Deceased - Children of the Morgue (2024)

Though I don't find myself listening to their first few records as often as I'd like, Fearless Undead Machines and all of the Deceased full-lengths beyond 1997 are regular staples in my listening rotation, ESPECIALLY around Halloween season where their tales of cult horror truly resonate. Queue the King Diamond, the Samhain, early Danzig, the Rob Zombie (laugh all you want), the Cradle of Filth, a whole lotta death metal and creepier atmospheric black metal, and then Virginia's finest for me. I didn't notice a strong reaction abroad to their latest, Children of the Morgue, but I was smitten as soon as I saw the collage of creepy dolls that make up the cover art, I knew we were going to those DVD/VHS racks and pulling out all the stops, so I turned the lights down, grabbed my popcorn and pressed PLAY.

In King Fowley I trust, for good reason, because Children of the Morgue is the same classy-as-fuck blend of heavy, speed, thrash and death metal that I've been loving for nearly 30 years. It doesn't ascend to the same heights as a Supernatural Addiction or Surreal Overdose, and you could argue that it plays it safe within those already-broadened margins of their sound, but Deceased is about songwriting consistency, and blending together the right level of atmosphere complementary to the themes with the classic metal across numerous genres that inspires them. So you'll get some dim, moody acoustics, cleaner narrated vocals from King, a lot that actually makes you feel like you're actually watching an obscure horror flick ("Terrornaut", for example), and it all blends seamlessly with the riffing variety, which ranges from the more melodic and welcoming to some of the old dissonance of The 13 Frightened Souls or Blueprints.

King has shifted more comfortably into his vocal role, which still sounds as great at it has on the last 7-8 albums. This allows Amos Rifkin to dominate the kit, on which he does a great job keeping in Fowley's down to earth style, maybe packing in a little more muscle. The riffs rarely disappoint, and even the less catchy ones feel like they're coming straight out of the Deceased playbook, while the leads maintain that memorable, workmanlike authenticity. Never too flashy, but fulfilling enough, with melancholic twists to them that suit the overall attitude of the recording. Children of the Morgue is clean, but they keep the instruments just raw enough in the mix that it doesn't suffer from polish that would leech away its underground aesthetics. It's a damn good album, and I like it as much as its predecessor Ghostly White, but it just happens that they've got four albums I enjoy even more. Still, if an album this good is the 'floor' of what they're capable of for the last couple decades...well, that's why they are one of our best American metal bands going today. Integrity in spades.

Verdict: Win [8.5/10]

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