Post Mortem – Message For The Dead (2009)

As one of the first underground Death/Trash Metal bands in the USA, Post Mortem has left a handful of cult releases, most notably “Coroner’s Office” back in 1986. The band never reached its full potential and being in hiatus for most of the 90’s due to internal conflicts we are left only with pieces of what could have been an even more influential band.

Reforming back in 2003 with their “Coroner’s Office” line-up the band was set for a comeback, only to be set back by the death of John McCarthy, the band’s vocalist. Fast-forward several years; we get “Message For The Dead”, the band’s long awaited latest release. A release that is a tribute to McCarthy and to apace the longtime fans of this band.

Using Sigh’s vocalist Mirai Kawashima, the album was completed and showcases 16 tracks of old-school Death/Trash Metal that will surely please the fans of the band and will make McCarthy proud. You can hear the low-fi sound that bands had back in the 80’s perfectly set to new material from this band.

“Message For The Dead” is a record that in our opinion will be a period piece that most people into old-school music will treasure, but younger generations will disregard quickly. Too bad for the younger generations that do not appreciate where their beloved mainstream metal has come from, and are too eager to have false and well marketed idols instead of appreciating bands that actually shaped the current Metal scene.

Musically, “Message For The Dead” is a very traditional release that showcases the band’s traditional sound sans McCarthy’s vocals. All songs have sluggish riffs paired with some solos and mid-tempo drumming. Nothing here is overly brutal or accelerated, is all well paced capturing the essence of old-school releases.

The punk influences in this music are very evident and work wonders with the gory, but funny, lyrics. If you are an old-school metal head, you will love this release since it feels like Post Mortem was resurrected for one more album. So go and get this release in order to pay proper tribute to McCarthy and Post Mortem, you can’t find music like this anymore.

Release: September 2009

Country: USA