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1. Buried alive VI: Stabbed, |
Label: CD on No Escape Rec. (AUS) LP on Power It Up (GER) Released: CD: 19.12.2005 Print: CD 500, repressed 500 LP 2007: 107 white, 902 black vinyl 3 Testpressings Recorded: Schweinesound Studio may/june 2005 |
Bandpic and Line-up we used on this release:
back
Line-up from left to right:
Rena Elc (vocals), E. Mong (bass), F. Rawd (guitar)
Rene Drag (guitar), Nil Merg (drums)
Reviews: back
Metal-observer
Metal Bands aus der Schweiz sind eine Neuigkeit für mich. So nebenbei
bin ich nur in der Lage, zwei einflussreiche Extreme Metal Bands aus den
Schweizer Alpen aufzuzählen. Diese beiden sind SAMAEL und CELTIC
FROST. Die früheren SAMAEL und alles von CELTIC FROST erreichten
den Kultstatus unter den Fans des früheren Death und Black Metal.
Ich weiß nicht, ob EMBALMING THEATRE einen Kultstatus haben, aber
ich rechne damit, dass sie ihren Namen durch ihre vielen Veröffentlichungen
verbreitet haben. Alles in allem haben sie bei zwölf Split-Veröffentlichungen
mit Bands wie AGATHOCLES, BIRDFLESH und UNHOLY GRAVE teilgenommen. Außer
all den genannten Bands hat EMBALMING THEATRE eine Split-CD mit nur einer
mir bekannten Band- nämlich BIRDFLESH – aufgenommen.
Ungleich vielen anderen Bands dieses Genres wenden
sich EMBALMING THEATRE nicht an die Fantasie, wenn sie ihre Lyrics schreiben.
Ziemlich ähnlich wie MACABRE nehmen sie Horrorgeschichten aus dem
wahren Leben und machen dann Death Metal Lyrics daraus. Einer der besten
Songs auf dieser Veröffentlichung wird „Bake The Baby”
genannt. Dieser Song erzählt euch die Geschichte einer schwedischen
Mutter, die ihr eigenes Baby in den Backofen steckt, dem es dadurch Verbrennungen
zweiten Grades zufügt. Während die meisten Lyrics tragische
Geschichten – wie die zuvor erwähnte – sind, gibt es
Songs, die einfach nur lustig sind. Nehmt „Get High On A Dead Dog”
als Beispiel. Dieser Song handelt von einigen Dieben, die während
einem ihrer Raubzüge etwas finden und davon annehmen, dass es Kokain
sei. Sie enden damit, das Pulver zu schnupfen, was sich am Ende als die
Asche eines verbrannten Hundes herausstellt. Obwohl sie Beifall dafür
verdienen, neue obskure Nachrichtengeschichten zu entdecken, sind die
Lyrics nicht gut geschrieben. Aber ich denke, dass das den Fans der Band
nicht wirklich etwas ausmachen wird.
EMBALMING THEATRE spielen das, was ich als eine
Art Kreuzung des Old-School Death Metal und Grindcore bezeichnen würde.
Es wird euch sicherlich viel helfen, wenn ihr bereits Fans von diesen
Genres seid. Das Beste von EMBALMING THEATRE ist gut, das Schlechteste
von ihnen ist öde. Das ist kein rasiermesserscharfer Grindcore, so
wie er von NASUM und ROTTEN SOUND gespielt wird, Bands wie GOREROTTED
und GOREGAST sind mehr in derselben Richtung wie EMBALMING THEATRE. Von
diesen Bands ist EMBALMING THEATRE wohl das schwächste Glied, aber
ich denke nicht, dass sie eine schwache Band sind. Songs wie „Bake
The Baby” und “He Ate His Own Penis” sind beides robuste
Songs mit groovigen Riffs. “Bulldozer Blues” zählt auch
zu meinen Favoriten, tatsächlich denke ich, dass dieser Songtitel
ziemlich gut erklärt, wie sich der Song anhört.
Obwohl ich EMBALMING THEATRE zu einem gewissen Grad
mag, denke ich, dass Bands wie BIRDFLESH und JIGSORE TERROR EMBALMING
THEATRE in jeder Hinsicht toppen können. Hört es auch an, wenn
Underground Death Metal eure Sache ist. Ich bin mir sicher, dass es Leute
gibt, diese Veröffentlich mehr schätzen werden als ich es tue.
Teufelstomb
2003's Sweet Chainsaw Melodies and 2004's Hormones From The Dead by Swiss
old school death metallers Embalming Theatre were among the catchiest
and most entertaining releases I've heard in years. When their latest
full length offering The World Is A Stage... For Murder was released last
year I had very high hopes that it would be their best effort to date.
The first thing I noticed when listening to The
World Is A Stage... For Murder is the production is really lacking in
beefiness with very little audible bass sound. This wouldn't be a problem
for some bands, but for a band like Embalming Theatre it makes a song
that would normally sound very heavy and aggressive sound very thin. Everything
from the drums to the bass to the guitars to the vocals just seems to
lack the punch they did on Sweet Chainsaw Melodies.
That said the music itself is still solid old school
death metal in the vein of Hideous Mangleus/Blood with deep raspy vocals,
chuggy catchy chainsaw riffing, simple catchy brainless fun. The song
writing does tend to be a little uninventive, which is to be expected
when a group seems to write a new full length every weekend, but overall
it's pretty solid stuff.
Compared to Sweet Chainsaw Melodies or Hormones
From The Dead, however, The World Is A Stage... For Murder fails to impress
or stand out, and while I'm generally not a big stickler for things like
production, the lack of a meaty bass really hurts the group's overall
sound. Had the material been properly mixed and mastered I'd consider
it a success, but I honestly am not digging this material as much as past
releases. This is a nice addition for Embalming Theatre discography completists,
but will likely not spend a lot of time on your stereo. Good, but not
great material and poor audio quality doom this album to wind up in a
lot of bargain bins in the near future.
Pyromusic
Swedish quintet Embalming Theatre are deserving of credit merely
for their choice to craft their brutal sounds around factual events, rather
than from depths of a troublingly disturbed lyricist's mind. Take into
consideration the ridiculous amount of material they write and record
and I have a lot of respect for them. It's unfortunate the quality to
quantity ratios are a little out on 'The World Is A Stage... For Murder!!!'
but it certainly has its moments and is worthy of investigation for Brutal
Death addicts and current fans.
The biggest down-side of 'The World Is A Stage... For Murder!!!'
is simply that it's essentially a very samey record with only a few real
examples of variety on offer but, given that consistency and depending
on how much the music does for you, that may be a great thing. Riffs,
drumming, bass and vocals are all fundamentally about as straightforward
as can be whilst still remaining enjoyable but where Embalming Theatre
gain points is entertainment value. Counteracting this straightforwardness
are some truly comedic moments. The lyrics are at times quite pitiful
(partially the result of choosing to write songs based on reality) but
generally they're all strangely amusing. Testament to my own sick mind,
'Bake The Baby' was enough to get a chuckle out of me before even hearing
the song, as were many of the back-stories provided alongside the lyrics.
'Severed Head In My Hand' is a clear stand-out as one of my favourite
of the 18 tracks with a huge, brutal groove, a disgusting back-story and
catchy riffing but 'Bulldozer Blues' takes the cake. Speedily rockin'
1940s-esque pianos? Check. Gutteral vocals and slamming Death Metal backbone?
Check. Tambourines? Fuck yes.
I feel that Embalming Theatre would produce exponentially more enjoyable
material if they concentrated a little more on writing and refining songs
but as mentioned in the intro, existing fans and Brutal Death nuts ought
to check it out.
Diabolical Conquest
Being a loyal fan of 90s Extreme Metal, I was overjoyed to note the old
skool Deathcore feel of this release! I understand this is the second
full length recording by Embalming Theatre, alongside a nice collection
of split 7" EPs and other such underground frolics. The short 'n'
punchy, grime-coated tracks to which we are treated employ nostalgic,
nihilistic crush-rhythms and uplifting, noddable riffs, delivered with
much conviction and vigour. To this reviewer, the album is like a hazy
snapshot of that critical period during the 90s where the overlap of Death
Metal and Gore/Grind appeared to be more prominent, back when the fusion
of filthy rehearsal room blast and seething Grind-paroxysms with detuned
guitar anti-virtuosity and grotesque, grooving riffage was executed more
often.
I see this release as a compressed, bijou package of dust-covered Death
and Grind, featuring sizeable splashes of vintage Blood and snatches of
dusty 'n' forgotten Sexorcist material, along with some Hideous Mangleus
and bit of Putrid Scum. Because structure and performance is good and
cohesive, the disc doesn't contain any of the sprawling, elasticised 'Symphonies
of Sickness' riffs, nor the unbridled, Impetigo style vomit-vox upchuck
which I predicted afore playing the album, seeing as it was my first experience
of Embalming Theatre. In pursuit of the adrenaline-infused groove throughout,
the band manages to capture it without sounding contrived or clinical,
unashamedly performing wonderfully catchy vokill-lines and riffs. This
important catchiness is conveyed not only by the near-unforgettable riffery,
but also by the highly infectious vokills. Unlike many Grind acts of today,
who drown out their potential hooks with unrelenting snare-abuse and negate
their lyrics [if any] by vocalising them with continuous, burbling 'reeeeeeeeeeeeee'
laziness, Embalming Theatre place enormous importance upon writing memorable
songs. I found it refreshing to hear unambiguous verses and choruses,
with pleasing recursions of cutting riffs and clear, growl-along vokill
(un)melodies, usually involving agreeable repetitions of the song-title.
This is aided by excellent diction, many of the words sufficiently enunciated,
making them decipherable without consulting the lyricsheet. Here and there,
the gruff yet clear vokill style recalled Mucupurulent, as well as some
old Brazilian splatter such as Rotting Flesh, and perhaps even Uterus,
one of the better bands of the DIY drum-machine Gore scene circa 2003.
The production is perfect for the Embalming Theatre sound, with both clarity
and dirt in appropriate measures. Whilst the brisk Grinding jollities
of the tracks may have benefited from less murk, a cleaner production
would of course remove the critical Grind-nerve and overall charm of the
release.
In summary then, extremely likeable Grind/Death, or even Grind 'n' Roll,
with plenty of distinguished, memorable moments, enough blast to satisfy
without chipping away at the effective structures and an abundance of
unmistakable catchiness. I'd recommend this to fans of older European
Grindcore, who also enjoy some of the more recent good-time Grind bands
from, say, Razorback Records, but wish to hear their favourite sounds
being swathed in the production values of yesteryear and delivered with
a conviction and attitude that has long since been left to suppurate in
favour of overused, overmixed snare drums and amphibious laryngeal daftness.
Although I appreciate the way in which the genre is being bludgeoned daily
into a faster, sicker, excessive form of entertainment by hordes of bands,
I'm always grateful of bands such as Embalming Theatre, who still recognize
the value of digestible songs.
8.5/10
Metal Storm
And we’re the actors… September 2004
/ Boston: 2 men butchered a 14-year-old girl and her unborn daughter.
The girl had been stabbed, beaten and buried alive in a shallow grave.
This headline (which, is actually real) is the starting point for Embalming
Theatre new venture, “The World Is A Stage… For Murder!”
, these Swiss metalheads play a mixture of Grindcore and Death Metal,
both styles fuse to give birth to short songs with horror/tragic themes
that actually happened in the real world, ergo, the album title. 18 songs,
18 headlines of horrific (and sometimes plain funny) events that happened
around the world, behind the lyrics of each song there’s a small
headline with the actual recollection of the success. You have it all,
from your chopped down kid in London to 34 girls in Congo used as sex
slaves by ethnic militiamen. Don’t expect much brutality here, not
all the time at least, the band is very riff based, with melodic breaks
and a throaty deep growl, luckily for me, totally understandable, although
I can’t imagine the poor throat of the singer, seems quite pernicious
to sing that way. Anyway, not much to say here really, not your standard
Grindcore release, but if you enjoy brutal music with a touch of reality,
this might fit your tastes. I leave you to enjoy my personal favorites
headlines of the album: June 2004 / Malaysia: A man (who had taken hallucinogenic
drugs) cut off his penis and then fried and ate it. June 2003 / Essex:
Thieves tried to snort a bag of powder they found. The bag contained the
cremated remains of a dog named Charlie. 2001 / USA: The new way to deal
with the past in Texas? Brilliant idea of a judge in Corpus Christi!!
(a door-plate put to any sex offender that says “Registered Sex
Offender Lives Here”) Sick world we live in, right?
7/10
Braindead
This band doesn't slack around, they always keep
helming new releases! and judging from their list of upcoming releases,
they're well on their way of becoming the new Agathocles! This is their
latest full length cd, the second one after "Sweet Chainsaw Melodies"
("Hormones from the Dead" was only a Mcd). As usual, this is
a nice slice of sastisfying Grind/Death entertainment, going back to the
basics of old school grinding death metal, with thick, heavy, chainsaw-like
guitar riffing, blasting and crushing rhythms, throat-torturing guttural
growls, etc... Just keeping things simple, fast, catchy and fun. It might
only be an impression, but the guitar tone this time around sounds much
more incisive and ripping, anyhow I like it! You probably already heard
me refer to Blood & Hideous Mangleus as probable influences for Embalming
Theatre's style before in past reviews, and well this album actually contains
a Hideous Mangleus cover version so I wasn't completely wrong with that
one, heh! Some humorous touches can also be found therein like a wacky
mix of death/grind and blues in the last song and some pretty out there
art direction... Honestly I didn't dig the art and layout as much as the
cool stuff they did on "Hormones from the Dead", but anyway
that kind of stuff isn't the most important thing. The band continues
with their string of dark-humored, reality-based lyrics which are always
a cool read! Overall, some very nice death/grind here... So yeah, this
one gets the Braindead stamp of approval!
3.5/5
Chronicles of chaos
by: Quentin Kalis (8 out of 10)
Unlike many of their peers in the brutal death / goregrind genre, Embalming
Theatre's lyrical inspiration does not stem from the fevered mind of a
horror movie fanatic but from real life events. Songs such as "Bake
the Baby" and "Skull Soccer Pt. 2" provide evidence for
the cliché "truth is stranger than fiction". Their lyrical
roots in the real world make this band more intriguing than most, and
more disturbing than anything their contemporaries could dream up.
Lyrical inspirations aside, Embalming Theatre perform old school grind
crusted around the edges -- not a variant that will score highly for originality.
They do compensate for a lack of originality with sheer entertainment
value however. The songs are simple, consisting of a few riffs -- but
with 18 songs jammed into 35 minutes, no one is expecting Dream Theatre-esque
fretboard wankery -- and the guttural vocals are more intelligible than
most. A macabre touch of humour pervades the entire CD and nowhere is
it more apparent than on album closer "Bulldozer Blues", which
features frenetic rock 'n' roll styled piano riffs that I'm fairly positive
were "borrowed" from an old 1950s song...
Fans and non-fans alike will find something to enjoy on this release.
Surprisingly, no mention is made of Armin Meiwes. Guess that one is being
saved for the next CD.
Grindhead Records
Rating: 81%
The Swiss group of Embalming Theatre are on of the most respected and
well recognised men in gore. Boasting a beyond impressive discography
and having existed for a decade, it is clear to see these gore grinders
are passionate about what they do. No really being one for gore, I don’t
own any of their back catalogue – so I can only go from what I’ve
heard here.
Embalming Theatre play a gory mix of mid-tempo death, brutal death grooves
and all out grind. The album is something of a concept album – as
the CD title may suggest to you, the entire 18 tracks are about real-life
happenings across the world in the last few years (examples are ‘Thieves
tried to snort a bag of power they found. The band contained the cremated
remains of a dog called Charlie.’ And ‘A man (on LSD) cut
off his penis then fried and ate it’). It’s clear the guys
mix some humour with their gore – as song titles like Get High on
a Dead Dog and Amputation of the Wrong Leg Pt. II may suggest.
As far as grinding gore goes, this is some good shit. Crusty production,
catchy grooves, audible lyrics, and it is obvious the guys had a lot of
fun writing and recording this album. If you’re a fan of the genre
check it out, but I don’t think this album will be converting any
emocore darlings to gore anytime soon.
FYU zine
Written by Narsil
I had reservations about this band when I first received the CD as it
all looked a bit cliché by the cover artwork, yet on listening
I was pleasantly surprised. They’ve been around since about 2004
and have thrown out a decent back catalogue of splits and minis with impressive
grind names like the almighty Stabwound and Birdflesh. ‘The World
Is A Stage…For Murder’ gives you eighteen grizzly songs to
digest. They follow real life examples of murder and brutality, so don’t
blame the music for creating sicko’s – society must look in
the mirror, “Get High On A Dead Dog”, or “Bake The Baby”
for example. The songs aren’t serious social commentaries I suspect,
as a lot of them you do end up having a laugh at, “Skull Soccer
Pt 2”, “He Ate His Own Penis” and “Bulldozer Blues”
being quite funny (or I’m just sick). The stories behind these songs
are disturbing, and to my mind too short, but that’s not a big moan.
Light-hearted moments are with the kiddie singing weird song at the end,
“Bulldozer Blues” and the “Hidious Mangleus” cover
midway through. Musically razor sharp, yet old school sounding death/grind.
Totally proficient at what they do, they blast, growl, grind and smash
you up. The CD is not mixed especially well as the vocals are way too
loud, but the aftertaste you are left with, overall is positive. One to
check out!
75/100 Reviewed by Soph
Legacy
Wo Embalming Theatre drauf steht, ist auch Embalming
Theatre drin. Das war bisher immer so, und hat sich auch mit "The
world is a stage...for murder!" nicht geämdert. Auf die kranken
Österreicher (hä!?, wir sind keine Schweden, keine Österreicher,
wir sind Schweizer, cheese!) ist einfach Verlass! Geboten wird auch beim
neuesten Output wieder astreiner Grindcore mit reichlich Rock'n'Roll-
und Death Metal-Einflüssen. Ganz in Embalming Theatre-Manier eben.
Das besondere an "The world is a stage...for murder!" ist die
Tatsache, dass man hier tatsächlich von einem Konzept-Album reden
kann. Reale, obszöne, abartige, perverse und völlig kranke Vorfälle
aus aller Welt wurden jeweils zu einem Song verarbeitet. Im Booklet wird
dann jeweils unter den einzelnen Lyrics genau auf Ort und Zeit des Geschehnisses
verwiesen, welches man soeben besungen hat. Überspitzt könnte
man sagen, dass "The world is a stage...for murder!" eine Dokumentation
über das Kranke in dieser Welt darstellt. Dabei kommen dann solche
Songtitel wie "Get high on a dead dog", "He ate his own
penis", "Foetal remains in a trash-compactor" oder "Bake
the baby" heraus. Ein Fest also für jeden Hobby-Pathologen.
Musikalisch treten Embalming Theatre einmal mehr äusserst souverän
auf. Soundtechnisch über jeden Zweifel erhaben und das Songwriting
wieder einmal absolut fest im Griff. Klasse! Anhänger von Embalming
Theatre greifen ohnehin blind zu, aber auch jedem Hörer etwas härterer
Klänge im Grind- und Death-Bereich sei "The world is a stage...for
murder!" wärmstens empfohlen!
12/15
Musketeer of Death
After last year’s sop "Hormones from
the dead" the gruesome Swiss death/grind squad Embalming Theatre
is back with a brand new full length album called "The world is a
stage… for murder!". Again they delight our auditory meatus
with 18 tracks of glorious repulsive sickening brutal mid-paced death/(gore-)grind,
including the Hideous Manglues cover "Self devourment". In between
the songs you can expect some merry intros as always. Within all bruteness,
Embalming Theatre’s sound excels in melody and rich grooveness,
which makes their songs very bouncing and listenable. Great heavy guitar
riffs, a deliciously groovy penetrating bass, abdominal gurgitating drums
and impressive fingerlicking detestable death grunts are honoured with
their presence in this dark brutal grinding supremacy. Embalming Theatre
released again a fantastic sound source which can be labelled as a blindly
purchase.
The Metal Forge
Continuing the most extreme social commentary ever
Whilst many gore metal acts simply tell stories
of horror from their own minds in their material, Switzerland’s
Embalming Theatre are the true example of art imitating life as they take
real life events and turn them into songs. They started their twist on
goregrind with 2004’s Hormones >From The Dead mini album and
they return with their latest album, which is very aptly titled The World
Is A Stage…For Murder!, which continues that trend as they take
another look into the twisted world of humanity.
Songs such as the opening cut Buried Alive VI: Stabbed
Beaten And Pregnant, Punched Burned Strangled And Decapitated, Dead Garbage
II: Strangled Babies Shoved In Bags, the 1973 English tale of Edward Lionheart
in The World Is A Stage…For Murder!, Sex Slaves, He Attacked Her
With A Chainsaw, Bake The Baby, Severed Head In My Hand and Hot Wedding
And Burning Hearts tell various tales of man’s inhumanity to man
with a gore grind soundtrack of guttural vocals, brutal guitars and blasting
drums.
Continuing in true Embalming Theatre style, Amputation
Of The Wrong Leg Pt.II, Living With The Mummy, Skull Soccer Pt.II, Get
High On A Dead Dog, Foetal Remains In A Trash Compactor, He Ate His Own
Penis and the finale Bulldozer Blues recount some of the human race’s
more embarrassing mistakes and stories that can only make you just think
“What the fuck?” Although, the story of a judge in Corpus
Christi in Texas might be onto something and Embalming Theatre agree with
the tale of Registered Sex Offender Lives Here. Embalming Theatre also
slipped in a cover of Hideous Mangleus’ Self Devourment which is
by no means out of place on here either.
Man’s inhumanity to man is well documented
throughout history although it’s always the bigger scale or more
horrifying events that make the tabloids and grace our television screens.
Embalming Theatre are doing their part for not only gore grind but also
the life imitating art argument by unleashing yet another entertaining
(all be it nothing out of the ordinary) slab of grind art that continues
on from their debut effort.
3/5
My Last Chapter
Exactly how psychotic can goregrind actually
become? Well, I think Embalming Theatre have set a pretty high mark with
this one. But don't be scared off by this, it doesn't get out hand, it's
just cool-as-hell!
As always with these Swizz manglers we get insane lyrics about everything
in between getting your wrong leg amputated, eating your own dick, snorting
the ashes of a cremated dog and murdering numerous people in various ways
(with a chainsaw, setting them on fire etc). But the cool thing about
Embalming Theatre is that the lyrics are always based in true stories,
and with info about when and where it occurred. And if you're not feeling
psychotic enough by the lyrics, just take a listen to the powerful mangling.
And how about a choir of little girls, or maybe a piano-player getting
out of hand? Well, it works for me, and it enhances the insanity and psychosis
to new dimensions.
A top notch mix between gore and horror grind, in an old school manner.
Killer grinding and groovy riffing, original growled vocals - it's just
like we're used to from this awesome band, but this time taken to a whole
new level. This is easily their best material to date!
9/10
Vampire Magazine
Reviewed by Felix on Thursday 26 January 2006. Last updated on Tuesday
31 January 2006.
One of the grindcore bands that has strongly profiled themselves over
the last few years is without any doubt Embalming Theatre from Switzerland.
Countless releases have been spawned since their foundation back in 2000,
most of them split releases with bands like Agathocles, Birdflesh, Torture
Incident, Intumescence, Unholy Grave, Sewn Shut and many more. They also
have found a pretty unique sound in a more than standard kind of grindcore.
This is their first full-length since their debut album 2003 "Sweet
Chainsaw Melodies" on Razorback Records, this time on Australian's
No Escape Records (that also released their "Hormones Of The Dead"
mini CD about a year ago).
"The World Is A Stage… For Murder!"
is a rather logical successor for any of their previous material, which
means as much that their rather old school and macabre sounding death/grind
is still in the same tradition. It is the pretty much old Carcass inspired
sound with a certain swing to it and a rather dark touch that makes Embalming
Theatre a band that easily will be recognised by its sound. The only thing
that I don't find very attractive is the vocal sound, it demands quite
some time to get used to the top-throat kind of singing that is pretty
hoarse and sounds like some heavy smoker with a liter of yoghurt gurgling
in his throat - which is in that respect quite a prestation. Lyric wise
this album handles about all kinds of gruesome stories taken out of the
newspapers and documentaries, a quick look at the tracklist learns you
rather quick what the guys from the band find attracting. A few examples:
"Punched, Burned, Strangled And Decapitated" tells a story of
fourteen year old boy who got stamped on, punched, burned with boiling
water, strangled, decapitated and chopped up limb by limb. Or "Severed
Head In My Hand" that tells about a guy who ran over the streets
in Aachen (Germany) swinging a severed head by the hairs. If you were
eating your dinner when you were reading: bonne appétit! With the
look at the tracklist you should've seen the Hideous Mangleus cover "Self
Devourment" from their 1992 7" EP with its insipid title: "Unearthing
Grandma's Grave". Funny track is the last one ("Bulldozer Blues")
of which story is a little unclear to me, but the bluesy piano in the
tracks makes it a nice closer for the album. At least, closer, if you
have a few minutes of patience there is a "hidden track" too,
when does this stop? The joke of a hidden track is gone for years now.
Anyway, the album on itself is a enjoying one, just like all of their
stuff, I can't say it was a real killer but I am playing it for two weeks
already so it isn't boring at all either. Just a great grindcore release
by a nice band for sure. Still haven't seen them live, so that is about
time too! Also, keep your eyes open for the "Jane Saw Me" discography
CD on Power-It-Up, also the vinyl version of this album be released through
this label, you have been warned!
Metalreview
With a new LP every year since 2002 and
more 7” and splits than you can shake a severed arm at, Embalming
Theatre are back after the 2005 split tilted Split Organ with Torture
Incident and have returned with their new release full of their tride
and true formula of horroresque grindcore.
Embalming Theatre manages to incorporate classic
grind elements ala Repulsion, Terrorizer and Napalm Death while simultaneously
making use of not only gore and death metal overtones, but also a heavy
crust grind sensibility. There’s no real surprise here, Embalming
Theatre plays the same old school worshiping grind they’ve been
playing since they began. Full of filth and debauchery The World is a
Stage…For Murder is one hell of a blood-soaked, grotesque album.
Apparently, these Swedes base all the content of
their twisted, gore soaked lyrics
on actual happenings that have occurred around the world. Trust me, this
fact adds a slightly more intriguing quality to the music while listening
to “Get High on a Dead Dog”, "Living With the Mummy",
"Bake the Baby", "He ate his own Penis", and the rest
of the like. The vocals, though being somewhat aggravatingly louder than
the rest of the music, are deep and guttural as hell, differing greatly
from the majority of goregrind and deathgrind bands through the heavy
crust aspects of the band. From slower, chugging aspects to frantic, loose
sounding blasts, Embalming Theatre while not the most groundbreaking band
to come out of Sweden, is one hell of a listen if old school grind is
your preferred style.
Embalming Theatre is interesting and enjoyable through
their blend of various grindcore genres that’s bound to please any
hardcore fan of the genre, but this album isn’t really going to
reach out to a large crowd. If you’d like this album, you know who
you are and I strongly recommend The World is a Stage…For Murder.
Otherwise, this release will pass by with little notice. For those of
you who care, Embalming Theatre are back and they'll rape you, your mother,
your grandmother’s corpse, your son, and your dog.
(äähm, we're from Switzerland, not Sweden, hehe!)
Supreme Brutality
I was very fond of the EP Hormones From
the Dead mainly because of the music, but certainly also the bizarre humour.
The successor The World is a Stage… For Murder! pretty much continues
from where the other left off and the band certainly haven't lost their
humoristic touch. The biggest difference is that Embalming Theatre apparently
has cut back a little on the samples which I find to be a shame as they
added something extra to the music, but no worry they are still present,
just not as massively. Musically there's really not a whole of new found
here and that's just fine as everything worked well on Hormones From the
Dead. The music is still rather simplistic deathgrind, but quite appealing
and effective.
Most of the songs are kept under or just around
the two minutes. This off course adds considerably to the intensity of
the overall impression. A few of the songs tend to sound a bit too much
a like, but music is still fairly diverse so it never get to play a major
role. The closer "Bulldozer Blues" is the most awkward track
and just like the gimmick in "Buried Alive III: Suffocation in the
Sand-box" on Hormones From the Dead there's also some goofing around,
but this time with a bit of piano and choir. Again the lyrics are based
on real events and as usual there's a bit of explanation in the booklet
to each song. Quite amusing reading I might add. If you liked Hormones
From the Dead then The World is a Stage… For Murder! can almost
not disappoint. I know I'm certainly not disappointed.
Possessed
Ja, hallo, das australische Label No Escape
Records hat mal wieder einen rausgehauen und das nicht zu knapp. Die Schweizer(ist
das richtig?) hauen uns 15 neue und einen Coversong ( Hideous Mangleus;"Self
devourment") um die Ohren. Seit Jahren machen diese Burschen nichts
anderes, als uns mit coolem, wenn auch nciht abwechslungsreichen Death/Grind
zu beglücken. Hier und da eine gelungene Melodie rüber und fertig,
ab ins Bett! Sehr lecker, immer wieder ein Fest! Eine sehr gelungene Mischung
aus Old school Grind, Death und Gore! Grindige Blast treffen auf deathige
Grooves. Geht ab, voll auf die zwölf. Songs wie "Amputation
of the wrong leg II" oder " Living with the mummy" lassen
keinen Grinder vor der Anlage ruhig sitzen. Textlich bedient man sich
mal wieder an der Horrortheke. Geiler Grindcore, der mir sicherlich noch
einige frohe Stunden bereiten wird, denn auf sowas stehe ich. Hinzu kommen
nach astreine Titel, hehe, die auch den Spaßfaktor nicht vermissen
lasen. Zusammengefasst:"Geil!"
LIVE 4 METAL
After the ‘Hormones from the Dead’
MCD these demented Swiss news reporters are back with a new full length.
Why I say news reporters, is because the band bases all their lyrics on
actual twisted stories from around the world. Each set of lyrics in the
inlay is followed by the grisly facts upon which they are founded. They’ve
being doing this since their debut on Razorback ‘Sweet Chainsaw
Melodies’ and probably before, and it does add a little intrigue
to song title’s like ‘Foetal Remains in a Trash Compactor’
and ‘Get High on a Dead Dog’.
I quite like Embalming Theatre, because they have a relatively unique
sound, but I think this
is more to do with the approach of the band than maybe any major invention
within the music. Embalming Theatre are drenched in the blood of the past,
the sound is traditional in most senses of the word. The grind is crust
filled and filthy and it’s met with equally habitual death metal.
Lots of crude melody and vicious cuts of gore remind me of Pungent Stench.
Like the almighty Stench, the folk of Embalming pipe a load of thrash
rinsed hooks in to the death metal, at time’s this is death ‘n’
roll with lavish helpings of gore. ‘Bake the Baby’ is a perfect
example of this, with its ridiculously catchy chorus of ‘bake the
baby, bake the baby in the oven…’ it almost sounds like there
is an absurd essence of the Beach Boys in a happy bake the baby, let’s
go surfing, kind of way! I must be losing it, but I reckon those of you
familiar with Embalming Theatre may have an idea of what I mean. There
is a gruesome humour in the sound, ‘Bulldozer Blues’ may still
pummel along in a grinding death roll but still has the time to throw
in what could be a barber shop quartet and a piano intro that sounds like
Jerry Lee Lewis on acid, I’m not kidding! The 34 minutes of The
World is a Stage… For Murder! Basically continues in the line of
previous Embalming Theatre releases, and if you liked them you’ll
like this. I think that the band has always managed to reach a high standard,
but this album along with the Hormones from the Dead MCD (2004) is the
best stuff to date. They have now got all those sick grinding sections
crossed with the traditional death metal, packed in with some thrash riffs
and a bit of rock quirkiness. They then let it rot and fester for a while,
assuring a grimy crust laden affair full of groove ‘n’ gore.
I recommend this to anyone who likes the fact that a band can take a story
about a mother baking her baby and make it in to a song with one of the
catchiest and happiest chorus’s going- a unique talent!
Brutalism
Switzerland is not bringing forth cuckoo
clocks, great chocolate (Toblerone) but also some sadistic murder death
metal. You can find it in the shelves under the tab Embalming Theatre!!
On this disc you find 18 tracks of furious grind death metal with a humor
touch. Funny titles grunted over a cathcy morbid blast metal. The songs
are changing a lot and going from swinging to fast blasting. So besides
the brutal aggression you are melodic entertained. Also included a cover
of Hideous Manglues but when it was left out nobody's hurt because the
band make good songs themselves. Twisted album and looking forward for
their compilation album called "Jane Saw Me".
Metal Rage
Embalming Theatre is a Swiss band, playing death/grind
in the vein of Repulsion, Terrorizer and Napalm Death. They have already
released a rather long list of split-CD’s, 7”es and a full-length:
Sweet Chainsaw Melodies. I saw them live once, at the Obscene Extreme
fest in Trutnov (CZ). Great music for getting drunk to and moshing with
some Czech Crusty’s!! Recorded I only know the two songs from the
Obscene-sampler, which I liked, so bring it on!!
The album starts with a blast-beat that lasts almost the entire first
song Buried aliveVI: Stabbed, beaten and pregnant. I feel an irresistible
urge to turn up the volume… After tree songs it’s so loud
I think the people passing through my street can’t hear their own
car stereos!! Yes, good people: this rules!! And again I’m getting
very thirsty. This is indeed music for getting wasted to, preferably while
trashing everything and everyone around you.
Embalming Theatre sounds, as mentioned, a lot like Repulsion or Terrorizer,
but they do have their own sound. A kind of chaotic sound that is, because
of the drumming. Don’t worry, it’s tight alright, it’s
just not that predictable as most bands. The drumming sounds a bit nervous
you could say, which makes it even more aggressive. Sneering guitars,
mostly played with open strings and a rumbling bass. Gotta love it. The
vocals are pretty deep and guttural, but quite understandable (if you
listen to a lot of grind that is.) A lot of angry, rushing blasts, but
also great mid-paced parts you can dance around to (and take another sip
of your beer.)
The lyrics... Now that’s something else. Every song is based on
another gruesome, true story. In the booklet they mention the date and
event the song is based on. For instance Dead Garbage II: Strangled babies
shoved in bags, well, the title pretty much says it all… It happened
in October 2003 in Alsace apparently: 4 murdered babies’s found
in a bag in the woods. All the lyrics are like this, I guess it’s
their way of saying how sick people are. But on the other hand, this is
a band with a sense of humour as well. Some of the lyrics are pretty funny,
like Get high on a dead dog: June 2003 / Essex : Thieves tried to snort
a bag of powder they found. The bag contained the cremated remains of
a dog called Charlie.
There’s also a cover on the album: Self Devourment (Hideous Mangleus.)
I don’t know the original, but this version sounds cool. And then
the last song: Bulldozer Blues, it has a hilarious piano part in the opening
of the song and then blasts off like a Blood Duster song: grinding rock
’n roll. With some close harmony singing in the end!! I laughed
my balls off, and it’s actually a great song.
Only thing I don’t like about this album are the intro’s and
the hidden track, but hey, that’s not the important part anyway.
The music is great and so is the production, so I say: if you like grind
and you like it old school, you need to get this album!!
82/100
Burning Misery
Here we go with Embaling Theatre with their
latest album "The World Is A Stage... For Murder. The band is formed
in Switzerland and from the first track to the last these guys let us
hear some great fucking horrorgrind. And nope they are not playing only
fast blastbeats but also some midtempo deathmetal which is fucking good
to hear. Sometimes i hear even some thrashy moves in their brutality of
grind/death. The production of this record is damn nice, heavy, sick and
brutal. So don't expect any love song on this album cause this is a record
full of deathly wishes. This is a great fucking album and counts 18 sick
brutal tracks for all the sicko's out there. Embaling Theatre is signed
on the Australian label No Escape records and is a fucking good addition
on this brutal label. I would recommend this great album to all of you
grind death or other extreme metal lovers. These guys got even a sick
piano move in the last track "Bulldozer Blues", fucking original
guys, i love it. Jump over to the No Escape section and order a copy of
this band. Or go to the Embalming Theatre website and hear a few songs
there.
8.5/10
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