Closing time.

Voices from the Grave has merged with Morbid Knocking, to be found at http://morbidknocking.blogspot.com/ - all future updates will go there, and old entries from here will soon find their way. Thanks for reading!

Black Dethe (USA) - "Mary's Blood" demo, 1988

Vocal performance can be a make or break part of a band. A bad job behind the mic can turn a great band performance into a tedious listen, and conversely, an energized and inspired vocal performance can bring a lot of excitement to an otherwise dull recording. One of the cases where this holds especially true are the California band Black Dethe.

Formed in 1985 during the beginning of the death metal explosion, its easy to see why Black Dethe got immediately lost in the shuffle. Not only was their name rather similar to an already established act Black Death (who to this day still have a substantially larger cult following), but their first demo, 1985's "Evil Prayer", was very typical of the time. The sound is very tinny, the performance is sloppy, the songwriting is unfocused and the vocals are rather standard death metal vocals with a fair amount of distortion on them. Not to say that the demo is bad by any means, but it doesn't exactly do much to distinguish itself from its peers.

Three years made all the difference in the band's sound. By their second and final demo, the band had honed in on their sound, found a slightly better recording techniques, and switched vocalists. "Mary's Blood" shows the band playing the same kind of simplistic death/thrash found on "Evil Prayer", but the vocal change makes this one an instant hit. The new vocalist, Chris Turner, sounds totally manic and possessed throughout the entire recording. Starting off with an intrusive backwards fade-in to the vocals (one of my favorite production techniques in heavy metal), Turner's vocals come in the form of rapid paced blood curdling screams that sound like they are being unleashed from the bowels of hell. This guy has a truly powerful voice that I'm sure left his throat sore for days after the recording session; they are the same kind of brutal howl that Martin Van Drunen uses, except about an octave higher in pitch.

Musically the band is no slouch either. As previously noted, the band plays a sort of simplistic yet energetic form of death metal. The band isn't going to pull any punches that the listener won't expect on here, but the sound quality is pretty good, allowing for plenty of room for all the instruments to breathe; the bass is actually prominent in the mix, which isn't something you hear too often in death metal demos, as typically when you get a bass sound it tends to drown out the rest of the music. Solos come short and furious and the drumming is very loose and at times very hardcore influenced, playing more into the energetic nature of these tunes.

As far as I know, the band didn't record anything past this demo beyond one rehearsal track entitled "Iron Cross" which is in the same vein as this demo. A shame, really, as these guys had definitely hit their mark with this recording and showed a great deal of promise. Unfortunately this stuff has not been reissued on any format that I'm aware of, which is also a shame. Make sure to track this one down, crank at full volume and be prepared for a mighty declaration of "Mary's Blood".

Dr. Shrinker (USA) - "Wedding the Grotesque" demo, 1989

When one thinks of death metal in the late 1980s, there are a few hotspots that come to mind. Florida, and Sweden are among the most popular, but several other locations had excellent scenes as well - New York, Poland, Finland, the Netherlands, France, and the list can go on. The midwest is one of the more overlooked areas in the United States when it comes to death metal. Many of these bands never really made it past demo stage, and even the most successful and influential band from the area (Chicago's Master) took more than half a decade to release a full length. Dr. Shrinker were one of the many bands from this region who maintained a sizeable cult following throughout the years, but remained largely ignored by the growing death metal scene.

Forming in 1987, the band released three official demos in their short career. The first demo, "Recognition" was a very basic, primitive, sloppy and crude recording. Good in its own right, it did not really have the personality or charm to distinguish it from more competant bands who played in a similar vein. Their final demo, "The Eponym" shows a very cleanly produced band going for a more technical death metal sound, not too far off from what Death would be doing on "Human", and unfortunately he clean production and overcomposed songs killed most of the raw energy the band had.

"Wedding the Grotesque", however, is their Goldilocks album. Not too basic, not too produced, but just right in the middle, acting as the best of both worlds. Rather long for a demo, 12 tracks in 47 minutes, "Wedding the Grotesque" is easily the band's masterpiece, and one of the best death metal recordings to come out of the 1980s. Starting off with a sample from Hellraiser 2, the band immediately kicks into high gear with their brand of death metal, which rarely lets up for the remainder of the demo. The guitar tone on here is extremely filthy and savage and lends a great deal of atmosphere to these songs, and the vocals are a unique high pitched shriek that does not sound like any other band I have heard. Combined with the unique delivery, the vocals are often coupled with over the top reverb, echo and delay effects in key points which accentuate the eccentric nature of the music. Its unfortunate that the band cleaned up their sound and went with a more 'professional' approach on their next demo, as this style of production really highlights a certain insanity that many bands were unable to capture.

The songs themselves retain a simplistic approach to their composition, and the riffs are very well placed and keep the listener engaged without getting overly repetitive. Drumming also lends to this, with some excellently timed fills and hits that greatly add to the music, something many drummers tend to avoid in favor of tedious double bass runs.

Dr. Shrinker is certainly competant at playing fast death metal, but really shines when they favor a slower demo, creating a very morbid and brooding sound. The band does display a certain sense of humor, in both the lyrics and their selection of samples (the best being one of Charlie Manson spouting off gibberish), but it does not get in the way of the overall dark feel of the music.

Necroharmonic has reissued the band's three demos on a CD called "Grotesque Wedlock", which includes lots of awesome flyers that contain some great artwork in them. The only material missing from this discgraphy CD is a rehearsal song called "Our Necropsy" that appears on a split 7" with Nunslaughter - an excellent slower track which would have fit right in on "Wedding the Grotesque". While this demo is slightly off-kilter death metal that might not sound much alike other primitive and simplistic death metal bands like Master or Massacre, its certainly an underground classic that deserves greater praise and recognition then it has received over the years.

Mondocane (Ita) - "Project One" LP, 1990

"Crossover" is one of my least favorite names for a musical genre. Starting off as what happens when punks slow their music down and start to write heavier riffs in the style of contemporary thrash metal bands, the first crossover bands (D.R.I., S.O.D., Suicidal Tendencies, etc) bridged the gap between two hostile audiences that were playing styles of music more similar to each other than either side of the fence would probably care to admit. D.R.I. and Suicidal both started off as a fast hardcore bands and S.O.D. contained both members of the NYHC and New York metal community.

Crossover itself is useful for describing what these bands did for music rather than the actual music itself. If "Speak English or Die" were recorded by four guys with shaved heads and Agnostic Front tattoos, it would most likely be seen as an ultraheavy NYHC album as opposed to the penultimate crossover record. Instead the lineup consists of three guys with long hair who played in Anthrax. Since almost all metal bands since the NWOBHM movement (and many during said movement) were musically influenced by punk in some way or another, crossover as a term to describe a band's music quickly loses its meaning and instead becomes more of a descriptor of a cultural movement. Bands like Hellhammer, Slaughter, Repulsion, Slayer, Kreator, Sarcofago and Metallica all had a great deal of punk influence in their sound, aesthetic and attitude, but it would not make sense to call any crossover. Conversely, hardcore bands such as Sheer Terror, Breakdown, Deathside, and Tetsu Arrey had a heavier aesthetic, but it would also be erroneous to label them as anything other than firmly rooted in the hardcore scene.

Such is the case of Mondocane. Formed as a supergroup between two of Italy's best black/thrash bands, Necrodeath and Schizo (both logos are prominently featured on the album's cover), and named after some of Italy's most outrageous exploitation films, "Project One" is a manic thrash metal album which is constantly labelled as crossover for reasons which I am still rather unclear on. While Italy had a rather vibrant and large hardcore scene during the 1980s, "Project One" musically has nothing in common with what bands like C.C.M., Raw Power or Negazione were doing, nor were Schizo or Necrodeath in any related to the hardcore scene. If anything, Schizo's song "Nazi and Proud" featured on both of their first two demos would have alienated themselves from the Italian punks.

Both Necrodeath and Schizo started off releasing sloppy and nasty demos that are classics in the mid 80s black metal scene. By the time they were releasing full length albums they had tightened and cleaned up their sound, and instead sounded more like the heavy thrash which was typical of their German allies. Mondocane's sound isn't really that far off from a blend between both band's late 80s output; the vocals are delivered in the exact same fashion as "Main Frame Collapse", and many of the riffs would not be out of place on either album. The song structures alternate between hyperspeed, almost death metal in tone riffs and slower mosh oriented riffs typical of late 80s thrash bands. What separates this recording from the glut of bands doing similar things is the rather chaotic approach to composition; riffs are totally across the board and jump into one another without any sort of warning or attempt at clean flow. In the hands of lesser talented bands, this can come across as a mismatch or a bad cut and paste job, but here works in the bands favor in creating a breakneck and pummeling assault on the listener that never gets boring. The core of the band consists of three members, but all seven guys from both Necrodeath and Schizo eventually end up playing on the album in some form or another, which adds to the dynamic nature of these songs.

In comparison to both Necrodeath's and Schizo's late 80s albums, "Project One" has a rather slick and clean production job; the drums in particular sound extremely clean. Fortunately the band delivers an extremely energetic performance, and the more produced sound does not take away any of the aggressive elements of the Mondocane's music. The song titles would indicate a brand certain "wacky" thrash like Wehrmacht or Spazztic Blur, but fortunately the album is completely free of jokey musical passages. It is probably these song titles as well as the Exploited cover of "Fuck the U.S.A." (here changed to "Fuck the U.S.L." - about soccer?) which would lend to the miscategorization of this as crossover. While the Exploited cover is by far the most minimalistic song on the album, it still has a very metal feel to it, and fits in with the rest of the album quite nicely.

As far as I know, this has only been released on vinyl and has yet to be reissued by anyone, which is unfortunate as it would appeal to anyone into the heavier thrash bands in the 80s. Fans of Necrodeath or Schizo should especially take note, as this really does not deviate too far from what either band was doing, and it is clear from this recording that those guys had a lot of fun making some great heavy music together. Just don't expect this to sound like "Speak English or Die".

Carnage (Swe) - "The Day Man Lost" demo, 1989

"Reek of Putrefaction" is simply one of the greatest albums ever released. A lot of people hate it for all the right reasons - it's absolutely filthy, the vocals are disgusting, downtuned and murky, the guitars have a huge, muddy cavernous tone, the entire thing sounds like a blur upon first listen, theres tons of guitar squealing leads that are about three times as loud as the rest of the music, the lyrics (when they can be deciphered) are absolutely disgusting, and of course the playing is super sloppy, bearing none of the finesse that the later Carcass albums would have. "Reek" is the true litmus test to whether or not I can fully trust someone's musical tastes or not. If you want to listen to overproduced, slick and clean music, why bother with death metal or grindcore in the first place? Shouldn't a fan of this kind of music want the most disgusting and filthy sounds to come out of their speakers every time? Personally, I think so.

Figuring out how to top such a landmark recording is a pretty challenging task. Carnage clearly spent a lot of time trying to wrap their head around such an impossible seeming task, so they went probably the easiest route; releasing a demo tape that sounds exactly like it. Clone bands can be a tricky issue to review. Many times bands going for another band's specific sound can get all the aesthetic details right, which Carnage certainly does here. The thick, muddy guitar tone, the absurdly low pitch shifted vocals, the shrill divebomb guitar leads that are so much louder than the rest of the music, the sloppy blasting, its all found here. However, what most clone type bands neglect to incorporate into their music is the spirit of the original. Theres really no point in listening to a band that captures the musical stylings of the original, but fails to capture the manic intensity and attitude. For this reason bands like Cretin have no interest to me. If I wanted to listen to Repulsion, I would. If I wanted to listen to Transilvanian Hunger, I would, not some random USBM band that released their first demo in 2004.

Carnage however, does not fall into this trap here. They seem to know exactly what Carcass were going for, but more importantly how and why they went there, and as a result almost manage to outdo the masters at their own game. The guitar sound on here is absolutely massive, much heavier and downtuned than "Reek", which adds a lot to the recording. The only remotely negative thing I have to say about the demo is its length. The whole thing clocks in at about four and a half minutes, which leaves the listener wanting a lot more. The band never lets up the intensity for these four and a half minutes, and while it may have been interesting to see what the band could have done on 7" or even an LP in this style, it might be for the best that the band decided to keep it short; the recording never gets boring or redundant, which is often the worst crime a musician can commit.

The band would change directions drastically after this, moving towards the style of death metal made popular by Nihilist. The second demo, "Infestation of Evil" and the "Dark Recollections" full length are both quite excellent recordings in their own right (the latter of which even absorbs and recontextualizes two songs from "The Day Man Lost" demo), but neither can even begin to approach the extreme and filthy sounds on here. The cover art, a crudely done cut, paste and xerox job of a basic dripping logo on top of a nuclear explosion matches the music quite nicely, and despite the fact that these songs are easily available on the "Dark Recollections" CD as bonus tracks, would look even nicer in 7" format.

"The Day Man Lost" is one of the rare recordings which are far more than the sum of its parts. Going beyond basic Carcass cloning and almost surpassing the original, this is easily in the top tier of grindcore recordings, and has a tendency to get overlooked in the wake of their more popular LP.

Pentagram (Chl) - 1987 demo

Like many other bands that tend to fall under the radar, going with a rather generic name like "Pentagram" can cause confusion amongst other, more popular bands bearing the same moniker. In the case of these Chilean maniacs, they had to compete with a long running and influential American doom band , as well as a groups composed of Mexicans, Turks, and Swedes. The American Pentagram were one of the first bands to play heavy metal (in the US or anywhere else in the world), and as good as they are, for my money this Chilean group represents the best band to use the Pentagram name, and this demo, their first officially released recording is arguably their best output.

Slightly different than some of the other contemporary South American bands, this three song demo is very composed, focused and tight in its execution. Instead of opting for a schizophrenic wall of noise, off time drums and maniac vocals, Pentagram's brand of sonic assault is a more controlled approach, falling somewhere between what Slayer was doing on "Hell Awaits" and a more musically competent "Morbid Visions". This demo captures the darker atmosphere of those two recordings very well, and while it doesn't push any boundaries in the way of speed or extremity, has an excellent sense of songwriting that is effectively able to carry across a very dark and sinister feeling.

Most of the music on here is mid-tempo and almost plodding at points. The faster moments never really take off, and the band is at their strongest when they are working at a slightly slower speed. Guitar tone is somewhat on the treble end of the spectrum, but this can be expected from a low budget demo. It works quite well with the recording, and is mixed at a sufficient volume which allows for the drums and the bass to be fully audible. The vocals on the other hand, completely dominate the recording, and while they do not drown out any of the other instruments, they are certainly the prominent layer in the band's sound. Instead of a rasp or a growl, the vocals are delivered in a very harsh shout; these are some of the most intense and angriest vocals I've ever heard. All the lyrics are intelligible, and while they deal with basic occult/satanic stuff, the extremely confident and strong vocal delivery conveys a much stronger sense of sincerity, especially the lines written in command form (a majority of the first track, "Fatal Predictions").

This demo is an absolute masterpiece. The band would release a second demo shortly after, which is in the same vein and maintains the same level of quality as this one, but perhaps due to familiarity, I slightly prefer this recording. This recording has been reissued numerous times, first on 7" (the cover of which is pictured above, omits the final track), and at least two discography CDs have been released. "Demoniac Possession" has been covered numerous times, one of the best being by Torturer on their 1992 LP "Oppressed by the Force".

The South American scene has produced a great deal of stellar recordings, but in my book this one lies at the top. While the most competent of Pentagram's peers such as Sarcofago and Vulcano approach the dark atmosphere and intensity of this recording, they ultimately do not surpass it. This sort of stuff is truly nasty sounding music, and even though its a bit tighter and composed than what most of South America was doing at the time, its not exactly the kind of stuff which will appeal to the Century Media types. An absolutely standout recording, this one is mandatory listening for anyone into raw death metal.

Morsüre (Fra) - "Acceleration Process" LP, 1985

One of the more interesting things I find in the realm of heavy metal are bands that are actively trying to push the envelope. This shouldn't be confused with some of the "experimental" bands today which have 9 members, female vocals, and flute solos, but bands that legitimately have a concrete idea of what the core elements of heavy metal are and tried to push their music to that other level of the game. As evidenced by many of these reviews currently on this blog, its not that I don't appreciate bands that play in a tried and true style, but every now and then its refreshing to hear someone that is trying something different. Voivod were one of the earliest oddball thrash bands who had released two outstanding albums ("War and Pain" and "Rrroooaaarrr") in the mid 80s that perfectly captured the destructive ideals of thrash and the blossoming death metal scene, but also managed to integrate a far more dissonant approach to their songwriting. Not too many bands were influenced by Voivod's sound, and even today few bands approach music from a similar dissonant angle, however, there are two notable exceptions; the midwestern hardcore band Die Kruezen and Morsüre from France.

Much like in the case of Die Kruezen, whether Morsüre was directly influenced by Voivod's music or were just happening to be doing similar things at the same time is difficult to determine. Morsüre's first demo, "M.A.D." (standing of course for Mutually Assured Destruction - I'm a big fan of cold war imagery and paranoia in heavy metal and punk) came in 1984, the same year that Voivod's first album was released. By this time Morsüre had already developed their sound; dissonant guitar playing, almost "anti-riffs", at very high speeds, but don't have a driving rhythm typical of the thrash bands at the time. This wasn't party thrash music, but instead a very intense and cacophonous blast of noise at this listener. In short, much like Voivod's "Rrroooaaarrr".

In 1985, the band released "Acceleration Process", which reprised all of the songs from the demo and included six others. The playing and tone is very similar on the LP as it is on the demo with one very noticable exception; the use of an electronic drum kit. The band stated that they wanted to play the fastest, most extreme music on the planet, and that when the drummer played on a standard drum kit, the sound recording was not good enough to effectively capture how fast the drummer was actually playing. Instead of going for a muddy and blurry wall of noise, the band figured that if the drummer played an electronic kit, the recorded sound would be much clearer for the drum hits. In addition to this, the drumming was apparently sped up in the studio to further add to the intensity.

Its really difficult to say whether or not this approach worked or not. The drumming is extremely fast, and while the drums are sped up slightly, the drummer does do some notable work on the kit. However, the electronic drum sounds very out of place for this kind of music and is very high in the mix. It took me a while to get over this hurdle, but I personally feel the juxtaposition adds to the already chaotic nature of the music, just pushing it over the top a little more. The rest of the playing on this album is very tight to accompany the drums, but composed in such a fashion that it doesn't particularly move in a way that would appeal to the average speed/thrash fan. Instead the album acts as a wall of noise; chaotic in the sense that the guitars and drums are moving very fast, and combined with the hoarse thick French accent of the singer (another way this band bears similarities to Voivod), this is a great album to listen on headphones to just to try to take all of it in. One of my friends remarked that it sounded similar to Revenge in this element, and I agree. While the playing on the album is tight, it isn't to the level of cleaned up, polished and overproduced degree that technical death metal bands from the late 90s were, and despite the band's attempts to produce a less muddy and cleaner drum sound, the album still feels like an impenetrable wall of random notes assaulting the listener from all angles.

Naturally an album of this nature won't appeal to everyone. Even Voivod, one of the most original and outstanding bands in heavy metal have a large amount of detractors. While this album really sounds like few albums I've heard, "Rrroooaaarrr" would be the closest point of comparison. Fortunately there was enough cult interest in the band to garner a CD reissue of "Acceleration Process" and the "M.A.D." demo by Hell's Headbangers, which should still be rather easy to find. Listeners wanting a similar dissonant and overwhelming musical experience to early Voivod will probably appreciate this, but those looking for a standard straight forward death/thrash recording may be disappointed. This isn't one of those albums that will click right away, but instead requires multiple listens to fully understand what is going on; appreciating this can be a process, but is ultimately a very rewarding album.