Countdown to MDF X: (46) Ghoul

Like a horror comic book coming to life, Ghoul is dead seriously the funniest band set to perform on Friday night at the Maryland Deathfest. Their performance is just as much about the songs as it is about the show. Appropriately this group is just coming off of a tour of smaller venues with felllow goremongers Gwar. Ghoul will be just as fun, but probably not quite as messy.

Hailing from the land of Creepsylvania (or Oakland, California), Ghoul doesn't have members so much as it has characters.  The musicians performing as those characters have also played, without costuming of course, in other notable metal  bands. Currently those characters include vocalist and bassist Cremator (Ross Sewage, who has appeared in bands like Exhumed and Wolves in the Throne Room), vocalist and guitarist Digestor (Sean McGrath from Engorged, Impaled and others), guitarist Dissector (Dan Randall, from Born Dead, Desolation), and drummer Fermentor (Dino Sommese, who has been in Dystopia, Lachyrmose and others).

In addition to the musicians, this group travels with a host of other characters who may show up to torment to audience. Ghoul's arch-enemy is Kill-bot, a 10-foot tall bloody metal monstrosity with infrared eyes. The homicidal werepig Mutant Mutilator may be roaming the crowd on the hunt for nu-metal and post- metal posers who may be lurking among their fans, which they call numbskulls. The Curio Shoppe Owner will be on hand to provide the coffins, or maybe he's just the merch guy.

Aside from the special effects and the showmanship, Ghoul offers head-bang-inducing, honest-to-goodness traditional thrash metal with a good bit of fantasy, comic book storyline and tongue-in-cheek humor thrown in. You will have a smile on your face, right before they kill you.

Enjoy this video, made in part by Agalloch drummer Asesop Dekker.

And the story of Kill-bot....

Countdown to MDF X: (51) Nashgul

Spain's Nashgul is one of those kinds of grindcore bands that draws you in with the first few chords, and then just as you think you might be getting into the song -- about 40 seconds or so later -- the song is over. Naghul generally offers fast melodic riffs, pounding rhythms and deep growling vocals in neat, tidy little packages. The longest mp3 loaded onto their Facebook music page is 2:27, and most are close to a 60 seconds or shorter.

If your Spanish is any good, you might be able to figure out what they are singing about. Apparently their lyrical themes are social and political. There are plenty of horror movie sound clips or political (sounding) speeches thrown in as well on their studio recordings and splits. The also have recorded tributes to Nasum (who are performing later Friday night) and to Repulsion.

Founded in the city of A Coruña in 2001, members include Santi on vocals, Hector on guitar, Luis on bass and Ivan on drums. Just before  Nashgul's show on Friday, May 25 at the Maryland Deathfest, Nashgul will stop by the Saint Vitus Bar on May 23 to do a show with Ghoul, Occultist and Pizzahifive. Afterward, will travel back up to New York to do a show on May 31, also at Saint Vitus, with Marrow, Skelptarsis and Cold Inside.

Since Nashgul's songs tend to be short, here is a video clip from their 10th anniversary show in 2011 with about 20 minutes worth of music. This glimpse into the world of Spanish metal just goes to show you that metal heads are the same every where you go! \m/