Band:	Morbid Saint
Album:	Swallowed By Hell
Style:	Thrash metal
Release date:	February 2024

01. Rise From The Ashes
02. Swallowed By Hell
03. Bloody Floors
04. Burn Pit
05. Fear Incarnate
06. Fuck Them All
07. Bleed Them Dry
08. Pine Tuxedo
09. Killer Instinct
10. Psychosis

Beware the pun.

Being right in an argument with your partner, finding a four leaf clover, capturing a shiny Abra, Morbid Saint releasing new music: these things are all events so rare that you must celebrate and cherish them when you get the chance. Yes, pinch me people it's true, I caught a shiny Abra... oh, and Swallowed By Hell has been released. You could argue that absence makes the heart fonder, or that good things come to those who wait; either way, Swallowed By Hell is an enjoyable album regardless of the time it took to finally hear the thing.

Three albums in thirty-eight years is perhaps not the rate of return you'd hope for when following a band, though it makes any new music easily some of the most anticipated of the year; it also means expectations are sky-high, and enjoyment is tempered by the thought that, like a farm animal, it's best not getting too attached because they won't be around too long. Still, Morbid Saint charge head on into these concerns and obliterate them with a ferocity and quality that makes Swallowed By Hell a gem of an album that's been a long time coming.

From its Ed Repka cover, to its blistering guitar work and songs that indulge in twisted topics, Morbid Saint show that the old school is still in session... and I didn't hear no bell (yes... I actually said that). Swallowed By Hell has its feet firmly planted in the 1980s, but it doesn't feel or sound like a band stuck in the past; on the contrary, the tracks feel vibrant and fresh, thanks in part to the production work of Djuricic, which gives songs like "Fear Incarnate" an overwhelming and large sound that envelopes listeners to the point that the album title is remarkably apropo.

Much like a car, Swallowed By Hell takes a few tracks to get up to speed, but by the time "Bloody Floors" kicks in, the album accelerates from being good to being great and doesn't look back. Visser and Fergades may not produce many instantly memorable riffs, but when you hear the guitar work in tracks like "Burn Pit", "Fuck Them All" or "Pine Tuxedo", you'll be either listening in awe or throwing limbs like a chainsaw-wielding madman on a rampage... I mean, going wild in the mosh pits. Lind's straining vocals are an acquired taste for sure; for as many who find them befitting the music on tracks like "Fuck Them All" (such as myself), I can see them alienating just as many others. Zabel's bass has the perfect tone and placement in the music, powerful and vibrant without overwhelming any other aspect of the sound, adding additional punch to "Bleed Them Dry" in the process.

While the album revels in the old school, some may find this a well that has long run dry and consider Swallowed By Hell a redundant release out of the gates. True, Morbid Saint don't do much to push the boundaries beyond this limited scope; rather, it revels in the space it carves out for itself with frenzied guitar work and high tempo tracks. It is likely to be a case of those of attracting the two extremes, with those who enjoy it, loving it, while those who dislike it, loathe it.

Morbid Saint producing music might be rarer than hen's teeth, but dammit if this music doesn't have some extreme bite to it. Swallowed By Hell does as it says on the tin; it will firmly grab you by the throat and take your full attention as you listen to the kind of music that demons listen to as they surf waves of fire, and damn it if the tide isn't in.