UMUR "Splatterthrash" is the 3rd full-length studio album by US, California based death/thrash/grindcore act Ghoul. The album was released through Razorback Recordings in June 2006. It´s the successor to "Maniaxe" from 2003. As far as I can see there haven´t been any lineup changes, but it´s a bit difficult to be sure as the band members use stage names like Digestor, Cremator, and Fermentor, and those stage names and roles are inherited by new members (most drummers who has been members of Ghoul are for example all called Fermentor).

Oh well...odd lineup talk out of the way, "Splatterthrash" continues the death/thrash/grindcore style of it´s two predecessors. It´s like listening to a mix of S.O.D. and old Carcass or something like that, and although Ghoul don´t have the most original sound, they deliver their music with great skill and conviction, and they write some both raw and memorable material, featuring both heavy thrashy riffs and rhythms, and faster paced sections too. They also have a great ironic distance to their own output, and occasionally incorporate some pretty interesting and humourous moments in the music. I heard a spy type movie theme somewhere and there´s a surf music type track on the album too ("Psychoplasm"). The vocoder robotic vocals on "Rise, Killbot, Rise!!!" are also quite weird and entertaining.

"Splatterthrash" features a raw and powerful sounding production job, which suits the rawness of the material perfectly. It´s a rough sound, but still detailed enough for the listener to hear all instruments and vocals in the mix. Upon conclusion it´s another great quality release by Ghoul and while it is just short of reaching the excellent mark, a 3.5 star (70%) rating is still fully deserved.