Year of the Goat

At the risk of sounding out of my mind or simply uninformed, I must say I enjoy Per Ohlin (a.k.a. Dead) in his Morbid days as opposed to Mayhem. Granted, he only appeared officially with Mayehm on the Live in Leipzig LP and the compiled Projections of a Stained Mind collective, but I much prefer this very typical Swedish death metal sound he achieved with Morbid. Aside from a couple of demos and a few live gigs, Morbid is usually only revered because of Ohlin’s notorious life (and subsequent death), which is sad indeed. While not even close to Entombed, Grave, or even Bathory caliber, Morbid’s December Moon demo ranks as one of the better demos in the late 80s underground in my ever humble opinion. After years of unofficial releases, we finally see a band-sanctioned release of the demo, some cool rehearsal tracks, and some live shows for the insane fan like me that loves this nearly-forgotten band.

Aside from Ohlin, the band at this time consisted of guitarist Uffe Cederlund, John Kennart on additional guitars and vocals, bassist Jens Nasstrom and drummer L-G Petrov. Cederlund, many metal fans know, went onto join Entombed after exiting from Morbid, but the rest of the band has remained pretty silent aside from the occasional foray into another band here and there.

The Year of the Goat double CD, triple LP set consists of the complete December Moon demo from 1987 that caught the ear of the guitarist of Mayhem after Ohlin sent the band the tape, forging an ill-fated partnership that ended in utter disaster. But this article isn’t about that era of Ohlin’s short life or that insipid photograph adorning a million bootlegs and metal sites; it’s a testament to a mediocre band that put out a damn good demo that would have been all but lost to the annals of time if not for Ohlin’s association with the Norwegian black metal underground of the late 80’s and early 90’s. It’s sloppy, under-produced and even rudimentary all over, but it has a delightful (!) charm that just catches your ear if you like the Swedish death sound. Don’t expect Into the Grave or Left Hand Path because, in short, that just ain’t here. What is here is a simple little demo that has four solid tracks that are fun and enjoyable for their primitive worth. “My Dark Subconscious” is Ohlin’s finest moment and what initially turned me on to the band back in ’92 when a copied copy made its way into my hands. It’s a breathy snarl as opposed to the growling yells he employed on the Leipzig album. I much prefer this style of vocal and its sickly feel and malevolent tone that rides waves above embellishment and well under singer supreme. Ohlin was a death metal vocalist, plain and simple, and his legacy is one of legend, though I suspect it has more to do with his death than his accomplishments above ground; again, a sad shame. “Deathexecution” is a fast-paced assault on the ears that, again, is sloppily achieved and caustic in its plasticity, but it is leaps above other lost-to-time demos that simmered in the sweltering scene of this period. These four tracks are fine for what they are, but expecting too much can give you the wrong impression of just how solid a band Morbid could have become with a little more honing. “Disgusting Semla” provides a speedy deathly jaunt through volatility as well, ending with a very humorous, yet dark Ohlin leading a chorus of insane chanting in a childlike voice. It’s eerie, but nothing too serious.

As for the rehearsal and live tracks, they are even more under-produced, but the rehearsals are a nice look at Morbid’s even more ‘unpolished’ design that is still wildly entertaining and overly decent in sound value. I’m not sure even Andy Sneap could have done much with these guys back then, but the intrinsic value is not to be denied. It’s as ugly as a hairless dog caught in a monsoon in Guadalajara, but it does keep your blood going throughout. It’s also very cool to hear rough(er) versions of the December Moon tracks. The live shows, three from various locales in Sweden, are quite the added bonus; they are to be enjoyed more for their existence and testament to the live performer that Ohlin and Morbid was and could have been. You can honestly get the feel of being at one of these assumedly small gigs and just enjoying the hell out of this band just going for it on all cylinders without mind for production or perfection. They were, by all accounts, death metal at its most bare and simplistic. The Ultrahuset, November of ’87 show was just a violent barrage caught on tape. The music is really out of control that night, and the crowd seemed to really be into the band from beginning to end. These little shows are more for those that wish to have complete audio records of certain bands, but hell, the entire Morbid catalog is for the ardent fan that has to have all things Swedish death. Sure, the occasional Mayhem fan seeps into the fray because they want to examine Ohlin’s output pre-Mayhem, but they are almost always unsatisfied because it doesn’t compare, in their view, to Leipzig or the two studio tracks of “Carnage” and “Freezing Moon” on Projections of a Stained Mind back in ‘91. I personally find it surpassing, but each his own opine. This is a nice set for the true fan of underground death metal that doesn’t expect anything even close to perfection in either style or sound.

The packaging is very nice. We’re treated to a ton of photos and liner notes about the band, including musings from band members and drawings of Ohlin’s that were supposed to be album covers but, sadly, never saw fruition. The CD version comes in a sweet digibook design that is a bit oversized, but very attractive and sturdy. It also comes in a triple fold-out vinyl that is done quite nicely. There are limited pressings of varying colors for the fan that has deep pockets, but the real winner is the music. I, however, did not stall in ordering my purple vinyl set in a limited edition of 200 because, well, I was up late one night and saw the preorder. And I like purple. I also ordered the CD…as you should as well.

To close void of bravado or superfluous anecdotal referencing, allow me to sum up Morbid’s essence in a few words: Morbid was four Swedish fellows who loved metal music. They occasionally played to small crowds of drunken Swedish metalheads and had a damn good time doing so in many low-fi particulars. They were nothing fancy or even memorable, but they deserved to be known as more than the first band of ‘Dead’ from Mayhem.

(Originally written for www.metalpsalter.com)