California’s Morfin are back after a 3 year wait with their second album of pure, old school Death worship and the old school -o-meter has been been turned back even more for an even more musty, raw and primal take on Leprosy era Death.

Not much as changed from the debut, Inoculation. Jesus Romero still has a spot on early Chuck Schuldiner rasp and while the guitars and overall production appear more raw and earthy, the end result is similar. There’s even a bit of  Possessed vibe to the material, which seems to be more intentionally sloppy and demo-ish sounding. But the overall influence is still unmistakable.

That said, a turnover of half the band appears to affected the material. Even with fellow drummer Mike De La O coming over from fellow label mates/Californians/Death worshipers Skeletal Remains, nothing really reaches out from the grave and grabs you. Where as Inoculation had some very clear nods and winks to actual Death songs and riffs and a cover of “Leprosy”, Consumed By Evil appears to be trying to veer off and forge its own path , with middling results.

Tracks like the largely instrumentals “Illusions of Horror” and more noodly “Posthumous” certainly carry the Death flame, and opener “Reincarnation” or the closing title track are solid. But overall, there simply aren’t any ‘great’ songs on this second effort, just 35 minutes of decent Death homage, that if I’m being brutally honest, is a step back from the debut.

[Visit the band's website]

---

Comments