Review: “Toe Tagged And Body Bagged” by Trip to the Morgue

They may have been around since 2010 but a revolving door of musicians has limited Victorville, Californian Thrash, Punk, and Grindcore maniacs Trip to the Morgue to the waterfall release of six singles. Until now. A stable line up of consisting of bassist and vocalist Cyco Dave (Caper, Deadsent, Diesect), drummer Vincent Rizzo (DMT) and guitarist duo Joey Maddox and J Patrick McCosar (Augmented Chaos, ex-August Redmoon) put together a debut album in “Toe Tagged and Body Bagged” before inking a deal with WormHoleDeath Records. Amazingly one of those previous singles reworked appears on the album alongside an intriguing guest vocal appearance from Mitch Harris of Napalm Death…

…that reworked single is 2016’s “Disorder“, the first release from Trip to the Morgue to see the cold light of day and logically therefore an obvious choice for the opening cut. A vicious little ditty about the state of World address it beats the listener into submission by sitting in the Bermuda Triangle between Thrash, Hardcore and Sludge Metal, an earworm hummable main riff instantly addictive. Interestingly the band pack into it about five false endings, bringing the tune back in thunderous fashion as they crush all the opposition in their path. A melodic introduction to title track “Toe Tagged and Body Bagged” cleanses the mind before an exploration of death’s brutal realities, captured through a stark nihilistic edge takes place. Lyrically the dark humour is very well poised and delivered as if by the city mortician, the non-stop flow of headbangable riffs and cleverly worked tempo shifts taking us nostalgically back to the early 90’s crossover Thrash style. A bit of high hat, a ripper of an old school solo with a bit of whammy bar action and a few touches from Death Metal helps keep the rotting corpse fresh and you just can’t help but crack a smile. Trip to the Morgue are clearly a band who don’t take themselves too seriously and that helps give this a real sense of fun. Mitch Harris of Napalm Death joins for “Digging Your Grave“, his brutally harsh unclean vocals unmistakable during the pounding onslaught. The drum sound is phenomenal with Rizzo setting the pace as things get darker with more Death Metal influence rearing its ugly head, the storyline playing out as if the script for a horror film. Another scorching solo from McCosar is a highlight, the band proving they can turn their hand to other styles should they so desire.

Bouncing with verve and swagger “Aluminum Bat” drives the nails into the coffin lid with its social commentary, the harsher vocals of the first half switching back to something more in keeping with the rest of the record. Herein is arguably the only real issue with the album, it does get a little bit samey after a while, which is something that doesn’t necessarily lend itself to its longevity. The battle that nobody wins “Nuclear Holocaust” takes us back to the cold war, playing on classic Thrash lyrical themes with a tongue in cheek humour as the riffs keep flowing. While the band aren’t reinventing the wheel here by any stretch of the imagination, what they have created is something that has a real energy to it. Immersing themselves in the style they’ve chosen means that they do everything incredibly well with the musicianship of past masters. Evil laughter is something that’s appears on the vast majority of tracks but it’s most effective on “Broken Glass“, sections of blast beats dialling up the intensity of the sonic abrasions. A change up that stands out, this one punches harder with more energy as the band trade some of their humour for aggression. As if the title didn’t give it away “Tribal Lust” finds Trip to the Morgue dabbling with black magic. A tale of cannibals collecting heads with a blood lust, this one plays out at neck snapping speed with some dirge laden riff moments adding a little bit more to the bands crushing power. There was an opportunity here to do a little more with the tribal rhythms but instead they revert to their trademark sound pretty quickly. 53 seconds of violent turbulence concludes the record in “Fuckin’ Die“, Dave literary listing off ways in which your life count come to a premature end as if inspired by the events of Final Destination. A fun record with an evil edge, this one bodes well for the future by making a statement of its own [7/10]

Track Listing

1. Disorder
2. Toe Tagged and Body Bagged
3. Digging Your Grave (ft. Mitch Harris of Napalm Death)
4. Aluminum Bat
5. Nuclear Holocaust
6. Broken Glass
7. Tribal Lust
8. Fuckin’ Die

“Toe Tagged And Body Bagged” by Trip to the Morgue is out 13th September 2024 via WormHoleDeath Records