Even if it doensn't seem entirely up-to-date to us, the Thai Label •Roots Active Productions• has released the ETERNAL DIRGE Debut "Morbus ascendit" as a music cassette.
German Death Metal Massmurder Attack since 1986!!!
Thanks to Roots Active Prod., the magnificent debut-album "Morbus Ascendit" from 1992 has been resurrected on tape again (as music was meant to be heard and not "collected" by rich/greedy bastards!). This album and band was a completely stranger to me honestly till I gave them a listen (thanks Preechanont!)! Sick Death Metal with a slight technical-edge in the old sense (Morbid Angel), with extreme variations (trademark GERMAN QUALITY DEATH METAL!) and a very own sound, which fortunately didn't try to copy sunlight studio! (Only the original is original... it matters for both sides!)
Eternal Dirge delievered a fukkin killer debut here and deserved much more attention for it in my opinion. And for all those who are tired of uninspired newer bands who seemingly only focus on "the right sound" instead of "the right songs": Here's a killer from the past, to blast the rust out your ears... Fear the Crawling Chaos!!!
Official Tape-Version by Roots Active Prod.
I once again find myself on my quest to delve into the realm of German death metal, and what do I find but this horribly obscure album by generically named band, Eternal Dirge. While the name doesn’t do much for me, their 1992 album, Morbus Ascendit, fucking slays.
When I saw this labeled as death/thrash metal, I thought I knew what to expect, but I was horribly mistaken. Does this have everything you’d expect from death/thrash? Yes. This is ripe full of blastbeats, raspy harsh vocals, riffs that take much influence from thrash metal but are decidedly death metal, and everything else you know of the genre. However, this album then decides to smack you in the face with a lot more than you bargained for. Firstly, there’s this beautiful bass sound, which is normally absent in death/thrash, but here it shines. Seriously, this is just wonderful, and the best part is that the bass parts don’t just mimic the guitar parts, but instead flutter around on occasion to create some very interesting counterpoint. Secondly, there are keyboards. WTF? They only play a small part on this album, but it’s very noticeable. Normally, I’d frown on this, but somehow, these guys make it work. This is classier than how Nocturnus did it in that it’s not force fed to you like a dorky-ass sci-fi film, but it’s still an important part of the atmosphere of the album whenever it appears.
Most importantly, however is the way the songs are structured on this album. I guess Eternal Dirge thought it would be funny for this to be assumed to be a death/thrash album, and then suddenly shock the listener with all of the progressive song structures going on here. They even start the album with the two thrashiest songs to boo, furthering the deception! Seriously, from the abrupt stops and starts, to the time signature changes, to the complex and rhythmically interesting drumming, to the borderline wanky rhythm guitar sections, this album has it all and lets you know that it’s bringing the heat. At its core, this is a death/thrash album, but the structuring of this album is unlike that of any death/thrash album I’ve ever heard before. Some of this just borders on weird (e.g., the odd lead guitar harmonization in the beginning of ‘Evolved Mutations’), but I love it! I genuinely don’t understand how this has been relegated to obscurity for so long without even a peep of its existence, even in this age of the internet.
The production here might be the only weak spot. While it certainly has the death metal sound that I’m looking for, it could have been just a bit beefier and given the guitars more of a role in the mix (or maybe just lower the vocals). Whatever it is, it’s a minor complaint.
Back to the praise, I am truly floored by everything going on here. Morbus Ascendit simply breaks the mold formed by every other death/thrash album of the time, and Eternal Dirge got basically no recognition from it. How did this happen? I honestly don’t know, but here’s your chance to give this album the credit it deserves. If you’re looking for a solid slab of death/thrash with some unique and original twists and turns that you’ve never heard before, look no further. If you want something that still retains the trademark components of death/thrash, then you’ll also enjoy this.
Sample:
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