Review by Tara on August 14, 2016.

Creepsylvania splatter thrash maniacs Ghoul are back with a bloody vengeance on Dungeon Bastards, the band's first full length venture in five years. I've been regularly following Ghoul since receiving copies of their demo tape in 2001 and first full-length We Came For The Dead way back in 2002. Since then, our Creepsylvanian death thrash darlings have released an impressive slab of full lengths, EPs,and splits. Chances are, if you're into the more underground metal and are clueless when it comes to Ghoul, you've probably been living under a rock. A really boring rock at that. But, I digress.

Much like previous releases, Dungeon Bastards is a lot of fun. The silly and gore themed lyrics, catchy riffs, gang shouts;there's quite a bit to love. Those listening to Ghoul for the first time and possibly expecting something a bit more serious and full of anger and angst will be disappointed. Long time fans will be quite pleased. This is the Ghoul album we've been waiting on for awhile and is easily my favorite along side 2003's Maniaxe.

Dungeon Bastards is out now on Tankcrimes Records. And if this review wasn't enough to spark your interest, here's another cool thing to note: copies of Dungeon Bastards come with a swanky board game. The object of the game follows the story of the album, where you as a member of Ghoul must race to Svatopunk Square to blow up the Omicron Bomb. The winner dies. Fun, right?

Grab your copy today from the good people at Tankcrimes and thank me later. If you enjoy metal that is fun as well as excellently executed, Ghoul and Dungeon Bastards are right up your alley.

Stand out tracks: Shred The Dead, Ghoulunatics, Word Is Law

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by Denis on June 21, 2003.

Excuse my ignorance, but I don't know this band. I did some research with other webzines and didn't find anything. Nothing on the label's website either. The only information I could find was on the (German) band site. But I can tell you that this should change pretty soon because Luna Field is one hell of a good band who put out a rather impressive debut album, "Close To Prime."

Luna Field's music can best be described as a mixture of death and black metal with doom passages and intricate progressive song structures. Sounds good so far, aye? Great, but let me be more specific here. If I take the vocals for example, that's where the death/black part in the description comes in. Both deep, low, guttural death vocals to high shriek black vocals, all from one or perhaps two different singers. I've got no idea but the alternate use is working quite well. I prefer the deep low vocals personally but then again, you black metal maniacs might think otherwise. Speed wise, the pace is mostly mid-fast with some faster passages, such as the one in the epic black composition in 'Press The Pressure.' Luna Field use some keyboards in a discrete way here, particularly to add some atmosphere on songs like 'Odial' and 'I Am Free.' There are also a couple of instrumentals on "Close To Prime." 'The Black Side' and 'Acrid Insanity' are piano/keyboard instrumentals, whose instruments are used to convey a dark and somber mood, a bit reminiscent to the ones on Asgaroth's great album "The Red Shift." The latter has a five minute silence but when the music resumes, you'll understand what its title means. The best songs are with no doubt 'Animated An Choret' and 'Anthem About The Breed.' Both use varied tempos, awesome riffs, some more riffs and more incredible riffs! The latter has an extra clean guitar part to top it all off. Thrilling stuff. I love it!

Bottom Line: An exquisite journey starting with a dark symphony ending by complete insanity...

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 8
Originality: 8
Production: 9
Overall: 8

Rating: 8.4 out of 10