Review: Morbid Sacrifice – Severed Death
From the Vault Review
Morbid Sacrifice – Severed Death
The second-wave of Christian death metal saw a lot of bands rise up from out of the
sonic impact crater left by pioneers like Crimson Thorn and Mortification, and I’ve found this
period (late 90’s – early 2000’s) a fascinating one as of late. This era witnessed the birth of both
famous acts like Extol, Lament and Pantokrator, as well as obscure acts like Indwelling, Corpse,
Clemency and possibly the most bizarre one of them all, Morbid Sacrifice.
Morbid Sacrifice aren’t exactly a household name, I reckon. Formed in 1995, they didn’t
record their first album until several years later, releasing it in 2002 in ultra-minimal quantities.
Disbanding shortly after, their sole release, Severed Death was reissued on a larger scale in 2006.
Fast-forward to today, and this record seems to have a curious draw about it. I would
venture to say it’s one of the most odd death metal recordings out there. Imagine it’s the early
90’s, and you’ve stumbled into a garage where the members of Cannibal Corpse are having a
jam session and recording whatever they come up with. Though Crimson Thorn often get
labelled as the “Christian Cannibal Corpse”, I’m not entirely sure these guys don’t fit that label a
little more.
Over the years, I’ve discovered that extreme Christian metal bands are often quite
eclectic, and have a tendency to hybridize several styles into one record. Witness the
death/doom meets black metal of early Antestor or demo-era Pantokrator, for instance, or the
mixed approach to death metal heard from bands like Mortification or Metanoia. I’ve never been
sure why this is a thing, but I can’t help what I hear. With Severed Death, we get a strange brew
of early Chris Barnes-era Cannibal Corpse, a dash of Crimson Thorn, a touch of black metal,
and portions of hard rock. Yes, hard rock. The title track “Severed Death” has a beginning
section that sounds so out of place on a death metal record like this one that one could be
forgiven for checking to make sure the right album is still on, with the guitars making me think of
some hard rock act out of L.A. more than the brutish New York death metal stomping of
Cannibal Corpse. Same with “Buried Alive” – it sounds like a Judas Priest riff at the start, before
it goes completely nuts and descends into a flurry of death metal madness that sounds like
Chris Barnes doing a duet with Lord Ecklektus of unblack act Golgota.
Still, at its heart, Severed Death is an old-school death metal record. “Misogynicide”
tackles the issue of domestic violence against women, musically alternating between a
galloping, almost punk-like riff and aggressive blastbeats with total abandon. “Whom I Serve”
touches on the theme of “Christus Victor,” championing Jesus Christ as “mighty in battle,
greatest of all warriors” (almost distantly echoing the old English poem “The Dream of the Rood”
in its theme). Other themes such as the resurrection of the body and baptism are also touched
upon. Sonically, no track is the same really, though I suppose the rough groove of “The Offering”
and “Deliverance of the Beast” work along the same lines, echoing (and I hate to say it) the
groove-laden sounds of Barnes post-Cannibal Corpse band, Six Feet Under. If you’ve subjected
yourself to the unintentionally hilarious sounds of the latter, worry not – Morbid Sacrifice are a
much better band; it’s just that they do bear much in common with the slower death grooves
heard on Six Feet Under records.
Unfortunately, like many jam sessions, there are times when it feels like the band’s not
quite sure what to do with their songs or where to take them. The guitar solos are, at best,
poorly mixed, haphazard and laughably executed, and are for me, easily the worst element on
an otherwise good record. And criticisms aside, this is a good record. When the band is on
point, the music flows and grooves its way along like a shambling monster capable of
momentary bursts of speed. Chris Auman’s vocals mimic the gruff barks and high-pitched
gurgles of early Chris Barnes, but without falling into the unintentional hilarity that the latter’s
vocals often do on Six Feet Under records. The riffs themselves swing from heavy metal/hard rock-esque vibes to full on smouldering rivers of aggression that sound far more ominous than what one might have expected.
As one can see, Severed Death is a mixed bag of an album, a hodgepodge, patchwork
quilt of all kinds of musical influences put through a death metal filter. As a work of curiosity, one
would be hard pressed to find a more original and yet familiar sounding work; the records
obvious nods to early Cannibal Corpse and Crimson Thorn make it a comfortable and enticing
work, yet the strange hard rock and classic heavy metal influences turn the whole thing on its
head at times. Though I think there are better death metal albums around this time period,
Severed Death remains a unique piece of Christian death metal history for those who are
interested in diving deeper than Mortification and Crimson Thorn.
For Fans Of: Cannibal Corpse (Barnes-era), Demoniciduth, Metanoia, Crimson Thorn, Six Feet Under
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