Review of Ghoul - "Dungeon Bastards"

BLOODY-HOODED RAVAGERS

By: Geoff Teach

Theatricality and metal have been intricately intertwined since the genre’s earliest days. Masks, makeup, robes, matching outfits, costumes, pyrotechnics, fake blood, real blood, chainsaws, baseball bats, swords, Halloween props, Satanic invocations, fire-breathing, dancing girls, human suspension acts – almost nothing has been out-of-bounds for metal acts of all levels and subgenres to mystify, shock, awe, and entertain their audiences.

Following firmly in the footsteps of their predecessors such as Gwar and Exhumed – and heavily influenced by good, old-fashioned Hollywood horror and gore – are Creepsylvania’s (Oakland, California) bloody-hooded thrash ravagers, Ghoul, who have been inspiring equal amounts of laughter and nightmares with their “splatter thrash” for the past fifteen years. And on July 29th, the grisly-looking foursome are returning with their fifth full-length album (and first in four years), Dungeon Bastards, on Tankcrimes Records.

Filthy and fun, Dungeon Bastards by Ghoul is another perverse plunge into the depraved minds of such colorfully-named members as Digestor, Creamator, and Dissector. Tracks like “Shred The Dead”, “Ghoulunatics”, and “Blood and Guts” thrash and rage hard, while “Ghetto Blasters” and “Guitarmageddon” cleverly use death metal riffs and sampled narration to help tell their Ghoul-ish tales – but it is the closing track “Abominox” that takes the crown for overall charisma and composure with its red-letter riffs and catchy hooks.

All in all, Ghoul’s Dungeon Bastards is an enjoyable, thrashed-out thrill ride into the dark abyss, and I strongly suggest that you acquire a copy once they are officially available (especially the vinyl, available in Slime Green or Blood Red, with a board game included in the gatefold) to savor this gory treat for yourself anytime you please.

To listen to “Ghoulunatics” from Dungeon Bastards, just press play below!