Mortician - Hacked Up For Barbecue (1996)

The early days...

Mortician was founded by Will Rahmer (bass/vocals) and Matt Sicher (drums) under the name of Casket. They wrote their first song called Mortician and decided to change the band's name to that. A rehearsal tape was recorded in December 1989 for promotional purposes. In February 1990 the same songs were recorded for our first demo which John McEntee of Incantation played guitar for. John remained a member of Mortician throughout most of 1990 which coinsided with Will's singing in Incantation. This demo went on to be pressed up by Seraphic Decay Records (dick!) and was Brutally Mutilated.

Temporary becomes permanent...

In January 1991 Roger J. Beaujard joined Mortician as a permanent guitarist. After getting great responses at several shows all around the North East US, Relapse Records contacted us to record a 7" EP. This later went on to become the Mortal Massacre 7" and CD EP. Mortician continued to play various shows and festivals and were getting prepared to record thier first full-length CD. At this point in the band's history, we made a critical decision. We had to let Matt Sicher go as drummer due to his excessive harsh drug use and lack of commitment.

Enter Drum Machine...

In early '92, because of the lack of a drummer, Will and Roger began to experiment with drum machines. We recorded several private tapes for our own benefit just to get an idea of what sound we were going to go for. We had about 15 rehearsal tracks recorded for a full-length project which was sent to Relapse. 3 of those tracks were taken from that recording and put on Corporate Death Compilation CD which was released in 1993.

Failed attempts...

After the compilation came out, we spent most of our available time trying out drummers, which never really worked out. We only played a few local shows in our area with various stand-in drummers. These were the dark years when all hope was lost and the end seemed near. Individually Will & Roger experienced many personal ordeals such as jail, fights, work, financial problems and life's general bullshit. So needless to say not much was accomplished until summer of 1994. By this time most people thought we had broken up, but the band was just on hold. Shortly after this break period ended, Relapse contacted us to record a song for the "Death is Just the Beginning III" compilation. The song, "Blown to Pieces", was recorded in August of 1994 with the aid of a drum machine. At this point we decided to continue using the drum machine as far as recording was concerned.

A classic born in one night...

Relapse then approached us about another 7" to let fans know we were back in action. In September of 1994, we recorded 5 songs which resulted in the "House by the Cemetery" 7". "House" was released in early 1995 and received a great response. This led to Relapse asking us to record bonus tracks for a CD EP release. Before the recording of the bonus tracks we were asked to record the title track for the home video "Traces of Death III". This track is completely exclusive to the video and its soundtrack, it is available nowhere else. In July 1995 the bonus tracks were completed which included covers of "Scum" by Napalm Death and "Procreation of the Wicked" by Celtic Frost. The rest of 1995 was spent playing various NYC shows with stand-in guitarists and Roger playing drums.

The first full length...

In January 1996, the "House by the Cemetery" CD was released. This marked the beginning of a new era for Mortician as far as coming across as a serious project. During this time we recorded many rehearsal tapes for private evaluation in preparation for our full-length CD. At this time we signed our contract with Relapse for this recording. Around April 1996 Will & Roger began preparation of songs to be recorded for the CD. Desmond Tolhurst, a bass player from one of Roger's other projects, Malignancy , offered to assist in the production and contribute equipment to the recording of this CD. We readily accepted his offer, and were looking forward to recording the project digitally. The only thing missing from "House" was the frequency response found in digital recordings. We recorded and mixed the CD in July 1996 and were very please to say the least with the outcome. This CD features 16 songs dating as far back as 1990 to 1996 that were never released before and 8 songs rerecorded, 3 from the 1st demo, 1 from Mortal Massacre EP and 4 Compilation tracks.

The first tour...

Mortician went on its first tour with Incantation and Anal Cunt from October 1996 to mid November from Texas up through the mid west and finished up in eastern Pennsylvania. Nine shows were played all together and the response was excellent. At this time Roger was unable to leave the state due to a legal matter and did not make the tour. At this time Relapse released "Hacked up for Barbecue" for mail order. At the end of the year we started recording rehearsal tapes of brand new songs for our next release which will be completed by October 1997. You can expect even more of the Mortician brutality on this future release of 20+ songs!

Mortician records for New Line Cinema...

At the very beginning of 1997 we recorded a track titled "Skin Peeler" for the New Line Cinema release "Gummo" which should be out in the summer of 1997. The movie is a continuation of the themes set in the film "Kids".

-Tracklist:

1. Bloodcraving     5:15
2. Embalmed Alive     0:53
3. Cremated         1:37
4. Three On A Meathook     3:08
5. Brutally Mutilated     0:42
6. Deranged Insanity     2:31
7. Cannibal Feast     1:43
8. Blown To Pieces     1:01
9. Fog Of Death     3:15
10. Brutal Disfigurement     1:28
11. Apocalyptic Devastation     3:15
12. Inquisition     1:23
13. Hacked Up For Barbecue     4:21
14. Abolition        0:53
15. Necrocannibal     4:01
16. Ripped In Half     0:26
17. Morbid Butchery     2:03
18. Decapitated     1:04
19. Drilling For Brains     0:52
20. Eaten Alive By Maggots     1:53
21. Witches' Coven     3:21
22. Worms           0:55
23 Annihilation     1:05
24 Mortician           3:22

 

-Line up:

• Will Rahmer : Bass, Vocals
• Roger J. Beaujard : Guitars, Drum programming. 

 

 

 

 

Label: Relapse Records.

 Recorded and mixed July 1996.

 Mastered August 1996 at M Work Mastering Studio, Cambridge, MA.

 Track 1 intro movie sample from "When A Stranger Calls."
Track 3 intro movie sample from "Three On A Meathook."
Track 7 itro movie sample from "Cannibal Ferox."
Track 9 intro movie sample from "The Fog."
Track 11 intro movie sample from "Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior."
Track 13 intro movie sample from "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre".
Track 17 intro movie sample from "Maniac".
Track 20 intro movie sample from the trailer for "Mortuary".
Track 21 intro music from the movie, "Suspiria,"
Track 24 intro movie sample from "Phantasm," and outro movie sample from "Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead."

Co-produced by Mortician.

 Cover art by Wes Benscoter.