Artist: Mortal Decay
Country: USA
Label: Hells Headbangers Records
Formats: LP
Year: 2025
Although Europe as well as other places on earth also had their heroes when it comes to Brutal Death Metal, and I don’t want to sell anyone short either, it was mainly something that happened in the USA. New bands that were starting to push the basics of Cannibal Corpse and Suffocation to further extremes, both in terms of musicality and visuals, by incorporating Grindcore elements seem to pop up almost on a daily basis in the second half of the 90’s. While there were some bands that had their roots going a bit deeper into the 90’s, the genre really gained its momentum by the end of that decennium and the early 00’s. Amongst them were now acts like Pyrexia, Lividity, Skinless, Broken Hope, Devourment, Dying Fetus, Malignancy, Internal Bleeding, Fleshgrind, Putrid Pile, Cephalic Carnage, Brodequin, Insidious Decrepancy, Disgorge, Deeds Of Flesh, Vile, Eternal Suffering… The list seems endless. Some of them went for world fame and domination and are still going strong, others were left a bit more in the shade and enjoyed appreciation from a smaller group of connoisseurs.
Mortal Decay is a band that fits somewhere in between. For sure they can not be measured against the bigger names of that enumeration above, but they are a band that is cherished by a whole lot of people who never seem to get enough of that particular type of late 90’s Death Metal sound. After three well-received demos in the first half of the 90’s, they came with two full-length albums that might not be utter milestones in the Brutal Death Metal genre, but they are pretty much a textbook example of what this genre is about: a brutal and savage overall assault with a vulgar display of musical technicalities, blasting beats and bellowing vocals. Over the years, the band’s 1997-released ‘Sickening Erotic Fanaticism’ has seen several reissues, but it took until recently to have it released on vinyl when Hells Headbangers Records took it up and made it part of their current Brutal Death Metal offensive.
Admittedly, I hadn’t heard this album in quite a while, perhaps it had not rattled my eardrums for fifteen years or more. But when I did put it on again after so many years, it came right back to me at lightning speed. As a young boy, it was one of those albums that I easily returned to as I moved deeper and deeper into the bewildering world of Extreme Metal. Along with albums by bands like Mortician, Sikfuk, Leukhorrea, Skinless, Exploding Zombies, Houwitser and Intense Hammer Rage, ‘Sickening Erotic Fanaticism’ was always within reach.
Maybe not the utter Death Metal milestone, but without a question it is the sort of album that is worth the “cult classic”-tag within the niche it was created in. Not only because of the musical value it has, but especially because the inspiration it offered to many new bands that came out and pursued the same intense and brutal path. Mortal Decay has been cited many times as one of those bands that got people into this music or to even start their own band. And listening back to the album now, anno 2025, almost three decades later it is overly clear that it stood the test of time rather well. Especially in terms of production and overall sonic presentation. While a lot of bands at the time had a remarkably thin sound, just take a listen to those early Dying Fetus album for example, none of that is the case here. ‘Sickening Erotic Fanaticism’ is a full-blown crushing and devastating album in every sense of these words. Unforgivingly it pours its playing time of almost an hour over you and it relentlessly keeps hammering your skull, just until you start admitting that you do like it. Still not convinced? Take a listen to a song like ‘Opening The Graves’, if you still say you don’t like it, you are definitely reading the wrong pages.
With all this in mind, it is a crazy fact that this album has never had its vinyl treatment before. Perhaps the almost 60 minutes scared labels off, as it can only fit on a double LP, or maybe it was the fear of the hassle with the cover. Regardless of what caused the delay, it is good to see ‘Sickening Erotic Fanaticism’ finally on vinyl. Hooray for Hells Headbangers records!
