple of Bones” describes the macabre (no pun intended, no other word really fits) construction of skeletal remnants police found in Dahmer’s reeking charnel house apartment, along with dissolving body parts, filleted human flesh in the freezer, and putrefying bodily remains.

The song which sets this album apart from all other concept albums, and all gore themed metal everywhere, is “Trial”. Guitarist/vocalist Corporate Death (Lance Lencioni) is quite serious in his obsession with serial killers, and actually attended Dahmer’s trial. “I waited in line to see him/Through the bulletproof wall/In the courtroom/And I had a seat in the front row/To watch Jeff like a circus sideshow/Ten feet away, the cannibal displayed”. This is taking research to another level, and short of interviewing Dahmer, or becoming a victim, this is as close to the source material as it is possible to get. Reading the lyrics, describing how Lencioni was only 10 feet from Dahmer is chilling.

Dahmer was beaten to death in prison in 1994, almost bringing this entire tragic episode to an end. Final song “The Brain” covers how Dahmer’s father wanted his son’s preserved brain destroyed, which it eventually was.

This whole story is told in a coherent manner, never losing its narrative thread, yet most of the songs can be listened to in isolation without sounding strange. Well, no stranger than usual, considering this IS Macabre after all. It’s gory and gruesome, both musically and lyrically, and it stands up well to repeated listens. As far as death metal concept albums go, “Dahmer” is unique, the perfect mix of brutality, humour and true life horror.

more than 2 years ago
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UMUR wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Just listened to this one Again for the first time in many years, and it´s an incredibly well written and intriguing album. The lyrics are well researched and well written, and the music is more varied than the early releases by the band.

siLLy puPPy wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I think we need an eclectic metal category for bands who are this diverse. I guess the subject matter is death enough!

Vim Fuego wrote:

more than 2 years ago

A majority of tracks are death metal, and the band's roots are death, grind and thrash. It's not far different to most of their albums. Macabre is a band which isn't content to stay straightjacketed to one style, and have always enjoyed a joke. Death metal fans consider them to be a death metal band, which is what really counts.

siLLy puPPy wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Most of this doesn't sound death metal to me. Most of it sounds like extreme punk and several tracks are not metal at all. That's cool because I love a diverse spectrum of styles but I'm wondering why this qualifies for the death metal tag.

Vim Fuego wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Almost all Macabre's songs are about serial killers, but don't always deal with them seriously. This particular album is quickly becoming my favourite all time death metal album. Slayer might have written the best serial killer metal song ever with Dead Skin Mask (and 213 is about Dahmer, but not near as good), but Macabre have recorded the best album.

UMUR wrote:

more than 2 years ago

They´re pretty wacky. I think you´ll enjoy them.

siLLy puPPy wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I will do that. They have some really compelling titles that put the death in death metal!

UMUR wrote:

more than 2 years ago

You should definitely check out Macabre. Personally I´d start with "Sinister Slaughter" and Work my way forward.

siLLy puPPy wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Well it doesn't get any more death in metal than a musical accompaniment to the story of that guy! Never heard this band. Will have to check em out. Great review

UMUR wrote:

more than 2 years ago

It´s a very well written and detailed review.