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Elsinore - The Vengeful Ghost / Tombstone Hex
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Out now via Caligari Records - Elsinore’s debut EP, The Vengeful Ghost / Tombstone Hex, is an exercise in historical compression. Two tracks, just over six minutes, and a singular purpose to exhume the earliest strain of death metal before refinement diluted its threat. Released by Caligari Records on 7” vinyl, the format is complete structural alignment. This music belongs to short sides, blunt statements, and physical friction.
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Giorgio Trombino’s pedigree across the Italian underground is evident in the restraint. Nothing here reaches beyond its means. The riffs are simple, hard edged, and forward driving, closer to Scream Bloody Gore than anything that followed. There is speed, but not excess. Melody, but never decoration. The guitars bite without gloss, and the rhythm section keeps the songs upright rather than explosive. Vocals sit raw and rasped, intelligibility sacrificed to texture, as was once standard.
Conceptually, Hamlet provides atmosphere rather than narrative. The ghost is felt, not explained. “The Vengeful Ghost” stretches out with a measured sense of dread before accelerating into classic death metal momentum. “Tombstone Hex” is shorter, meaner, and ends abruptly, denying resolution.
The EP’s strength is discipline. No modern production tricks, no self aware theatrics, no winking reverence. Elsinore does not modernize early death metal or reinterpret it. It reconstructs it faithfully, then stops. The result is minor in scale but precise in execution, a reminder that durability often comes from limitation, not expansion.
8/10
Words by LearnTwoExist
In collaboration with Headbangers Australia