siLLy puPPy Formed in 1983 in the Dallas TEXAS area, RIGOR MORTIS began when school chums Harden Harrison (drums), Casey Orr (bass) and Mike Scaccia (guitar) hit it off with mutual interests in two passions. Horror flicks and heavy metal music. After several years of gracing the greater Dallas-Ft Worth area venues, the band busted free from their rusty cage and unleashed their speed metal thrash madness unto the world with their eponymous debut release in 1988. This music reminds me a lot of the debut album of Possessed in that it’s just burgeoning with passionate angst fueled metal energy and the band are so on fire that they can hardly contain themselves. It also has that crossover feel of early thrash slowly evolving into the death metal of the 90s.

Right from the intro instrumental “Welcome To Your Funeral” the listener gets slapped in the face with a no compromise middle finger to the world attitude as the thrash guitar chords burst into a ridiculously fast and riff that evolve into ripping solos. Mike Scaccia has the speed of the fiercest neoclassical shredder but the music here stays rooted in punkish thrash metal music without all those fancy shmancy guitar scales, therefore it keeps the music ominous sounding with the i-am-a-metal-god vocal style of Bruce Corbitt who tears it up. The music on this one is dirty and raw with heavy distortion, ripping leads and enough energy to power Houston.

All the tracks take a shock and awe approach with tongue-in-cheek references to gore and horror flicks of yesteryear. This album is pretty unique for its approach in not trying to be a Metallica clone. While most bands were emulating the technical styles of the puppet masters, RIGOR MORTIS stayed in more of trad Motorhead style while ratcheting up the speed, riffage and most of all electrified soloing to new heights. While most of the album is non-compromising thrash metal at full speed, there are slowed down clean guitar intros as well as movie clip sampling but mostly it’s all about banging your head and banging it hard and heavy. Not the most mature album ever made but for a raw underground type of album for the 80s this one holds up pretty good over the decades.

The bonus track “Spivey” on later releases is pretty friggin’ hilarious as well :P

UMUR "Slaves to the Grave" is the 3rd full-length studio album by US thrash metal act Rigor Mortis. The album was released through Rigor Mortis Records in October 2014. Rigor Mortis was originally active in the period 1983 - 1991 and released two studio albums in those years. So "Slaves to the Grave" is a comback album and the first album by the band since "Rigor Mortis Vs. The Earth (1991)". Rigor Mortis reunited in 2005 in the lineup who recorded the 1988 debut full-length studio album and initially played sporadic shows. The fans started demanding new material though, but no label showed interest, so Rigor Mortis had to raise the money for the recording of "Slaves to the Grave" through a successful crowd funding campaign (raising $22,838 from fan preorders). The album was recorded in February 2012, but sadly guitarist Mike Scaccia (who was also a member of Ministry for years) never saw the album released, as he passed away from a heart attack while performing onstage in December 2012. The three remaining members opted to release "Slaves to the Grave" as the final Rigor Mortis album, but not tour under the monicker. Instead they perform under the Wizards of Gore monicker playing Rigor Mortis material.

Stylistically Rigor Mortis pretty much continue from where they left off on "Rigor Mortis Vs. The Earth (1991)", but with the lineup change that Bruce Corbitt is back behind the mike instead of Doyle Bright. This is organic and old school sounding US thrash metal, with a distinct sounding vocalist and also another display of how great a guitarist Mike Scaccia was. The whole band are tight playing yet perform with that crucial organic touch, which makes contemporary old school sounding releases sound authentic.

The material is well written and relatively catchy, featuring the trademark horror lyrics, which Rigor Mortis have embraced since day one. Something which is also apparent when reading song titles like "Ancient Horror", "Fragrance of Corpse", and "Poltergeist". The two closing tracks "Sacramentum Gladitorum" and "Ludus Magnus", which seque into each other and form a sort of mini epic, are a bit different in that regard though, as the lyrics for "Ludus Magnus" ("Sacramentum Gladitorum" is an instrumental) is about gladiators in ancient Rome. Those two tracks are actually some of the standout tracks and highlights of the album along with the opening neo-classical inspired guitar work on "The Infected", but as mentioned the material is pretty solid throughout (although occasionally slightly formulaic).

The raw and organic sound production suits the music perfectly, and there is no doubt that these guys knew exactly which sound they wanted for their music. This pretty much sounds like Rigor Mortis did in the 80s, and there´s certainly no limbless "dinosaur" feeling about it (meaning that Rigor Mortis sound fresh even though they play retro sounding material). While there is often a "loose" rock´n´roll feeling to the proceedings (which is quite charming), Rigor Mortis still maintain a tight grip around compositions, sound, and performances, and overall a 3.5 star (70%) rating is fully deserved.

UMUR "Rigor Mortis" is the debut full-length studio album by US, Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas based thrash metal act Rigor Mortis. The album was released through Capitol Records in October 1988. Rigor Mortis was formed in 1983 and released a demo in 1986, which got them signed to Capitol Records.

The music on the album is old school thrash metal. It´s generally pretty raw, but the lead guitar playing by Mike Scaccia (Ministry, Revolting Cocks), is not your typical screaming thrash metal guitar solo style playing. Sure that´s part of his style too, but his playing definitely is different and quite a bit more sophisticated than the norm. The fact that there are seldom a rythm guitar playing during guitar solos, also bring more focus to his playing. The vocals by Bruce Corbitt are also a bit different from the norm. He has a rather distinct sounding deep/hoarse voice that sometimes reminds me of Oderus Urungus from Gwar. Other than that the music on the album is relatively standard old school US thrash metal pretty far removed from the Bay Area scene anno 1988 (which had generally turned in a more technically focused direction at that point). The lyrics and general imagery of the band are horror and gore themed.

While "Rigor Mortis" slightly old fashioned for 1988, there´s something indredibly charming about the album and fans of early- to mid-eighties US thrash metal should find lots to enjoy here. In my book a 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.

Warthur The self-titled debut by Rigor Mortis is an energetic collection of gloriously gory and gleefully filthy thrash metal compositions with a dirty, raw sound that shows the influence of early extreme metal acts - like early Venom with better production, death metal chops, and a horrible attitude. When you're faced with a track list that includes picks inspired by Herschell Gordon Lewis movies (Wizard of Gore) and Brian Yunza gore-fests (Re-Animator), you know you're in for a crude and debased experience, and that's exactly what the band deliver, with vocalist Bruce Corbitt positively enjoying the transgressiveness of what he's spitting forth. Mature? Refined? Hardly. But sometimes you're in the mood for juvenile crudity and Rigor Mortis offer it with plenty of muscle.