When I look back on the emergence of Thrash Metal in the 1980's I can't help but think about RIGOR MORTIS's no-holds-barred brand of maniacal speed-oriented music. To this day, though they didn't appear till well after this type of music was firmly grounded, I consider RIGOR MORTIS pioneers. That may be a statement some will scoff at but something about the band made them truly memorable. There are a few factors that made this so and all of them manisfested with their debut, self-entitled releases on Capitol Records (yes, a major label no less!).
The band had an aura of originality that few others could imitate. I enjoyed their style of no-nonsense thrash that, while seriously fast and mean, is at the same time funny. Whether that was intentional or not (I tend to think it was, at least later in the band's career) is still a matter of conjecture I guess. At any rate, RIGOR MORTIS are a lot of fun to listen to if you have never experienced them. Songs like the openening instrumental "Welcome To Your Funeral", the incredibly vulgar and gorey "Bodily Dismemberment", and the Hollywood-inspired "Re-Animator", really get your blood flowing. Guitarist Mike Scacia is a man obsessed with his visciously lightening fast leads and slashing rythms. I like how the band faced up to their one-guitar line-up by not dubbing in a rythm guitar while Scacia played his solos. This makes you feel as if the band did each song in one take and lets Scacia's punishing leads demand all your attention. The vocal performance is more than adequate as well. I like the fact that you can essentially understand every word Vocalist Bruce Corbitt speaks. Altogether its a pretty speedy affair with a clean production. The subject matter from song-to-song is all pretty much the death and horror you'd expect from a Thrash/Gore band; cliche' but offering you enough humor to live with it. The song "Wizard of Gore" is still one of my all-time Thrash favorites. Here and there the material is quite average, even for the time, but don't let that frighten you. RIGOR MORTIS were a damn entertaining band to listen to.
This album is almost impossible to find. I'm still trying to find a CD copy so if you can throw me a lead - please do!!
Available at: -Out of Print
