This is something that I wanted to try when I initially wanted to make my YouTube channel. I wanted to take a deep dive into the careers of some bands that I really liked. While this concept has changed slightly since its inception, the general idea remains the same. Deceased was one of the first bands that I wanted to try this out with. I’d rather the effort not go to waste, so I’m converting the idea into blog posts. Keep an eye out for similar posts in the future.
Imagine if you will: Alfred Hitchcock and George A. Romero decided that they wanted to form a death metal band. But, seeing as they are movie directors, music may not necessarily be their expertise. So, they enlist some help from groups like King Diamond, Death, and Annihilator to get the project off the ground. The effort proves to be rather successful. What do you think a band like that would look like, let alone sound like? Well, in my view, that band is none other than Deceased.
Between the lyrical storytelling of King Diamond, the intricate riff work of Death and Annihilator, and the themes of horror from the greats like Hitchcock and Romero, it’s easy to see how. Deceased has crafted its own style of death metal, enabling them to thrive in metal’s underground for over 35 years. And, since Deceased is one of my five favorite bands of all time, I wanted to give them some time in the spotlight. These death metal pioneers have certainly earned it. So, let’s take a trip down to the cemetery.
The First Steps
Deceased’s journey began in Arlington, Virginia in 1984, with the band being formed by drummer Kingsley “King” Fowley. Initially named “Mad Butcher”, King Fowley was joined by bassist Rob Sterzel and guitarists Doug Souther and Mark Adams. The band would change its name from “Mad Butcher” to “Evil Axe” in 1984, but would ultimately go with “Deceased” sometime in 1985. I’m not entirely sure why the band decided to change its name, but I’m certainly glad that they did. “Deceased” has more of an appeal than “Mad Butcher” or “Evil Axe”, in my opinion at least.
The group would stick with the name and its unique typography for the remainder of its career. The logo came to life on the band’s first demo, “The Evil Side of Religion ”, released on October 6th, 1986. The band released the nine-song cassette, as they had not signed any contracts. However, I’m getting ahead of myself a bit.
The first few songs on the demo sound a bit blown out and the vocals a bit stretched. However, that changes around the 4th song, as afterward, King’s voice sounds much clearer and more like future releases. Songs like Gutwrench, Sick Thrash, Mentally Ill, and Cemetery’s Full act as examples of this vocal clarity shift. According to the band’s Wikipedia page, the band formed with the goal of “out-thrashing Slayer”.
Admittedly, this is tall order, as, by the time this demo was released, Slayer was already well established in metal. Slayer had already released two full-lengths in 1983 and 1985 respectively. And on top of that, Slayer released their third album (which just happens to be “Reign in Blood”) one day after this demo’s release. Does the demo out-thrash Slayer? Not really, in my view. To me, it blends thrash metal with elements of death metal added in. There are some moments where the band is more thrash than Slayer. But, overall, the demo is a nice blend of thrash metal and early death metal. However, the band would push with its ambition and continue to make new music.
Tragedy soon struck the band, as, on March 3rd, 1988, the bassist Rob Sterzel was, unfortunately, killed in a hit-and-run accident. Guitarist Doug Souther lost his brother in that accident, and other passengers were injured. Two days later, The Washinton Post published a news article about the crash. With the loss of their bass player, the band looked for someone to fill the role. Deceased ultimately decided to go with Les Snyder, then bassist for the band Abominog.
With Les being the only member change in the lineup, the band worked on new material. Deceased released its second demo, “Birth by Radiation” in November of 1988. The demo starts off sounding a bit more like thrash metal – the song “Vomiting Blood” being an example of this. The Death/Thrash blend that Deceased is known for returns as the demo carries on. Decrepit Coma and Immune to Burial also act as examples of this Death/Thrash blend.
The two demos were merged together in 1989 on the band’s 3rd demo “One Night in the Cemetery”. It combined the better songs onto 1 cassette and would include a new song, “Below the Tombstone”. The new song itself leans more toward death metal. “Below the Tombstone” was included in the band’s 4th demo, “Nuclear Exorcist”, released in December 1989. This demo would feature other new songs, such as the title track and “Planet Graveyard”. The title track has a similar vibe to “Never, Neverland” by Annihilator, in my opinion. It sounds different from what Deceased has released so far, and would release further down the line – which isn’t a bad thing. The song is still enjoyable. The song that follows, “Shrieks from the Hearse”, would be a small experiment, sounding a bit like Death/Doom metal, leaning more towards death metal.
In 1990, the band released its 5th demo, entitled “Day of Death Live”. This demo acts as the band’s first live recording with the performance taking place in Buffalo, New York, which took place on October 20th. The band was performing alongside other acts, like Cannibal Corpse, Immolation, Mortician, and Suffocation. Now, up until this point, the band remained unsigned, releasing these demos on their own. Eventually, word got around of the band’s existence, and the record deal would soon be made. In August of 1990, Matthew F. Jacobson established Relapse Records in Aurora, Colorado. Deceased became the first act signed by the new label. Fellow death metal acts Suffocation and Incantation followed suit, signing with Relapse shortly after. The deal with Relapse would last throughout the 1990s and into the early 2000s and would see Deceased release its first four full-length albums.
Luck of the Corpse
Deceased’s first output on Relapse Records would come in the form of a three-song EP, titled “Gut Wrench”, released in May of 1991. The EP primarily consists of previous songs, two of which were recorded live in Buffalo and Philadelphia. Seven months later, in December of 1991, the band would release “Luck of the Corpse”, their first-ever full-length release. The tracklist consisted primarily of some of their best songs from their previous demos, such as Gut Wrench, Birth by Radiation, The Cemetery’s Full, and Shrieks from the Hearse.
The production value is increased – the songs are much clearer compared to their demo counterparts. With a record label to their name, the band would have reach to a wider audience, due to better distribution. The album would utilize a scene from the 1963 horror movie “Black Sabbath”. Horror movies, and really horror overall, would serve as a key element for all of Deceased’s future full-length albums. In addition, the band would pay tribute to their fallen brother, Rob Sterzel, by dedicating the album to him and a few others. (as they paid tribute, so shall I. Rob Sterzel 1968-1988; Rest Peacefully, Fallen Brother).
Sometime after the album’s release, guitarist Doug Souther would leave the band, for reasons I could not find. Mike Smith ended up taking his spot and decided to stay with the band permanently. Although Smith did get mentioned on “Luck of the Corpse”, his first real credit with the band came in 1992, on the band’s “Live with the Legions” Demo. The demo is 10 songs long from bars primarily in the D.C. area between late 1991 and throughout 1992. This demo was followed by the “13 Frightened Souls” EP, a five-song EP of songs from previous demos.
After the EP’s release, the band wouldn’t release anything else, at least, nothing I could find, for about three years. I presume that this time was primarily spent writing new material in addition to performing live shows. Lo and behold, new material would surface as the band released two demos in 1995. The first demo would include two new songs, “Beyond Science” and “The Silent Creature”. The second demo would include three new songs, titled “Mysterious Research”, “From the Ground They Came”, and “Night of the Deceased”. However, these five songs stayed on the back burner for a future outing.
The Blueprints for Madness
Those five songs wouldn’t be the band’s only new output of the year. In September of 1995, Deceased would release 11 more new songs. This would come in the form of their second full-length album, “The Blueprints for Madness”. The album sounds like a significant step forward for the band, with improved production quality and enjoyable, more complex songs, compared to the previous full-length album. A fantastic example of this is the album opener, “Morbid Shape in Black”. King’s drumming takes a noticeable step forward in its complexity, and it sounds like nothing I’ve heard before. It feels very engaging and sounds well executed. The song also incorporated a sampling from “Messiah of Evil”, a 1973 horror film.
Samples like this one would go on to be a recurring element of future releases. The next song on the album, “The Triangle”, would become one of the band’s most recognized songs. Its heavy, fast-paced riffs, balanced with its slower moments and lyrics make the song enjoyable. Other stand-out tracks, to me at least, include “The Creek of the Dead”, “Negative Darkness”, and “Into the Bizarre”. That last one also contains a sample, but I have not been able to pinpoint its source. Each of those three songs seem to have a little something for everyone to enjoy. Overall, the album is pretty good. It’s not the best album that Deceased would put out, in my opinion. However, it certainly is a step in the right direction.
Fearless Undead Machines
Now, remember those five songs from the 1995 demos that I mentioned earlier? That material finally came off the back-burner to be included in the band’s third full-length album, “Fearless Undead Machines”, released on June 8th, 1997. The album would be the band’s first-ever concept album, revolving around George A. Romero’s “The Living Dead” trilogy. Songs like “Night of the Deceased”, and “Beyond Science” are joined by new compositions like “Graphic Repulsion”, “The Psychic”, and “Destiny”. “Night of the Deceased” and the title track act some of the stand-out songs on the album. Both songs are preceded by comparatively calmer tracks. These calmer tracks make the opening riffs to “Night of the Deceased” and “Fearless Undead Machines” hit even harder.
The song “Fearless Undead Machines” was actually my first introduction to Deceased. A friend of mine had sent me the song on YouTube while I was working on my first battle jacket. When I listened to it, I admit, I was not the biggest fan of it. However, it has grown on me the more that I listen to it. Perhaps, it’s just me, but the songs’ slower moments were more enjoyable. I had a feeling like I was around a campfire telling ghost stories. It’s not my favorite song on the album, that one goes to “Night of the Deceased”. Another standout track is “Beyond Science”. The song samples from a scene from one of the movies. This leads directly into an opening riff that in my opinion is perfect for moshing and headbanging. It’s very enjoyable throughout.
Overall, I’d say this is the band’s best album up until this point. “Luck of the Corpse” is good and helped to get the band on its feet. “The Blueprints for Madness” built off of the initial sound and expanded the band’s songwriting capabilities. However, this album feels like the point where everything lined up and the band solidified their unique sound. The songs flow better, Kings’ vocals sound much clearer, the riffs sound heavier, and the solos sound more intricate. It, simply put, just feels better put together.
Supernatural Addiction
The band would, I presume, go on tour in support of the new album and continue to work on new material in the years to follow. I am partly correct in this assumption, as on February 9th, 2000, the band released its fourth full-length album, “Supernatural Addiction”. The album is not a concept album like its predecessor but does seem to have an overarching theme of the supernatural in science fiction. This idea of an overarching theme in their albums would be a consistent element of their music on full-length releases after this one.
I did notice one thing that I found interesting. “Supernatural Addiction” isn’t named for a song on the album. Neither is the first album or any that would follow this one. The only exceptions to this are “The Blueprints for Madness” and “Fearless Undead Machines”. The album name for each full-length release of the band’s career, with the exception of the two previous albums, seems to be the overarching theme for that album.
Songs like “The Premonition”, “A Very Familiar Stranger”, and “The Doll with the Hideous Spirit” all have this supernatural connection in their lyrics, with some damn good riffs to accompany them. One of the last tracks, “Chambers of the Waiting Blind”, starts with a fairly somber, atmospheric opening, which adds to the supernatural theme. “Dark Chilling Heartbeat” opens with a chilling riff that feels like it’s right out of a horror movie. “Frozen Screams” has its great intro and two great solos. “The Hanging Soldier” has its slower pace and great guitar work, and “Elly’s Dementia” has its slower eerie drumming from King Fowley, with fantastic riff work and solos to boot. “Elly’s Dementia” would even get its own music video, one of only a handful in the band’s career.
The other interesting element of this album is that the band has seemingly expanded upon its influences from the world of horror. On the previous album, the source was all in the same medium – movies. And while I am not sure about all of the tracks on “The Blueprints for Madness”, I know that the sample from the opener comes from a movie as well. However, on this album, the band seems to have expanded to different mediums of influence.
“The Premonition” is about the Twilight Zone episode “22”. “Dark Chilling Heartbeat” takes inspiration from Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”. “The Doll with the Hideous Spirit” uses a sample from the “Trilogy of Terror” – a horror anthology. “The Hanging Soldier” is about Ambrose Bierce’s “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”, and “Elly’s Dementia” is about “The Blair Witch”. The band has started to expand beyond just movies to include TV shows and literature. And although most of the future releases, I think, primarily utilize horror movies, it is still nice to see the band look to other forms of horror for songwriting.
Overall, I would say that this album is pretty damn good. The album’s tracks are all well composed, and worth the listen. “Supernatural Addiction”, in my opinion, is on a par with “Fearless Undead Machines”, which is a high bar to beat. Although, that bar is eventually be cleared by another album down the line, again in my opinion. I certainly like the songs on this album more than I like the ones on “The Blueprints for Madness”. But, it’s hard to pick between “Supernatural Addiction” and “Fearless Undead Machines”, as both albums have their strengths and flaws.
Behind the Mourner’s Veil
After three albums in a period of about 5 years, you would think that the band would want to take a break, right? Not Deceased, as little more than one year after the release of “Supernatural Addiction”, the band would release a new EP, titled “Behind the Mourner’s Veil” on July 24th, 2001. The EP has only seven songs, four of which happen to be covers. It kicks off with two new tracks, “It’s Alive” (which would receive its own music video) and “The Mausoleum”.
“It’s Alive” is a great track with great riffs and drumming, but I personally find “The Mausoleum” to be the better track. I simply find the riffs and King’s drumming to be more appealing in this song than it is in the other one. After the four covers, the EP ends with something that Deceased has not tried up to this point – and something that is admittedly a bit rare to see – a multi-section song. I don’t mean multi-section like how Bohemian Rhapsody has its clear operatic section. I mean multi-section more as in part one, part two, etc. Songs like those are fairly rare to see, with the few examples I could find being “Dialogue” Parts 1 and 2 by Chicago, “The Willing Well” Parts 1-4 by Coheed and Cambria, and the one I made the immediate connection to – “2112” Parts 1-7 by Rush.
Deceased’s multi-section song, titled “Victims of the Master Plan” recounts the real-life story of the West Memphis 3. The West Memphis 3 was a group of three teenagers who killed three children in what was claimed to be some sort of a satanic ritual. The song itself kicks off with a fairly thrash riff, but the song’s atmosphere shifts once the first guitar solo hits, becoming eerier. The eerie atmosphere then transfers into King’s graphic vocals, as the guitar work shifts and starts to sound more like death metal.
The great riff work continues up until a little more than halfway mark, where the eerie atmosphere returns, along with what I can only presume is a clip from either an investigation or a news report of the incident. It’s a rather short clip, followed by the same riff at a slower pace. The song picks up the pace ever so slightly after one kickass guitar solo. The song has one more equally kick-ass solo and then fades out with that same riff, some neat fills from Fowley, and a brief audio clip. It’s a chilling song and a rather neat way to end out the EP.
Covers Galore
In 2002, the band released a live album and two compilation albums. The live album, “Up the Tombstones!!! 2000”, was a collection of live recordings from a performance in Maryland in 2000. The first compilation album was “The Radiation Years” and it primarily consisted of previously released songs and a few live recordings from 1998. However, the band’s second compilation album “Zombie Hymns” would be the real stand-out effort of the year.
It’s extremely rare to see a compilation album like this one. Many times compilation albums with covers tend to be multiple bands coming together to do covers of one band’s songs. For example, “A Call to Irons Vol. 2” – a tribute album to Iron Maiden – contains covers of Iron Maiden songs by multiple bands. Deceased provided a cover of “Two Minutes to Midnight” for that album. Another entry is “Public Enema Number One” by October 31, Fowley’s other band. However, this compilation album is the other way around – one band doing covers of multiple other bands’ songs.
The compilation consists of 20 covers of songs from other bands, including Iron Maiden, Slayer, Venom, and Saxon, among others. Some of the standout covers include “Two Minutes to Midnight” and “Wrathchild” by Iron Maiden, “Blower” by Voivod, “Doomed by the Living Dead” by King Diamond, “Tormentor” by Kreator, and “Chemical Warfare” by Slayer. Some songs fit Deceased’s style better than others (“Blower” and “Tormentor” being good examples of this), but if you like the originals, you should enjoy the compilation just fine.
As the clock rolled around to 2003, the band would leave Relapse Records. However, the departure from the label would not stop the band from continuing. The group released another compilation album, I believe, shortly after leaving the label, titled “Corpses, Souls, and Other Strangers”. The compilation is primarily the songs from “Luck of the Corpse”, “13 Frightened Souls”, and a few live tracks. In addition, the band’s EP “Gut Wrench” was included on the “Relapse Singles Series Vol. 2”, alongside other acts from Relapse General Surgery, Destroy, and Disrupt. The label would release the split on October 7th, 2003, and around the time of the Spilt’s release, Dave “Scarface” Castillo would join the band as a drummer. This addition would allow King Fowley to move up to vocals.
Castillo’s first credit with the band would come on January 7th, 2004, with the release of the band’s fifth studio album, “Rotten to the Core”. Castillo received credit on most songs as the drummer, with Fowley given drumming credit for songs four, six, ten, 12, and 15. The album itself is 16 songs long and is once again a covers album. It is more oriented towards traditional punk, with covers from bands like Cro-Mags, The Ramones, and the Dead Kennedys. Once again, if you like the original versions of the songs, you should like this album just fine. However, I must admit that it is a fairly difficult album to find. I struggled to find their versions of the songs on that album.
The band would release two more compilations within the year. One would come on February 1st, under the name “Legions of Arrggghhh”. This compilation primarily consisted of the demos for “Fearless Undead Machines” and “Supernatural Addiction”. The other would come in September 2004, under the name “Return to the Evil Side”, and would primarily consist of the “Evil Side of Religion” demo and a few live performances.
As The Weird Travel On
Now at this point, the band had predominantly released compilations and live recordings. The last original material released was “Supernatural Addiction” in 2000. New material would have to be coming at some point, right? Luckily, new material would come in May of 2005 with the band’s sixth full-length album, “As The Weird Travel On”.
The album is Deceased’s first full-length not released on Relapse Records. Instead, the album was released on Thrash Corner Records. In addition, this album was the first release in Deceased’s career where King Fowley isn’t credited on drums. According to Metallum, drum credit went entirely to new drummer Dave “Scarface” Castillo. The album features eight new songs, and I have to admit, it was worth the wait.
The first four songs – “The Kept”, “The Funeral Parlours Secret”, “A Witness to Suspiria”, and “Unwanted Memories” – are the real standouts of the album to me. Each of them feel well composed and have some real stand-out moments in their own right. “The Kept” has very polished drumming and vocals and has a bit of a Death/Groove vibe to it. “The Funeral Parlours Secret” starts with a fantastic riff and great snare drum from Castillo. “A Witness to Suspiria” is probably the only song on the album to feature a clip of some kind. The inclusion of the clip helps the track stand out, at least to me. “Unwanted Memories” opens with some sick bass before blasting into the opening riff thanks to Castillo’s intense drumming. The energy between these four songs feels consistent, even in their slower portions, and all are very enjoyable throughout.
The last four songs are good in their own right, with “Missing a Pulse” being the stand-out track on the back end. The song fades right into the fray and features a very headbangingly heavy hammer-on riff around halfway through. “Craving Illness” features a more somber opening compared to “Missing a Pulse”, but feeds into Death Metal with a fairly frantic feeling. “A Visit from Dread” sounds like straight Death Metal and has a neat riff around the 3:40 mark. And the album closer, “Fright”, features a solid Death/Thrash riff towards the end, and finishes in a rather weird manner. The album overall is fairly good, practically on par with “Supernatural Addiction”, if not slightly better than it. Admittedly, the album is a bit front-loaded, but that may just be me and my taste. The album is still fun regardless- I recommend it.
After the album’s release and at some point in 2006, guitarist Shane Fuguel would join the band. I’m not sure if there was a three guitarist rotation, because the band’s next release, “Inject the Ugliness”, doesn’t feature him on the credits. The EP is four covers, two of which were performed live, and was released on April 25th, 2007.
Now at some point in 2007, I could not find when, but guitarist Mark Adams would leave the band, and Shane Fuguel would stay with the band full time. Adams would still receive some credits with the band. However, they would primarily be on live performances and songs he previously recorded with the band. For example, in April of 2008, the band released its first-ever split release. The split would be with the band Crucified Mortals under the name “The Weird Sessions / Figure in Black”. Adams received guitar credit, as the two Deceased songs included were the previously released “The Funeral Parlours Secret” and “A Witness to Suspiria”.
A few months later in November of 2008, the band would release another split, this time with the band Sacrificial Blood under the name “Unpleasant Sessions / Unholy Wrath”. Deceased’s effort on the split is a Ramones cover and a live performance of “Haunted Cerebellum”. Sacrificial Blood’s effort on the split would include a cover of Deceased’s “After the Bloodshed”. At some point after the release of these two splits, drummer Dave Castillo would leave the band. I never found out why, but I’m sure he had his reasons.
On February 10th, 2009, Deceased released a compilation album called “Night of the Deceased”. Fowley had included it in a few issues of Hard Rocker magazine. The compilation included songs from previous albums and EPs up until this point in the band’s career. A few months later on June 30th, 2009, the band would release a double album compilation titled “Worship the Coffin”. The compilation is primarily an early years compilation of material. It even includes a song from when the band was still known as Evil Axe.
On November 21st, 2009, the band would perform at College Park in Maryland. The performance was recorded and released as a vinyl record on March 13th, 2010. This release, known as “Stalking the Airways: Blood Orgy in College Park”, would be Shane Fuguel’s first credit with the band, according to the Metal Archives. The release featured Chris Paolino on bass and Eric “The Hindenburg” Mayes on drums as guest musicians. This would be the only credit Chris Paolino would get with Deceased. This would also be the last credit of Eric Mayes, as he would, unfortunately, pass away in 2015.
(Eric Mayes – 1974-2015; Rest Peacefully, Fallen Brother).
Surreal Overdose
New material would surface from the band on May 13th, 2011 as Deceased released its seventh full-length studio album, “Surreal Overdose” on their own label, Shrieks from the Hearse. Now, I’ll be honest, I’m going to write a lot on this album, as it’s an important one to me. I mentioned earlier that my friend had sent me a link to the song “Fearless Undead Machines” on YouTube. While listening to it, I just couldn’t get into it at that point in time. However, I could see another Deceased song at the top of the recommended bar. I clicked it and started listening to a song on this album, titled “Cloned (Day of the Robot)”. I found the unusual opening the song had intriguing and the opening riff doubled down on that intrigue. By the time King Fowley’s drumming hit, I was hooked!
The riff work made the song instantly enjoyable for me. And on top of that, the eerie sounds about halfway into the song, followed by the bassline and the death metal onslaught sealed the deal as the song is one of my favorites of the band’s career. I thought to myself, “I wonder if the rest of the album is just as good”, and so I checked out more of the album. I quickly grew to like other songs on the album and eventually the entire album. It would even become the first Deceased album I would ever own and one of my favorite albums ever.
The album itself starts out very fast-paced and hard-hitting with “Skin-Crawling Progress”. The song is unrelenting in its energy, even in its slower moments, and King’s vivid lyrics help to set the scene for the entire album. The album seems to revolve around a darker side of horror in the mental health side of medicine. The opener sends a metaphorical shiver down your spine as you listen to it. The song ends with a clip from “The Forgotten”, a 1973 horror movie about a nurse that works in an insane asylum.
The song that follows, “Kindred Assembly”, starts as straight death metal before slowing a bit about half a minute in. A neat guitar riff accompanies King’s vocals, setting a scene of a patient in a mental home, and then the song picks the intensity right back up. The song has a fairly personable feeling to it throughout as if you are right alongside a patient going through these trials and tribulations.
“The Traumatic” starts out with a few guitar chords that form a neat riff. The song quickly transitions to straight death metal with grimm, perturbing vocals and damn guitar work. The song ends with a fade-out to an audio clip from 1973’s “The Exorcist”. The clip then fades into the unusual opening of “Cloned (Day of the Robot)”. I’ve already talked about that song, but I’ll mention one last thing about it. The song’s lyrics have a fairly scientific feeling to them. It’s almost as if you’re witnessing a horrifying experiment unfold through the eyes of a patient. It’s a great song and would even get its own music video after the album’s release.
“Off-kilter” kicks off the back-end of the album, and man is it a solid way to do so. The opening solo is freaky and after some damn good riffage, another equally freaky solo shreds your ears. It’s followed by a neat refrain and the solid riff that follows is accompanied by King’s great double bass. Around the halfway mark, the song comes to a halt, picking up a simple, yet heavy riff that would stick until the end of the song played in between the multiple solos to close it out. The song in a way feels like Deceased’s equivalent to Megadeth’s “Hangar 18”, considering its structure.
The next song, “In the Laboratory of Joyous Gloom”, starts off with some sweet snare drumming and a high-paced, frantic riff. The intensity carries on through the verse until you get to a slower chugging section, followed by an intricately heavy riff. The riff picks up the pace and intensity thanks to King’s double bass drumming. Slight variations of that riff are played as the song goes on until it comes to halt and King’s line of “The End” gives you a feeling akin to shivers down your spine.
In a rather somber instrumental piece, “A Doom-Laden Aura” gives the listener a breather from the chaos that just ensued. It’s an interesting short piece; it feels like it’s from a movie scene where a patient is being wheeled off in slow-motion. The patient is dazed – unaware that “The End” is right around the corner. It also acts as a similar piece to “From the Ground They Came” – a sort of calm before the storm to come.
That storm, “Dying in Analog”, hits you with an opening riff, and rather emotional lyrics. This metaphorical patient that we have been following on this journey of mental instability throughout the album comes to the realization that they are about to die. The song can stir up some of the conflicting emotions that can arise from a situation like this. The song’s intensity stays throughout, even when the song changes to different and equally awesome riffs. The song repeats the intro, followed by a damn good solo, and then starts to slow in pace, similar to the metaphorical patient’s heartbeat dropping. And some chords later, just like the patient, the album ends.
I am incredibly biased in saying this, I realize that, but this is by far Deceased’s best album – better than even “Fearless Undead Machines”. With “Fearless Undead Machines”, the album has the whole Zombies concept and is damn well executed. And the songs are some of the best that the band has put out. However, “Surreal Overdose” is a much more human album. I mean that more in the sense that people can probably connect to the lyrics here a bit easier than the lyrics of “Fearless Undead Machines”.
Like I’ve said, the songs on “Fearless Undead Machines” are damn good. However, if you understand the source material that it is based on, you can form a deeper level of interest and understanding of the album. You would understand what is going on in the movies. But since “Surreal Overdose” is centered more around mental health, experimentation, and death, the album becomes much more relatable.
The album takes us on a journey with a mental patient in the terminal portion of their life. We listen to the experiments performed, the thoughts they have, and the realizations that they make as their life draws to an end. And because we are human, we can understand at least some portion of what is happening. I’m sure most of us alive have gone through something similar, whether it be losing a loved one, or seeing someone you care about struggle with mental health issues.
You don’t need to know the source material to gain that deeper level of interest or understanding; Humanity is that level. The album contains fantastic efforts on all fronts and top-notch production. King’s vocals are clear and understandable. Surreal Overdose is an all-killer, no-filler album that starts out strong and just gets better as it goes on. It’s one of my favorite albums of all time, and I think I’ve done enough to show why.
Deceased released “Cloned (Day of the Robot)” as a single in September 2011. The single would see Dave “Scarface” Castillo rejoin the band full time. The single would have two covers accompanying it, for which Castillo would receive drumming credit on. On a similar note, Decibel Magazine included “Luck of the Corpse” as a vinyl single in Issue 97. Both of these releases would constitute the final single releases of the band’s career, at least to this point. In addition, King wrote his first book “Stay Ugly: The Life and Near Deaths of King Fowley” in 2017. To my knowledge, the book was sold on Hells Headbangers.
Ghostly White
The band would stay on HHR moving forward. In the Fall of 2018, Deceased released their eighth full-length studio album, “Ghostly White”. The album itself contains eight new songs and is an interesting blend of some of their previous releases. Some of these songs have lyrics revolving around serious issues, like drug abuse and anxiety. Other tracks are more of a return to form, connecting back to traditional horror and underground movies. The album kicks off with a sample from the movie “Burnt Offerings”, which feeds into a sort of somber intro and main riff. The song itself is enjoyable throughout and has a solid solo followed by a really neat riff. The song ends with an acoustic guitar section, following in the spooky footsteps that the album lays out.
The next song, “Germ of Distorted Lore”, starts with a brief drum intro followed by two simple guitar riffs. As the riff kicks off, you start to get the feeling of being around a campfire, telling scary stories. And really that’s what the song is about, how folklore is just folklore and that the real horrors of the world are us humans. As the song carries on you get to some even more chilling sections. One of these sections is a little after the halfway mark.
At this point, the drumming and guitars combine with the shrieking vocals to send shivers down your spine. The song ends with King giving advice to take the song as a warning to reality – to be on our toes as time goes on – and it fades out with one of the riffs that opened the song. Throw in a few kickass solos, and you get a 13-minute song, the longest so far in Deceased’s storied history.
“A Palpitations Warning” jumps right into the fray, offering only a few brief respites along the way. The song conveys its theme of anxiety and panic attacks in a quite clever manner. It’s rather unrelenting throughout, ending abruptly at three and a half minutes, and enjoyable even if brief. “To Serve the Insane” kicks off with a neat riff and solo, before going right into the verse. The album liner points out the background for the main point of the song – how there are children born into the world only to serve the needs of individuals with a warped view of reality. The song never lets up in its message or intensity. In my opinion, it’s one of the better tracks on the album.
“Endless Well” kicks off the backend of the album with a slower, more chugging opening and an eerier feeling than the previous song. With a focus on drug abuse and addiction, the song shifts between intense, hard-hitting moments, and somber, more atmospheric moments. I get the feeling that this is meant to simulate the peaks and valleys of achieving a high and the withdrawal the body feels. But, that’s just my take on it. It’s a solid way to kick off the tail end of the album.
The next song, “The Shivers”, takes inspiration from the 1974 movie “Black Christmas”. It starts off with a neat little riff before going pretty much straight into the verse. The tone is set early on with the victims being picked off one by one, unsure by what though. Is spectral or human – who knows? There is a slower, more atmospheric moment towards the middle of the song, allowing you to put yourself in the shoes of one of the characters. The song then picks up the pace and intensity, with the character running as their life depends on it. The song ends similar to the movie – with one left alive and an uneasy feeling like not everything is settled.
That uneasy feeling carries over in the next song, “Thoughts from a Leaking Brain”. The song switches back and forth between what I can only assume is King’s vocals and a movie clip. Unless King is the one singing the “Drawn to the thoughts in your leaking brain” part, which if he is, then by god this man has a real talent in transforming his voice. The song is mainly inspired by the works of Edgar Allen Poe. It has plenty of moments that feel like straight death metal, moments of uneasiness that Poe was known for, and one real kick-ass solo.
The album’s closing track “Pale Surroundings” leads off with a clip from the 1971 movie, “Let’s Scare Jessica to Death”. Dave’s drumming kicks up the intensity as the guitar work. The atmospheric “ahhs” bring that eerie feeling back into play, thanks to the vocals of Jillian Smith. The song carries on with its verses and features another few clips from the movie. The song ends with Jillian singing the line “Stay forever my love…” and a few power chords from the guitarist before leaving nothing but the wind blowing softly.
The album itself is an overall fun time. The songs are interesting and well-composed, and it feels like Deceased strove to best their previous effort. I’d say that “Ghostly White” is on par with “Surreal Overdose”. While I like “Surreal Overdose” ever so slightly more, I cannot deny that the songwriting, themes, and atmosphere of both albums is equally fantastic. I really appreciate the fact that the songs blend where their inspirations come from.
King’s vocals are crystal clear, the guitar solos are intense, and Dave’s drumming is intense and engaging. Sadly, this would be the final studio album that Dave Castillo would perform on. On November 12th, 2018, Dave “Scarface” Castillo, as noted in the album liner, had unfortunately drowned in his home country of El Salvador just weeks after recording the album. His final credit with Deceased would be the live album “Death Metal from the Dave”, released in April 2019.
(Dave “Scarface” Castillo – 1974-2018; Rest Peacefully, Fallen Brother)
The Latest News So Far
In July of 2020, just months after the beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic began, Deceased released another covers album. Titled “Rotten to the Core Part 2 (The Nightmare Continues)”, this album is the band’s ninth full-length studio album. King stayed on vocals while Amos Rifkin filled in as the band’s drummer. The album features 18 new covers from new bands. The songs selected center around a blend of punk, rock, and metal. The album would supposedly also include the entire original “Rotten to the Core” album as bonus tracks played after the 18 new covers. As with other cover albums, if you like the songs picked, you’ll probably like the covers album.
Now in an interview with Echoes and Dust, King Fowley mentioned that Deceased has another covers album in the works. The new album “Thrash Times at Ridgemont High” is seemingly more focused on covers of songs by thrash metal bands. Metallum lists the actual tracklist, and many songs are from lesser-known thrash bands. Personally, I would have loved a cover of Exodus’s “Strike of the Beast” and Annihilator’s “The Fun Palace”. I think a rendition of Bolt Thrower’s “Cenotaph” would work pretty well. In the same interview with Echoes and Dust, King mentioned that the next original studio album is in the works. The plan seems to be releasing it on Hells Headbangers Records. However, I don’t think Deceased has announced any official release date as of yet.
Conclusion
And that is the history of the band Deceased up until this point in time. Over the last 35 years, Deceased has certainly stood out with its own unique style of death metal. Their songs and songwriting have improved with each subsequent release. No matter how long it takes between albums, the wait is always worth it. Deceased has shown no signs of slowing down, and have, on multiple occasions, paid respect to other acts in music, even the ones that have come before them. Even with lineup changes, Deceased remains one of the more consistent bands in metal, in terms of sound and style. If you happen to find one of their releases, I highly recommend you get it while you can. Their death metal from the cemetery is certainly worth it.