Embalmer- Emanations From the Crypt

Welcome to Mocata’s Den of Horror.  As the name would imply, I will be posting about horror and horror-related topics, however I will also discuss metal music, mostly death metal and black metal, just because, along with horror, that is one of my favorite topics.

To start off, I would like to discuss a new release from a long-time favorite band of mine, Embalmer.

If you are not familiar with Embalmer, you should be able to look the band up and learn its history.  Right now, I want to focus on the band’s newest release, and already one of my favorite releases of the year, Emanations From the Crypt.

Like the band’s classic material from the 1990s, this album is aggressive yet memorable.  Unlike a majority of modern death metal, which is often focused on being “brutal, technical” death metal, the songs on Emanations do not blur together in one big long stream of thrown together notes, which may be difficult to play, but are generally tedious to listen to.

The lyrics revolve around the standard gory horror imagery that has been a staple of death metal since the early days, so there’s nothing really surprising there, but it works and fits the musical style rather well, and being a horror fan, I rather enjoy horror-themed lyrics. 

The vocals are one of the key elements that made Embalmer stand out in the ‘90s.  When Rick Fleming replaced the band’s original vocalist, he began belting out some of the most insane vocals heard in metal at the time.  He had standard death metal elements in his style, to be sure, but he added a certain deranged flair, particularly with his higher vocals. 

The band’s current vocalist, Paul Gorefiend, does a commendable job on the new album.  While he belts out the higher vocals with plenty of gusto, he avoids trying to mimic Rick’s style, which is a good choice in my opinion, opting for a gruffer, slightly lower scream, which works very well on the new album.

Seeing that drummer Roy Stewart is the band’s sole-remaining original member, it would be absurd to neglect mentioning his contributions to the new album.  One thing that I liked right off the bat is that the drums don’t have the modern metal drum production so common these days, the overly processed and far-too-present in the mix approach, which I believe detracts so much from modern metal.  If you want your drums to sound like they’re being played by a drum machine, then use a drum machine.  The drums here don’t overpower the mix, but are still audible.  Not to mention, Roy does not use double-bass drumming nonstop throughout the album as so many drummers do today, leading to the double-bass having absolutely no impact on the music, rendering it pointless. 

In short, Emanations From the Crypt is heavy, brutal, and memorable.  It is also a very welcome addition to the Embalmer catalog.

Now that I have covered the music itself, I do want to go over the packaging as well.  It is available on multiple formats, both digital and physical.  There are the standard physical versions and then they are the Coroner’s Report editions, which are limited CD and picture disc LP releases.  Both of the Coroner’s Report editions are packaged in white boxes, stained with blood and sealed with “Evidence” tape.  Inside the boxes are the new release itself along with murder weapons in evidence bags.  In addition to this, the boxes all have Coroner’s Reports in a plastic pocket on the backs of the boxes, all of which are supposed to have different causes of death.

Since I already had the regular LP and I am not a very big fan of picture discs (not to mention I wanted to get the CD version regardless), I ordered the CD Coroner’s Report edition.  The aforementioned murder weapons in the CD version are a bloody pocketknife, a bloody razor blade, and several used bullet casings.  To call this edition over-the-top is an understatement.  It is certainly ridiculous, but morbidly fun at the same time.  I am happy to have a copy in my collection.

In closing, I want to say to the band: Great job guys.  I look forward to the next one, just don’t take so frigging long this time.