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Horror Metal Sounds interviews Morgue Terror

Interview by Kenneth Gallant

Since 2018, Art the clown has been stalking the cinematic landscape; leaving behind a gore soaked trail of death and a heaping pile of bodies. The first film was released in 2018 and a sequel was made in 2022, so horror fans are chomping at the bit for more Art the clown carnage. In fact a third film in the series has been recently announced, so the excitement is ramping up.

In the meantime, as we all wait for the third instalment to drop you can get a further fix with some music to whet your gory appetite. I'm talking about a newly formed band hailing from Buffalo, NY that takes inspiration from the movies and aims to bring together old school death metal, brutal death metal and death slam. The band in question is Morgue Terror and I recently sat down to have a chat with these lovely fellas to discuss the music and horror movies.

HMS: Hey guys how is everyone? Firstly, thanks for taking the time to talk to HMS.

MORGUE TERROR: Pretty good! Thanks for asking! We're excited for the opportunity and to chat about the band, death metal and some fucking horror!

HMS: Ok cool! I love the idea of creating a band around nasty horror films like Terrifier. Obviously you have watched all the films, so tell us how this all came about?

MORGUE TERROR: It was all music. Dave came up with the idea to base it around the films, something he's been obsessing over and put the two together. 100% unintentional. The debut EP has lyrics about the characters and murders from the first two movies. The name came from the end of the first movie where art comes back to life and kills the coroner. The best adjective next to morgue was terror...did a google search and metal archives search, didn't see a band with the name and went with it!

HMS: I do want to know what you think about the movies. I thought the first film was disgusting and the second film went completely over the top. What do you guys think?

MORGUE TERROR: For sure. The first film was more refined and a lot more to the point. The second one was the clincher. Our boy is the next big horror icon ready to fill the void. It was much longer and a lot more to it. Being a fan of prog music/long songs and movies don't phase Dave so a 2.5 hour movie was nothing! It gave us good lyric material to say the least.

HMS: I've heard two advance songs so far from the upcoming EP, so can you give us a little preview of what to expect with the remaining songs to be released?

"There's a few different styles on the EP that should please death metal fans of all ages."

MORGUE TERROR: It's a diverse ride. A little old school and new school death metal with some twists and turns. You'll get to hear Brian's guest leads on those songs. He did the ending solo on Nightstalker and the solo on Salt The Wound. Just like the two singles there's some groovy rhythms and some faster ones too. I think we succeeded at what we wanted and still want to do. Blend old and new ideas while trying not to stick to one death metal subgenre. There's a few different styles on the EP that should please death metal fans of all ages.

HMS: The music is straight up brutal death metal, but how about some other influences? Like what type of death metal really gets you both going creatively?

MORGUE TERROR: Morgue Terror wants to blend old school death metal, brutal death metal, slam, dissonant death metal and the new wave of old school death metal into our sound. In the end we're still death metal but want to write in those styles, some all in the same song. Buffalo doesn't have death metal bands now and we birthed bands such as Cannibal Corpse, Baphomet and Malevolent Creation (kinda)! We're a modern rock/metal town and cover band town, so now is the time to stand out seeing nobody is doing death metal here at the moment. We want to educate the youth in our town of the death metal bands our city had, while simultaneously getting them into the genre.

HMS: Do you think Art the Clown will be remembered alongside the likes of Freddy, Jason and Micheal Myers?

MORGUE TERROR: Too early to tell but the second movie obviously helped his popularity. I hope so in the long run, horror hasn't had that sort of icon for decades. There have been remakes and one hit wonders but not a franchise. Art has a chance to become one and if there's one or two more past the upcoming 3rd movie next year it's a legit franchise. Halloween, Friday the 13th, and my favourite Elm Street have a ton of entries and if it makes it to 5 or 6 movies it's definitely a franchise.

HMS: Ok, so getting back to the music. Can you tell us how Brian Mason of the death metal band Contrarian is credited on two songs. How did that come about?

MORGUE TERROR: Dave and Brian have known each other for a handful of years. They met at a show downtown in Buffalo in 2018 and have been friends since then. He asked Brian out of the blue to do a guest lead and without hesitation said yes. Knowing a guy of such talent is so cool and crazier you can call him a friend. He will shrug it off and call himself nothing being humble but man his lead work is mesmerizing. He's not the most technical player but his tone and style is so recognizable. As previously stated it was for one lead (Salt The Wound) but at the end of "Nightstalker" we decided to have him rip another guitar solo. It was fun and am honoured to call Brian a friend.

HMS: What do you envision for the future of Morgue Terror?

MORGUE TERROR: We do have a drummer finally we're writing with for our second EP. We are recording in late February for a 4 or 5 song EP. The debut isn't even 18 minutes so after the second effort is done we will have enough music for shows around buffalo and Rochester. We'd like to hit up Syracuse and Albany in due time, but the focus is BuffChester. We're hoping late spring we will be ready to play shows and the second EP will release sometime next year as well. We are sticking with the Dying Fetus like trio with 3 members. In no way we can play as tight as them but are excited to begin and hopefully stay a trio!

HMS: My website Horror Metal Sounds covers both realms of horror and metal, so I have to ask what are some of your favourite horror movies, other than the Terrifier films?

MORGUE TERROR: As previously mentioned: Freddy, Freddy, Freddy. Love the nightmare movies and kinda enjoyed the Freddy & Jason movie for what is was worth. I'll annoy the horror world with this hot take but Jason Voorhees bores me. I love slasher films but Myers kinda does too...they're tall brutal murderers that hack and slash but have ZERO personality. Art may be a mime but the comedy and creepiness brings both movies together. I enjoy the Saw films but haven't seen them all including the latest. I am a huge fan of Ed Gein and the Texas Chainsaw movies. I personally hate remakes but the TCM remakes have been pretty good honestly. I'm always down for good psych or spiritual based thrillers too. Horror is horror and I'll watch any film especially if it's that bad you gotta laugh at how awful it is. Those movies almost turn into a comedy horror.

HMS: One final question. What do you think is going to happen in Terrifier 3? We know it takes place at Christmas time, but I'm wondering how crazy this is going to get. Thoughts?

MORGUE TERROR: I'm guessing Art is a murderous Santa. He might go around town murdering people pretending to be Santa and fooling people. He will definitely be travelling on the holiday going house to house killing someone randomly. I got used to the movies taking place on Halloween and love it. I am a fan of changing it up and trying something new. That is why I'm excited for #3 to see how the new idea goes. It is pretty sweet how Damien Leone turned down funding from Hollywood. If he took the money he'd be told to tone it down but he obviously doesn't want to. He wants to keep pushing the boundaries. Children have been murdered in the movies in the past in regards to Art The Clown. It's nothing new for him in regards to the "teaser" but the Christmas mood makes it different. I'm excited either way and is even more lyrical material for our third effort! It could be a full length, you never know.

We definitely thank Dave and Steve for taking the time to talk to Horror Metal Sounds. The band's inaugural EP drops January 5th, 2024.

Check'em out right now at their Bandcamp page to listen to 'Chopped Up Chum' and 'Broken, Beaten, beheaded'. You can also pre-order the digital album right now.

Kenneth Gallant, HMS

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