The Dead Goats - Children of the Fungus

 

THE DEAD GOATS - Children of the Fungus (INSTANT CLASSIC - MLP 2013)

Damn, it’s been a long wait for this vinyl, almost too long! Instant Classic has started taking preorders for it in July I think and didn’t release it until the mid October. They had some technical problems and couldn’t accept the test pressings, which they got from the pressing company, so it caused a huge delay… but finally the waiting is over and my vinyl has arrived last week. About The Dead Goats I already wrote few words in my review of their debut album “Path of the Goat” and here I can only just shortly remind you that this is Polish band, which features ex or current members of Incarnated, Neuropathia and Abused Majesty. “Children of the Fungus” is a MLP, which contains five new songs plus Napalm Death cover and is available on the limited to 350 copies black vinyl (which additionally contains also a CD version plus download code, if someone wanted to listen to it in more digital way).

So, let’s play this LP, listen to the music and admire the awesome artwork (mushrooms… mushrooms… hallucinations!). The Dead Goats has a classic Swedish death metal tone in their guitar sound and that can already say a lot about their influences and musical style. This kind of production is really awesome, I love it and it obviously will remind you Carnage or Entombed straight away, but musically it may not necessarily be that very classic Swedish death metal… Sure, there are many riffs, which will remind you it – just listen to the opening theme for the title song, which sounds like taken straight from “Indecent & Obscene”. Also “Fistful of Guts” starts very traditionally and that slower riff in the beginning of it reminds me “Clandestine”. But most of the time The Dead Goats plays their death metal in really crazy, relatively fast way, what gives their music more relentless and chaotic sound. There’s almost a punk or grindcore roughness and wilderness to it, but obviously played with the Sunlight Studio sound. More so, “Children of the Fungus” is rather bereft of melodic parts, except “Fistful of Guts” and title song, which I already mentioned before and which contain a classic Swedish death metal melodic riffs, which sound really damn awesome for me (that ending part in the title song is to die for!). And this is why these two songs are the most memorable and best of all. But you’ll be surprised how fast and energetic the music on this MLP is. It may also be nothing new, as Dismember had several such songs, like “Skinfather” for example, where the tempo was faster than usual. The Dead Goats sounds really archaic, sometimes also more chaotic and rougher. I may not consider “Children of the Fungus” to be the most guts ripping death metal record of the year, such “On the Unhallowed Ground” is maybe not as good as those songs I mentioned before, but generally I am very pleased with every song on this MLP, including that awesome Napalm Death cover. The Dead Goats has just proved to be one of the most precious discoveries of mine on the Polish underground this year (along with Ragehammer I think).

Standout tracks: “Children of the Fungus”, “Fistful of Guts”

Final rate: 75/100