Was curious to hear these guys, as they spawned from that California mini-movement of bands (largely) influenced by the Floridian-sounding death metal of the late '80s. Skeletal Remains and Rude are the others that come to mind, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were a few more. I also kind of wonder if these guys picked a bad time to do music like this. The music certainly owes a lot to Death, but around this time a certain Exhumed member came out with a band doing pure Death worship at, quite frankly, a far higher level.
Also, just to be clear, while the thrashier parts here definitely evoke Leprosy, to my ears Morfin sounds more like the most Death-inspired early Morgoth stuff than Death themselves. The vocals certainly bring to mind an American-accented Marc Grewe, although it could be equally accurate to compare them to a less extreme John Tardy mixed together with Leprosy-era Chuck. Compared to Skeletal Remains, there aren't really any direct Pestilence or Massacre influences. "Lethal Progeny" has some slight Obituary-ness to it, and while I'm sure Morfin are fans, they generally stay away from doomier or Frostier sounds. There are also some scattered not-sure-if-they're-paying-homage-to-Autopsy-or-Gorguts-debut-or-maybe-both moments.
This is pretty cool (despite my personal preference for more Rick Rozz divebombs), and the "Leprosy" cover is very well done. But in all honesty, early Skeletal Remains and early Gruesome were both much better at songwriting and riffcraft.
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