UMUR "Dungeon Bastards" is the 5th full-length studio album by US, California based death/thrash/grindcore act Ghoul. The album was released through Tankcrimes Records in July 2016. It´s the successor to "Transmission Zero" from 2011. Ghoul were formed in 2001 by among others members of Impaled and have worked as a side-project for the members for many years. As the members work under pseudonyms like Fermentor and Cremator, and the stage names seem to be passed on when a lineup change occurs, I´m not sure if there have been any lineup changes since "Transmission Zero (2011)".

After a spoken word sample intro from the exploitation styled movie "Rise and Fall of Idi Amin (1981)", the opening track "Ghetto Blasters" kick off with a great mid-paced groove laden heavy riff and rhythm. It sounds like it´s straight out of the mid-80s Anthrax/S.O.D. playbook, but as soon as the track seques into "Bringer of War", Ghoul´s affection for early Carcass is clearly heard. And that pretty much sums up the sound of "Dungeon Bastards". A bastard mix of mid-80s crossover thrash and late-80s/early 90s goregrind/death metal. The vocals are more or less an imitation of the early Carcass vocal style with one raw snarling vocalist and one deep juicy growling vocalist complimented by the occasionally more thrash influenced vocal moment and riot gang choirs.

Ghoul can´t be accused of producing anything original, but on the other hand what they deliver is so energetic, raw, and full of horror/gore B-movie charm/humour, that it´s almost impossible not to find yourself greatly entertained. The material are well written, catchy, and effective, the musicianship is on a high level on all posts, and the sound production is raw, organic, and powerful, suiting the material perfectly. So upon conclusion "Dungeon Bastards" is through and through another strong release by Ghoul and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is fully deserved.

UMUR "Transmission Zero" is the 4th full-length studio album by US, California based death/thrash/grindcore act Ghoul. The album was released through Tankcrimes Records in November 2011. It´s the successor to "Splatterthrash" from 2006. Ghoul were formed in 2001 by among others members of Impaled and have worked as a side-project for the members for many years.

Stylistically the material on "Transmission Zero" continue Ghoul´s trademark combination of crossover thrash, goregrind, and death metal (sort of like listening to the bastard child of S.O.D. and Carcass playing). The lyrics are gory and funny/silly and the band also incorporate spy movie/surf rock themes on some tracks ("Death in the Swamp" is a full on surf rock track with snarling Jeff Walker type death metal vocals). It´s all a bit campy and silly, but it´s also damn charming, brutal, aggressive, and memorable.

"Transmission Zero" is an album reeking of the band members having fun and of their love for the music style they play here. This is not just a clone/tribute type album though, and Ghoul put their own spin on the tried and true musical elements, and as they are both skilled musicians and composers, they succeed very well in doing that. Heavy groove laden thrash metal riffs, Carcass-type snarling growling and deeper growling vocals, riot gang shouts, and death metal/goregrind sections.

"Transmission Zero" features a raw, powerful, and well sounding production, which suits the material well. I hear a more tight playing band and more memorable songwriting compared to the preceding releases, and upon conclusion "Transmission Zero" is a step up from "Splatterthrash (2006)" and a quality release by Ghoul. A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.

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.

UMUR "Maniaxe" is the 2nd full-length studio album by US, California based death/thrash/grindcore act Ghoul. The album was released through Razorback Recordings in June 2003. It´s the successor to "We Came for the Dead!!!" from 2002.

Stylistically "Maniaxe" is a continuation of the death/thrash/grindcore style of "We Came for the Dead!!! (2002)", but "Maniaxe" features a better quality sound production and more memorable songwriting. The music and especially the vocal style are strongly influenced by early Carcass, although Ghoul generally focus more on heavy death/thrash oriented riffs and less on blasting grindcore parts compared to the early output by the Liverpool legends. So while there are strong smiliarities there are enough differences too for Ghoul not to come off as a complete clone band...they are huge Carcass worshippers though and not ashamed of it either.

"Maniaxe" opens with "Pleasant Screams / Forbidden Crypts", and it doesn´t take long to know what kind of an album this is. It´s well played, well produced, but also slightly one-dimensional in style. The cover of Louie Armstrong´s "What a Wonderful World", which closes the album, is the track which stands out the most, and other than being a bold choice for a cover, it´s quite entertaining listening to a punked death metal version of the famous song. Despite being a bit one-dimensional in style, the original material are well written too, and individually the tracks are all powerful, raw, and relatively varied with both tempo changes and even the occasional melodic moment.

So upon conclusion "Maniaxe" is a quality sophomore album release by Ghoul. It´s not the most original sound that the band produce but the delivery is both passionate and convincing, and as written above the material are well written too. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "We Came for the Dead!!!" is the debut full-length studio album by US, California based death/thrash/grindcore act Ghoul. The album was released through Razorback Recordings in January 2002. Ghoul were formed in 2001 by among others members of Impaled, and released the "Ghoul's Night Out" demo later that same year. On this release the lineup consists of the three-piece: Digestor (blood gargling, axe grinding and grave desecration), Cremator (barfing, burning and bass slaying), and Fermentor (gunge gurgling, bile brewing and pychotic thrashing).

With band member names like those, it´s no surprise that Ghoul play an old school gore/horror themed combination of thrash, death, and goregrind, strongly influenced by early Carcass, but not quite as extreme or as grindcore influenced. The vocal part of the music is close to being a clone of the vocal style on the early Carcass releases though (one high pitched aggressive snarling voice, one deep growling, and one juicy unintelligible deep growling one), and when Ghoul play fast, it´s nearly impossible not to think of the legendary Brits. But when that is said the music is predominantly more thrash/death metal influenced and there are even a couple of more melodic moments on the album, which point in a traditional heavy metal direction.

One of the first things you notice while listening to "We Came for the Dead!!!" is how well playing a band Ghoul are. These are skilled guys who know how to handle their instruments but also how to compose an effectful tune. "We Came for the Dead!!!" features a decent, although not perfect, sound production, which is raw and suits the material well. Upon conclusion it´s a good quality debut album by Ghoul and if you don´t mind the whole clone factor thing this is definitely an entertaining release made with the right amount of love and passion for this type of music. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is deserved.