February 2, 2006 Texas Thrash Pioneers 'Rigor Mortis' Headline Zen Sushi / All Access Magazine
By Maya Dawn Henderson
With intense energy and heaviness, Rigor Mortis is back on tour with a vengeance and an all original line-up. Local thrashers piled in to Silverlake’s Zen Sushi as Rigor Mortis marked their territory in So Cal on January 16th.
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Rigor was one of the original speed/death/grind core bands of the '80s. They originally formed back in 1983. Their history is as fascinating as their horror-flick-inspired lyrics. Rigor Mortis is Casey Orr on bass and shared vocal duties, former front man for GWAR. Rigor’s fret wizard is former Ministry and Revolting Cocks guitarist, Mike Scaccia. Harden Harrison on drums came from a punk background, subsequently hitting for Speedealer and Pervis. And the front man winning the best crazy look, ever, is Bruce Corbitt on vocals.
The second they started I could just tell I was in for it. I say that smiling. The first track, Shroud of Gloom, was fast and thrashy and it set the pace for the rest of the set. Tight rhythm arrangements, great riff sections and incredibly fast double bass work. The vocals were growly, but not undistinguishable. Cattle Mutilations, a real shredder, from their Freaks album, was played next. A fun-house-like introduction and the added touch of a frantic cowbell rang throughout this song. (“A little more cowbell please.”) Ridiculously super-mega fast guitar playing by veteran Mike Scaccia, and rapid double-bass foot work. How could Rigor’s California metal-head fans not be aroused? (A bit of trivia ~ the same artist that did Warrant’s Dirty Rotten Stinking Rich cover did Rigor’s Freaks album cover).
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he next tune was Wizard of Gore, from their self-titled album, started with the Russian sounding intro. It was complex yet raw, hard yet melodic. A real close-knit thrash feel, much along the lines of Slayer or Venom, complete with super gory, bloody lyrics. The vocals were in the deathy realm and the drums played slightly behind the groove. They plan to perform this song with the Wizard of Gore himself, Herschell Gordon Lewis, Director of many classic horror movies at some upcoming shows in early February during the “Texas Frightmare Weekend”. It was really amazing to watch the drummer’s feet during this set, almost like watching the river dance! Great head-moving segments were held all throughout. Bruce jumped into the audience and Casey took over the mic for Die In Pain. Casey Orr is a truly brilliant vocalist who gives some amazing energy to his audience. The serious moshing started up now.
After that they played Six Feet Under. This was is another fast cut with an excellent thrash-out flow. It was played solid with rugged doom churn. Checking out the Maiden-esque, galloping, chug riffs in the intro of Worms of the Earth was pure bliss! On this tune, they rip forward with a distortion-and-riff detailed offering. There are tight notes and rhythms, incredible drumming, and just flat-out, solid playing throughout. Their last song of the night was Mummified, which was even faster and more adrenaline-injected. A very good distortion sound, with some comparison to Testament, and maybe a little early Megadeth.
All the Rigor Mortis songs played were above-standard cuts with nasty thrashing and contained riffage. A punk-based record label owner, that I caught the show with, completely agreed…this line-up is indeed, righteous. This was great quality live production played with lots of catchy cold riffs. A solid and menacing slab of speed and power metal, very much in the vein of 'Lightning' and 'Master'-era Metallica, with strong strains of Slayer. All in all, a splendid thrash opus.
For more info on Rigor Mortis check out their spooky website at www.rigormortis.com
~ Maya Dawn Henderson ~