GHOULHOUSE

This December, Ghoulhouse is set to release their third full-length album Realm Of Ghouls from Horror Pain Gore Death Productions. I’ll open by saying that I listened to this album with no expectations – I had never listened to Ghoulhouse before this review. I chose Realm Of Ghouls from Allfather Metal’s list of upcoming albums solely because of the name. I thought it sounded like my kind of metal, and I was absolutely right (sometimes you really can judge a book by its cover). Now, while I may have never listened to Ghoulhouse specifically, this Swedish death metal group features Rogga Johansson of Paganizer and Ribspreader, as well as Håkan Stuvemark of Wombbath, so right away I knew what I was in for.

The opening track ‘Hacksore’ was the perfect way to start this album. It’s a great melodic intro, but you’re not fooled by it – you know immediately that this is a buildup that will be followed by face melting brutality, and that’s exactly what they deliver. As soon as the drums kick in it’s the classic crusty death grind fist pumper that makes you want to mosh. This is a full on headbanger with shredding guitars, drums that make it impossible to sit still, and that top tier combination of growling vocals with shrieky backing vocals.

A quick look at the track listing lets you know that you’re in for classic morbid themes like zombies, maggots, ghouls, guts, and gore – exactly what you’d expect from a band named Ghoulhouse, and exactly what I was hoping for. ‘Mall full Of Zombies’ is a particularly brutal escape into the realm of gore-fuelled horror.

There are a lot high energy headbangers on this album, but a clear standout to me was ‘Where Ghouls Are Bred’. This track has a really fun riff, and for a skull-crushing mosher, it makes you want to sway a bit. The opening riff instantly hooked me, and by the first chorus it was officially my favourite track on the album.

While Ghoulhouse does stick to the classic death grind elements that we know and love, there are many standout moments on the album, like the fun sampling in ‘Dying In The City Of The Living Dead’ which really breaks up the album, some great mid-tempo mosher moments like we hear in ‘Fetid Flesh Fairytale’ where you want to close your eyes and scream along, and truly gripping high intensity drum work in ‘Realm Of Ghouls’. Overall, they keep it fast, intense, and fun as hell while still showing off their range. Ending with ‘Devoured But Famined Pigs’ they leave you with a song that underlines the talent in the band, lots of shredding, really cool guitar tone, and of course, the brutal lyrics we’ve come to expect.

Overall I’m glad that I went into this with no idea what I was in for, this is as unbiased as a review can be, with no previous expectations. Ghoulhouse definitely made a new fan today with this non stop mosher of an album. With the great shredding, fun drums, and gravelly vocals, Ghoulhouse isn’t here to give you long winded ballads or slow jams, they’re here to deliver non-stop high energy face melters, one after the other.