Ghoul : "Dungeon Bastards"

Meeting somewhere between death metal and thrash, these attack the songs on this album with a brisk aggression. There are a few vocal styles on the actual song, ranging from a dry rasp to a lower gurgle to more of a punk gang vocal. These three vocal styles seem to be a staple of their sound. There is more of a punk energy to "Shred the Dead", making these guys a perfect band for punk kids who are beginning to get into metal and looking for an entry point past Slayer. The title track seems to be more about terrorists. It's another almost more punk than song. The dual guitar parts are the most metal element. The bass player shines on this song, but generally remains lost in the mix. Aside from this the album is generally well produced.

"Ghoulunatics" is a more metal song. These guys are far from re-inventing the wheel when it comes to originality of their sound. Slayer is often the biggest influence, but you can also hear traces of bands like Anthrax and D.R.I. The rule around here is cool riffs alone do not make a good song , so this really hits these guys hard. While they are very capable at their instruments, when it comes to actual song writing they take at stab at it, but generally end up hacking up their best ideas. Like Punk they keep these songs compact and in the three minute range. Sometimes the vocal take on a more Gwar like character to deliver the narrative. This is done in a more rapped manner on the verses of "Word is Law" where the character is a cop. While it's silly this is also one of the best songs on the album. There is less though put into "Death Campaign" that is a little too one dimensional even for death metal.

Even though "Guitarmaggedon" relies on samples it's still one of the album's better songs. The album closes with "Abominox" in some ways it's chug is very much like several of the other songs on this album. The bass carries them into the verses in a very Megadeth like manner. The vinyl of this comes in two different colors slime green or blood red with a gate fold that opens into a board game. So that is their target market. I am not sure I am their target market as I typically require more dynamics, but these guys are good at what they do and this album is dumb fun so i'll round it up to an 8.