A raw look at the unraveling of the human mind and reality, delivered as a sonic massacre.
Mastering The Disease is the fourth album from American dissonant tech death/grind duo Morgue Supplier. The Chicago pair have been dishing out their industrial, chaotic atmosphere since 1999.
Before they settled on that name, they played under the moniker Jugular Appetizer.
Their third record, Inevitability, kicked up some serious dust in the metal underground.
A crew bound for the depths of consciousness
The core duo of Paul Gillis (vocals, guitars, samples) and Stephen Reichelt (bass) is rounded out on the new record by a seasoned guest behind the kit — drum-demolition man Marco „Lord Marco“ Pitruzzella (Six Feet Under, Anomalous, Sleep Terror, ex-Brain Drill, ex-Vile, ex-The Faceless, and a handful more besides).
Extra animalistic vocals were roared out by James Lee (Pathology, Daemonicide, Face Of Oblivion, ex-Origin) on Swelling Revulsion and Blood Prints, and by Danny Lawson (Usurper, ex-Cumchrist) on Pupils Of Insularity.
Mastering the disease
These nihilistic psychonauts have made sure Mastering The Disease once again carries a filthy, underground sound — inhumanly fast rhythms, dissonant riffs, a bass tone ground down into pure sludge, a horror-movie atmosphere, and existentialist lyrics about crossing the threshold into humanity’s hopelessness.
By the end of the first track, my head had already given up hoping the sun would ever come out again. Opener Swelling Revulsion pairs deranged drumming with guitars that cut like undead circular saws. And this uncompromising band doesn’t stop there — the title track Mastering The Disease, which follows, sounds like Black Sabbath rising from the grave.
Another taste of this rich kaleidoscope of extreme madness is Pupils Of Insularity, whose brooding intro tips over into an ultra-savage, destructive drum tempo.
What comes next? I’m not even halfway through yet. A grim bass overture leads into a psychedelically mournful doom stretch, twisted breakbeats laced with spoken-word bits from some random passing philosopher of darkness, and downright horrifying vocal displays.
Blood Prints offers at least a brief detour away from the grindcore carnage. Aggressive gloom, downright bizarre sounds, deadening tones built from chords nobody’s discovered yet, and torturous walls of noise thicker than reinforced concrete — the kind that leaves you with a migraine from beyond the grave.
Closer Indifferent Majesty (the outro) is an impressively unsettling piece of dark ambient, a world apart from everything that came before it.
The record could probably stand to be shorter. It’s a pretty hefty serving of crushing sonic exploration. For me, at least.
Final words
This abnormal piece of work, Mastering The Disease, once again delivers progressive, sadistic, true brutal death-grind capable of ripping ears apart the world over — and it’s a genuine hazard to planet Earth.
A monstrous experiment of unbelievable force!
Lineup:
- Paul Gillis – vocals, guitars, samples
- Stephen Reichelt – bass
Guests:
- Marco „Lord Marco“ Pitruzzella (Six Feet Under, Anomalous, Sleep Terror, ex-Brain Drill, ex-Vile, ex-The Faceless) – drums
- James Lee (Pathology, Daemonicide, Face Of Oblivion, ex-Origin) – additional vocals on Swelling Revulsion and Blood Prints
- Danny Lawson (Usurper, ex-Cumchrist) – additional vocals on Pupils Of Insularity
Tracklist:
- Swelling Revulsion
- Mastering The Disease
- Pupils Of Insularity
- The Gnashing Of False Teeth
- Annihilated Thinker
- Blood Prints
- Depersonalized Realization
- Next World Consumes
- Indifferent Majesty (Outro)
Release year: 2026
Label: Self-released
YouTube preview:
Links:
https://morguesupplier.bandcamp.com/album/mastering-the-disease
https://www.facebook.com/Morgue-Supplier-band-page-107372678367685/
Rating: 5/6
