Jesus Christ, Blood Freak’s last album was still warm in my cd player by the time this was announced. To be honest, I was a bit hesitant to see Maniac Neil rebound so quickly to make a new Blood Freak; could he repeat the same magic he pulled off on Live Fast, Die Young… And Leave a Flesh-Eating Corpse? No, he didn’t repeat the same magic, he fucking topped it!

Multiplex Massacre continues in the same fast, lively melding of old school death metal and psychedelic riffing that made the previous album so intense, but there’s something more here. It’s not just the writing of this record. It’s the lyrics, the atmosphere, the feel, and the groove of the record on top of the writing and riffs. Blood Freak now goes past just the classic death metal it so viciously slayed in the past, and it goes beyond the speedy 80’s schlock of Frightmare. Hell, with the fury of songs like "Body by Death" and "Go for the Grossout" Blood Freak can now successfully out-Frightmare Frightmare themselves and still retain that signature Blood Freak feel! And "Lady Lunatic" is the best fucking death metal song I’ve heard this year, hands down: it possesses inventive song writing, varied structure, and is more entertaining than seeing 5 small Vietnamese boys duke it out with their own severed limbs in a war-torn crack house. By the middle point of the record, Blood Freak becomes such a force that it will be impossible to resist grunting along to Manic Neil’s dual growl and guttural vocal delivery. Between the hilarious lyrics, the addictive hooks, and the hyper-energetic charge in the songs, Multiplex Massacre is easily Maniac’s Neil’s signature record.

Fuck, "Don’t Metal with Satan" is practically the fucking anthem of Razorback Records itself. You ever hear people remark about that "early Earache sound?" They come in and remark how X label possessed a particular sound based on the bands coming through it. I’ve done it sometimes myself (though not particularly in reference to Earache). Well, if Razorback were to ever have a signature sound, Multiplex Massacre would be it. Not Frightmare, not Crypticus, not Gruesome Stuff Relish, and not Ghoul. There would only be Blood Freak and Multiplex Massacre. Maniac Neil has written his opus.

Written By: Necro-tron