Ghoul - Transmission Zero
Here’s what I know about Ghoul. Sean McGrath (Impaled, Engorged) and Ross Sewage (Impaled, ex-Exhumed) are the main culprits involved. Their 2002 debut full length, We Came for the Dead!!! was fucking awesome. It was Gore-Grind, it was Death Metal, it was Thrash, it fucking ruled. In fact, just now typing that I’ve come to the realization that it was essentially this year’s new Exhumed album nine years ahead of its time. I didn’t fully check out their 2003 or 2006 albums, because the small bits I did hear just weren’t quite as good. But nothing could have prepared me for how awful Transmission Zero is. It’s pretty much the same cast of characters, except for newer drummer Fermentor (aka: Dino Sommese) of ex-Asunder and ex-Dystopia fame, but the sound and feel of the record is totally different. And by totally different I mean totally happy. Sure, a pack of ski-masked, blood-covered, chainsaw-bearing freaks isn’t ever going to ensure total seriousness, but unlike 2002, this is a complete fucking joke. They’ve pretty much removed the heaviness and brutality from the fold (hopefully reserving them for a new Impaled album, should one ever surface) in favor of a much more lightweight Death/Thrash, sometimes bordering on Street Punk. The vocals are no longer brutal. Towards the end of the album, I want to say maybe the last song, there are vocals so terrible I had to turn it off. And I don’t mean like when I was nine years old and I had to turn off Slayer’s Hell Awaits because it scared me. I mean I was embarrassed to have this playing in my home stereo, and I was alone. The total joke lyrics might as well be about fishing with your dad, rainbows, running hand-in-hand with your gay lover on the beach, and flowers that smell pretty. It all invokes the sickening feeling of fun and happiness, laughter and joy. This album is for people who wake up and say, “Oh boy! Another wonderful day to live my happy life! Hooray for life! Hooray for fun and good times! Yay! Life is all fun! Happy!”
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