Rigor Mortis Slaves to the Grave

When Mike Scaccia died onstage in 2012, the recently reconvened Rigor Mortis went stiff. Cold. Thanks to the metal gods, the Eighties-born Dallas thrash institution saw its erstwhile Ministry guitarist finish the group’s long-awaited comeback and third LP overall. Reasserting Rigor Mortis’ position as one of metal’s thrilling rides, Slaves to the Grave exercises no nostalgia. Booming Bruce Corbitt still reigns supreme over the quartet’s horror flick aesthetic, gleefully expounding on the virtues of “Ancient Horror,” “Flesh for Flies,” and “Fragrance of Corpse.” Scaccia, meanwhile, puts on a masterclass in speed axe mangling, deviating from the slash-n-burn long enough for prog rock bridgework in “Poltergeist,” acoustic enchantment at the head of “Sacramentum Gladiatorum,” and metal-grass silliness in “The Infected.” Although their recorded return became an elegy, the wake is a headbanger. (Fri., 8:40pm, Emo’s as Wizards of Gore)

***.5

This article appears in October 24 • 2014.

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Michael Toland started writing about music in 1988 on the Gulf Coast, moved to Austin in early 1991, and has inflicted bylines upon the corporeal and digital pages of Pop Culture Press, The Big Takeover, Blurt, Amplifier, Austin.citysearch, the Austin American Statesman, Goldmine, Sleazegrinder, Rock & Roll Globe, High Bias, FHT Music Notes, and, since 2011, The Austin Chronicle.