As on its infamous Nuclear Blast classic
Sinister Slaughter, the trio known as
Macabre turns to morbid comedy that isn't so much hysterical as it is juvenile. Based entirely on the legendary life story of psycho Jeffrey Dahmer, this 26-track album plays almost like some perverse
Andrew Lloyd Webber death metal production. Just the concept seems a bit uncanny; in fact, it's downright disturbing. What drives a band to devote so much time and effort toward such a distasteful theme? Well, surely there is a niche market for this sort of art, as the group proved with
Sinister Slaughter (an album full of odes to various psychopaths), which attracted the same sort of people who take a perverse interest in bands such as
Cannibal Corpse or films such as the Ed Gein biopic Deranged. And the fans in this small niche market, who have been following
Macabre since its first underground releases in the late '80s, should adore the imaginative lengths that the band has gone to with its ode to Dahmer. While the lyrics are a treat indeed, especially since they are annotated, they ultimately take away from whatever musical potential that the trio shows on the album. Like the self-important rants/songs of post-
Pink Floyd Roger Waters and also
Henry Rollins, the lyrics and vocals take center stage here, eliminating the prospects for strong musical accompaniment. There are a few times when the speed metal guitar riffs grind like effective death metal, but far too often the music gets eclipsed by the laughable vocals. The group's best-known effort,
Sinister Slaughter, effectively balanced vocals with music, never letting one overshadow the other; that, unfortunately, isn't the case here. So, in the end,
Macabre has no doubt released yet another infamous album; unfortunately though, any noteworthy status is attributed toward the perverse theme rather than any sort of musicianship.