Top 10 Thrash Metal Albums of 2024 #3 Morbid Saint - Swallowed By Hell
Xmas is upon us ya filthy animals! Time to do a Top 10 Thrash Metal Albums of 2024 and see how the year has treated us!
Morbid Saint surely exists in the pantheon of the Ye Olde Underground Sh!t due to its following fo' shizzle. The band plopped out towards the end of the 80s just when things were getting interesting for Thrash Metal. However, in the span of some 35 years they've managed only three albums - they did have a hefty break of some 15 years. So, there's that. And, life, you know. Also, who says sh!t has to follow any formula; like the Simpsons put it: "Do what you feel like, man".
If you pull out the dictionary and look up "Thrash Metal" you'll find Morbid Saint's Swallowed By Hell. Right from the beginning "Rise from the Ashes" embodies the spirit of Speed with one helluva saw of shred. Its fast, on point and doesn't leave you wondering if there's any hope for any of us (no). If you think this song was fast wait until you get to "F#&k Them All", this one rips your face apart so you can scream "Fkk yeahh!!" as a choir with yourself.
"Bloody Floors" takes you with a tasty bass and presses you face first into a groovy ass grinder. "Bleed Them Dry" could be described as a mid-tempo canter that halts to maul your head in.
I mean, I could go on, but suffice to say that this is one helluva album for a comeback of sorts.
There's a lot crammed into the album and while some songs are samey and the pacing straggles in few places - in all honesty I'm hard pressed to cut anything out for the simple reason of:
I'm plain having too much fun with this sh!t
There is a great deal more depth into the composition than on the previous albums but I honestly feel that the band would've had the musical chops to go even further down that rabbit hole. Swallowed By Hell is energetic and relentless, and will leave you gasping for air afterwards - guaranteed. Thematically we're right there where you'd expect with Thrash Metal and that's fine. Pat Lind delivers tight vocals once more!
In many ways while listening this one Possessed's amazing Revelations of Oblivion kept popping into my head. Maybe its the age of the bands but I do love how tailored the songs are - at best sh!t fits together unbelievably effortlessly. That kind of understanding comes with time (among few other things).
This album is fucking delicious
Swallowed By Hell is one of the best sounding Thrash Metal albums I've heard in recent years - because it doesn't try anything "cool". Sh!t is technically in balance and nothing needs to bend backwards in giving the floor to something else - to hammer it in: drums have room to breathe, bass is expressive and the guitars aren't forced into any end of the sound spectrum. Now, I've got nothing against going for a "sound" on an album - quite the contrary! Its just that too often sh!t becomes lopsided and detrimental to the experience.
Anyhoo! Morbid Saint's Swallowed By Hell is #3 in my Top 10 Thrash Metal albums of 2024. I don't need to tell these fellas to run with these scissors because this album is above all very old school; this kind of good sh!t happens when original bandmates come together for an anticipated reunion - and have a lot to say!
THRASH-O-METER
★★★★☆ SONGWRITING
★★★☆☆ THEMES
★★★☆☆ LONGEVITY
★★★★☆ PRODUCTION
★★★★★ THRASHABILITY
SCORE:
★★★★☆ BADASS SH!T
(decimals are for weaklings)