March 31, 2010

Reviewer: Chris

One of the early pioneers of the East Coast metal scene, Port Mortem has a long and controversial career in its shadow. With a string of releases to its credit, P.M. has long been one of the bands I personally recall listening to on an old boombox perched on the local grammar school’s steps with a couple of friends way back when. I was also quite saddened to hear of vocalist John McCarthy’s passing just last year before his tracks were to be laid down on this CD. Filling in his spot was the amazingly left-field choice of Sigh’s Mirai Kawashima. For a band that has been through so much for seemingly so little over the course of three decades I was hopeful the latest CD would at the very least be interesting.  

Riding the straight line of doomy psychedelic metal, Post Mortem has married the Japanese black metal vocalist with some very ugly sludge metal for a pretty good tribute to McCarthy. Certainly a slow-moving lesson in sludge, Message from the Dead feels as quick as watching a cockroach on its back cling to life after a shot of Raid, legs twitching and eventually giving up the ghost. If the mood is just perfect, this CD can accompany some very agonizingly long minutes for a positive venture. When music is ugly, it’s ugly, and this CD is about as ugly as Paris Hilton attempting a Princeton admissions application…it’s that ugly!

In the most complimentary way, I can say this CD might not be for everyone, but for those among us that like our sludge, well, sludgy, this CD can certainly cast little doubt as to the overall mood of the finished product. While always a bit comical in approach, P.M. leaves little in the way of happy-go-lucky vibes on this one. The only drawback to the offering is that many of the songs sound similar, but as I said, the mindset is one of doom all over, so bypassing this little novelty, the CD is an enjoyable one. Exceptions to this are found in the track “Crispy Monsters,” which violates the still by speeding through the open and forcing you to bounce your head until your neck starts to hurt, only to slow to a syrupy spillage at the song’s zenith. It’s a welcome and unanticipated mix.

Kawashima shines on the Messages from the Dead, and as acclimated as I am to Sigh’s style and Kawashima’s prowess in the band, his momentary sojourn into the Post Mortem camp makes for one interesting musical communion. What might otherwise have been a punk vocalist’s dream, Messages made for a much better doom effort, possibly a fitting closing of the chapter on John McCarthy. I think he’d have been impressed, even if he’d have never admitted it!

Release Date: September, 2009
Label: TabooTapes

TRACK LISTING

1.  Message From the Dead
2.  Dana Hersey
3.  Crispy Monsters
4.  Human Pinata
5.  Pray Before You Die
6.  Field Trip
7.  Never Rat
8.  Babble On
9.  A Happy Life
10.  Forthright Tuna
11.  Oh So Evil

Total playing time:  48:45

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Post Mortem - Message from the Dead