Time Signature You'll wish you were dead...

I really love Hell's Headbangers Records for being a label not afraid to release filthy and dirty music, and, while the full length releases by the artists on their roster are of course the main attractions, Hell's Headbangers actually release a lot of really interesting underground-styled relases such as splits, EPs, and reissued demos. One such release is the Crucified Mortals and Exorcism split, simply marketed as the Split 7".

The EP contains four songs distributed over three tracks, because the two Crucified Mortals-songs are contained within one track, while Exorcism's two songs are given a track each.

Crucified Mortals are among the finest death-thrash bands these days, and their eponymous 2011-debut has received praise for its all out thrash attack nature. Expecting something along the lines of that album you can imagine my surprise when, after a heavy introduction, 'Crippling the Will of Faith' explodes into a full-scale crust onslaught, complete with d-beating and Discharge-inspired leads. 'You'll Wish You Were Dead' is slightly more thrashy, but also leans more towards the crust side, and also seems quite inspired by Discharge and The Exploited.

Unlike the two Exorcism-trachs, which are extremely raw production-wise, these two songs are quite well produced and have a fat and brutal sound.

While not in the same style of thrash metal that Crucified Mortals are otherwise known for, 'Crippling The Will Of Faith / You'll Wish You Were Dead' shows that the Americans are more than capable of also playing brutal and simple crust.

Time Signature Resurrected fiend...

Genre: thrash metal

Crucified Mortals' eponymous album from 2011 might be their debut album, but they had ten years of experience in the underground prior to that and several underground releases under their belt.

This experience shows itself clearly on the album which is hyper professional and lacks the naivety that otherwise characterizes many a debut album in the world of metal. Instead, the listener is treated to crushing death-thrash with a decidedly old school feel. The tempos range from crushing midtempo passages, some of which sound inspired by Anthrax, to fast blistering Slayer-esque madness with the occasional melodic interlude. Reflecting the experience of the band, all passages are performed with clockwork precision without it detracting from the fury and aggression of the music.

The production is of high quality, and the guitars are both well defined and brutal sounding, while the bass is nicely audible. Although I have no problems with lo fi production (as long as it is not too lo fi), I do appreciate the fact that Crucified Mortals have chosen to take the production seriously and aimed at making their album sound good on the stereo.

Any fan of thrash metal - especially the likes of Slayer and early 90s Sepultura should check out this massive thrash attack.

The Block The Séance

Crucified Mortals has been around for 10 years now and this is their first album. Up until this point they have released a variety of EP’s and splits, but have yet to put out an album. Now that they have, they sure released a good one. Composed of eleven horror stories that they made into songs, Crucified Mortals has definitely shown a creepy, haunting, and even a kind of disturbing side to their music. But that, in its own way, makes the music more enjoyable.

Though for most of ‘Crucified Mortals’ it is thrash metal, there are parts of it that have death metal tendencies, and the album is at its best when the two genres mix. It combines to make a wonderful mix of speedy riffing and raw, harsh sounding melodies. The opening to “Sordid Treachery” showcases this with great opening lines accompanied with heavy, almost pounding drums. That’s basically what this album is; Riffs led by pounding drums that are accompanied with harsh thrash vocals. ‘Crucified Mortals’ is in no way different from most standard thrash acts, but their overall energy, and great soloing lend for a nice, if you can call dissonance and disturbing lyrics nice, sound.

One thing that seems to happen a lot on this album, though, is that a lot of the songs sound the same. This makes the album seem a lot longer than it really is, and detracts from the album. One thing is for certain though; headbangers everywhere will enjoy the sound that Crucified Mortals have put into this album. One thing attributing to that would definitely be the soloing. Zack Rose, who I believe does most of the soloing, does a great job on all of his solos, and lead singer Craig Horval, who also plays bass and guitar, puts down some fantastic bass lines to back him up.

The production is very clean and not at all like what I expected when I first received this album. Just glancing at the cover, which is really kind of cool, and some of the lyrics I assumed that the production would sound almost “underground”-like with fuzzy guitars and vocals that were way too low in the mix, but I was wrong. Everything is perfectly balanced, and it sounds great.

For people who have bee disappointed with more recent thrash releases this album is definitely for you. With harsh vocals, pounding drums, and killer solos Crucified Mortals has put forth a great effort with this album and definitely deserve 3.5 stars.

topofsm With the influx of thousands of -core bands several years ago, there has been almost a counter movement of thrash bands trying to reclaim what is really metal. Some results are mixed, but Crucified Mortals' self titled release is definitely on the side that shows that thrash is still far from dying.

As far as standard thrash goes, Crucified Mortal is, well, pretty standard. Great fast riffs, two-step drumming, shouting vocals that wander into nearly a growl occasionally. Fortunately the band has some high energy and some great riffs, evoking Slayer, though without any of that whammy-worship. Unfortunately the album occasionally suffers from Slayer syndrome, where songs begin to blend with each other. This is often the case with songs that open with a sweet riff like "Perpetrator", and immediately go into thrash mode. The band even gets plenty of slow South of Heaven worship in "Perpetrator" before blasting out into a metal craze.

The production is clear, not fuzzy whatsoever, and all the instruments are audible. What's really great is the bass. The bass is so solid and it is clear (even on speakers with low bass output) that it makes me want to punch someone. This is how a thrash metal record should be produced, as it is very conducive to headbanging and the like.

Overall, you aren't going to find anything grand or innovative in Crucified Mortal's self-titled debut, and you really don't have to. It's a great thrashfest that your average metalhead should be able to get his mosh on when listening to it. Highly recommended for thrash fans and metalheads in general.