The death of Mike Scaccia in late 2012 was a terrible loss, for multiple reasons.
Amid the obvious myriad personal tragedies attached to someone’s death, one of those reasons was that the classic line-up of Rigor Mortis was working on a new record, their first with vocalist Bruce Corbitt since their eponymous debut in 1988. A record as bad-ass as its simple blood-red and skull-adorned cover, Rigor Mortis remains a highwater mark of thrash metal, so fast and vicious that it pushes against the boundaries between thrash and the nascent death metal scene of the time. Thereafter, Corbitt departed, replaced by Doyle Bright for 1989’s Freaks EP and 1991’s Rigor Mortis Vs. The Earth. Neither of those matched the debut in power and fun, although Freaks comes close, and the band splintered. Bassist Casey Orr joined Gwar, Scaccia went to Ministry, and Rigor Mortis died, remembered fondly by its fans as a band that could’ve (and should’ve) been at the top of pile.
Resurrected in 2005, the original line-up of Rigor Mortis played reunion shows and eventually began the recording process, but they hadn’t finished the final mixes when Scaccia collapsed on stage in Texas on December 23, 2012. Alongside Scaccia, Rigor Mortis died again, but now as then as forever, it lives on in the music. In tribute to their fallen brother, the remaining three Mortis-ians finished the record he’d begun. When no label would commit to releasing it, they crowdfunded the eventual release, drumming up enough financial support to finally bring us Slaves To The Grave, nearly two years after it seemed never to be.
First and foremost, Slaves is a Rigor Mortis record in the best sense – the guitar riffs fly by at an inhuman pace; Corbitt shout-growls the gore-splattered lyrics in a clearly intelligible baritone bark; drummer Harden Harrison pushes everything along at a breakneck pace, the whole of it on the verge of coming off the rails but never quite, and all the more brilliantly fun for that. These ten tunes are about plague, blood, serial killers, horror themes – the usual Rigor Mortis family-friendly fare. “Rain Of Ruin” sports a stellar sing-along chorus, as does the equally alliterative “Flesh For Flies,” the back-to-back tandem the high point of the record. Throughout, Scaccia’s guitar solos are often as much a focal point as Corbitt’s vocal – “Poltergeist” features a melodic down-tempo coda that can only be described as “beautiful,” while “Blood Bath” repeats the formula with equally grand results. Of all of Slaves’ tracks, only the gladiator-themed “Ludus Magnus” fails, that one too bulky and silly, even for what this band does best.
But its ninety percent songwriting success rate aside, Slaves To The Grave is less perfect on other fronts, I’ll admit. Largely, it just feels what it is: a bit unfinished. The guitars aren’t as punchy as I’d like, relying more upon Orr and Harrison to fill in the sound, and not quite getting there. Also, Corbitt’s vocals are dry and a bit too prominent. (His resemblance to “missing” Gwar frontman Oderus Urungus is striking – something I’d never really noticed until now.)
Still, considering the circumstances under which it was finalized and released, Slaves To The Grave is literally as good as it could be, and those production concerns above should be taken with a grain of salt. Had Scaccia lived, had the record been finished properly, could it have been better? Maybe. But that didn’t happen, and here we are, with the tragically truncated final work of Mike Scaccia, the last record Rigor Mortis will ever release, and it’s a good one, if not as great as their greatest. It doesn’t touch the first record, but it’s better than Vs. The World and maybe just a step short of Freaks. All in all, Slaves succeeds far more than it fails, and far more than it should have, and fans should be pleased that this three-record band went out on its second-best record.
Rest in peace, Mike Scaccia. Rest in peace, Rigor Mortis. Thank you both for everything.
