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.