Death Metal: A Voyage of (Re-)Discovery

Bolt Thrower - Realm of Chaos (1989)

In November of '89, a year on from their debut, In Battle There Is No Law, Bolt Thrower issued sophomore album, Realm of Chaos. This album shows a band who have improved hugely in professionalism and who have honed their vision into sharper detail. Gone was the sloppiness of the debut, as had most of the crust influence and we had a much tougher-sounding, more brutal and heavier release as a result. This is no all-out assault of mindless brutality however and most of the tracks display some degree of progression. First track proper, Eternal War, may be the exception with it's nod to Napalm Death-style grindcore. Typically the tracks feature a slower, medium-paced, groove-laden riff with bursts of fast-paced, grind-like aggression and howling solos and they even turn in a creeping death doom riff to open the magnificant All That Remains. In Karl Willetts they have one of my absolute favourite death metal vocalists, his rasping growl epitomising what death metal vocals are all about for me.

Often with extreme metal, I will concede, an album can become a blur of similar-sounding tracks that struggle to stick in the memory after they have ceased playing and are more about the experience of listening, but in similar fashion to Morbid Angel's Altars of Madness, Realm of Chaos consists of tracks with enough memorable riffs and even melodies to stick with you after the disc has stopped spinning - a mark of exceptional songwriting I would suggest. Tracks like All That Remains and particularly World Eater are genuine death metal classics in my opinion, but there really isn't any filler on this album and I believe that Realm of Chaos can stand toe-to-toe with most of the classics of early death metal.

Although they are well-regarded, I still don't think Bolt Thrower get the credit they deserve. This was still 1989 and yet they had written the manual on brutal, grind-influenced death metal already (and went on to become one of the select few bands with decades-long careers who never put out a bad album) yet it seems to me that they remain the preserve of death metal enthusiasts and early grind adherents while lesser lights bask in the floodlights.
4.5/5

I recall having issue with this album on a production level but have to confess to it being a while since I listened to it and I may well have ended up with a horrible remastered version on CD somewhere.  Certainly need to revisit anyways.

The version on Spotify is the "Full Dynamic Range Version". So there are at least two versions available Vinny.

I was also reading on Discogs that the licence for the artwork from Games Workshop ran out in 2002 and they refused to renew it so subsequent re-releases have different cover art. The original vinyl LP is now going for £150 - £200!!

Here are my thought in "Realm Of Chaos" after revisiting it a while back:

Revisited this old friend for the first time in many years this morning. It was my introduction to Bolt Thrower around 1989/90 & I would go on to purchase the album on cassette a short time afterwards. "Realm Of Chaos" showcases a band that was starting to find their sound but was still waiting for their technical skills to catch up with their ambition because the production & performances are pretty sloppy but this doesn't take away from a gloriously pure death metal atmosphere. There's a much stronger grindcore influence to this album than you'll hear on Bolt Thrower's later material with early Napalm Death & Carcass clearly having been an inspiration along with "Reign In Blood" era Slayer. You'll get the odd hint at those signature Bolt Thrower melodies here & there but the catchy song-writing is already in full effect, despite the rawer, faster & more blast-beat driven approach. This is still a very solid death metal record that possibly hasn't aged as well as some which has subsequently seen me rating it behind later releases like "The IVth Crusade", "...For Victory" & "Those Once Loyal".

For fans of Benediction, Hail of Bullets & 90's Napalm Death.

4/5

Here are my thought in "Realm Of Chaos" after revisiting it a while back:

Revisited this old friend for the first time in many years this morning. It was my introduction to Bolt Thrower around 1989/90 & I would go on to purchase the album on cassette a short time afterwards. "Realm Of Chaos" showcases a band that was starting to find their sound but was still waiting for their technical skills to catch up with their ambition because the production & performances are pretty sloppy but this doesn't take away from a gloriously pure death metal atmosphere. There's a much stronger grindcore influence to this album than you'll hear on Bolt Thrower's later material with early Napalm Death & Carcass clearly having been an inspiration along with "Reign In Blood" era Slayer. You'll get the odd hint at those signature Bolt Thrower melodies here & there but the catchy song-writing is already in full effect, despite the rawer, faster & more blast-beat driven approach. This is still a very solid death metal record that possibly hasn't aged as well as some which has subsequently seen me rating it behind later releases like "The IVth Crusade", "...For Victory" & "Those Once Loyal".

For fans of Benediction, Hail of Bullets & 90's Napalm Death.

4/5

Do you not think that technically this was a big improvement over In Battle... Daniel? As I've said, I'm no musician but this sounds pretty tight to me although the soloing could do with some work yet.

It was certainly an improvement on the debut but they still had a way to go before they'd develop into the well-oiled machine that they'd eventually become in my opinion. It may not be something that people outside of the extreme metal community are too aware of but it requires a fair bit of time & practice to come to grips with playing heavily down-tuned guitars in that you need to a) figure out how to control the floppier strings which require more finesse not to go out of tune, have a greater tendency to shake around & produce excess noise & also feel very different to a regularly tuned instrument & b) find a style that works well with that tuning i.e. doesn't sound too messy & noisy regardless of how precisely you might be playing. "Realm Of Chaos" is tuned down to A which is much lower than 99% of death metal bands would dare to go. These days you would certainly play a seven string guitar if you were going to attempt that & even then you'd be detuning a full two semitones. I don't think they'd quite found their perfect sweet spot in that regard just yet & I can hear them noticeably struggling at times. It was no surprise that they opted to only detune half as far for "War Master" which was tuned to C#.

It was certainly an improvement on the debut but they still had a way to go before they'd develop into the well-oiled machine that they'd eventually become in my opinion. It may not be something that people outside of the extreme metal community are too aware of but it requires a fair bit of time & practice to come to grips with playing heavily down-tuned guitars in that you need to a) figure out how to control the floppier strings which require more finesse not to go out of tune, have a greater tendency to shake around & produce excess noise & also feel very different to a regularly tuned instrument & b) find a style that works well with that tuning i.e. doesn't sound too messy & noisy regardless of how precisely you might be playing. "Realm Of Chaos" is tuned down to A which is much lower than 99% of death metal bands would dare to go. These days you would certainly play a seven string guitar if you were going to attempt that & even then you'd be detuning a full two semitones. I don't think they'd quite found their perfect sweet spot in that regard just yet & I can hear them noticeably struggling at times. It was no surprise that they opted to only detune half as far for "War Master" which was tuned to C#.

I must admit that was certainly not something I had ever considered, but when put like that it makes perfect sense. I feel kind of stupid now, but hey, there's a lot more to this extreme metal thing than you think isn't there?!

Don't feel stupid Sonny. I was just schooled as well!

Carcass - Symphonies of Sickness (1989)

Liverpool's Carcass started out in similar vein to Napalm Death musically but with an emphasis on gross-out, gore-drenched lyrical content and pretty much invented goregrind with debut Reek of Putrefaction. Much like fellow Englishmen Bolt Thrower, Carcass refused to stand still and refined their sound with each release throughout the late '80s and early 90s. With sophomore Symphonies of Sickness the Scousers reduced the debut's reliance on grindcore and introduced more death metal and variety into the songwriting mix with consequently longer tracks and a much more satisfactory result in my opinion. There is also a huge leap in quality of the sound from the debut - it is much cleaner and isn't the turgid sonic mess that the debut struggled with. The tone of Symphonies of Sickness is on a rancid offal-pit level of purulent filthiness, Ruptured in Purulence for fuck's sake, have you ever heard a dirtier sounding track? It's almost impossible not to imagine that something has gone off in your fridge while listening to this, yet they achieve this filthy sound without sacrificing clarity in the most part. As anyone who is familiar with my preferences in extreme metal will know that this sort of thing is exactly the kind of sound that I love.

I guess people going into a death / grind album from 1989 would probably expect an album that blurs into one with little progression or variety and that accusation has been thrown by some at Carcass, but if you actually listen to Symphonies of Sickness then you will hear that that is far from the case. There is far more going on here than initially meets the ear and it is evident that Carcass have had few equals in extreme death metal songwriting over the years. They never compromise the songwriting for brutality's sake and equally they don't compromise the brutality of the tracks either. That said, they are certainly not averse to throwing in the odd melodic riff and phrase that sticks a particular track to your memory cells most effectively, but rest assured, there will just as certainly be a blasting dose of grind to blowtorch your grey matter along any second.

Their use of three different vocalists also adds a variety to the different tracks. I don't know who provides which vocal, but they are all quite different with one being deep and rumbling like some nether pit-demon, one is ragged and harsh with an almost black metal level gurgling shriek and the third sits somewhere between the two. I must admit I do prefer the deep rumbling growl that features on tracks like Exhume to Consume - that almost sub-sonic vocal rumble is a vibe I love. I tend not to get too involved with the lyrics as the obsession with pathology isn't really my thing at all and, in all honesty, I also find the cover to be a bit much*, whilst understanding that it is all part of the band's aesthetic and does suit the virulently putrid atmosphere uniquely well.

Overall, for me I think Carcass hit a sweet spot between grind and death metal here that I haven't heard replicated too often. The variety and accessibility of the songwriting coupled with the dark, rotten-stench atmosphere is a masterclass in extreme metal song production and has resulted in an album that is right up there with the very best death / grind releases.
4.5/5

(*the cover above is not the cover on the version I own, which is more autopsy-photo-collage-style like the debut)

Loudblast - Sensorial Treatment (1989)

Despite being big noises in the black metal scene, I think it's fair to say that other than a few minor exceptions, the French haven't played as big a part as some in the thrash and death metal scenes. Loudblast are from the very north of France and were formed in 1985 and are still extant today. Sensorial Treatment was their debut, released in 1989 after a succession of late-80s demos and has been gifted death metal credentials by some, but truly it inhabits that netherworld betwen thrash and death metal. Personally I think it has both feet in the thrash metal camp, with perhaps a toe or two creeping over the line into death metal territory, but essentially an extreme thrash release with belligerent, brutal, thrash metal riffs and bullish, bellowing vocals in the vein of the Brazilian heavyweights of the time like Sepultura, Mutilator and Holocausto. Unfortunately they lack the songs of a Sepultura and the album as a whole just seemed to fly in one ear and out the other without any hooks for it to gain purchase on the grey matter in between. No doubt Sensorial Treatment has it's advocates and it is decent enough, but I'm afraid it must be filed in the bulging "not bad but far from essential" drawer of late-1980's metal releases.

3/5

Bolt Thrower - Realm of Chaos (1989)

In November of '89, a year on from their debut, In Battle There Is No Law, Bolt Thrower issued sophomore album, Realm of Chaos. This album shows a band who have improved hugely in professionalism and who have honed their vision into sharper detail. Gone was the sloppiness of the debut, as had most of the crust influence and we had a much tougher-sounding, more brutal and heavier release as a result. This is no all-out assault of mindless brutality however and most of the tracks display some degree of progression. First track proper, Eternal War, may be the exception with it's nod to Napalm Death-style grindcore. Typically the tracks feature a slower, medium-paced, groove-laden riff with bursts of fast-paced, grind-like aggression and howling solos and they even turn in a creeping death doom riff to open the magnificant All That Remains. In Karl Willetts they have one of my absolute favourite death metal vocalists, his rasping growl epitomising what death metal vocals are all about for me.

Often with extreme metal, I will concede, an album can become a blur of similar-sounding tracks that struggle to stick in the memory after they have ceased playing and are more about the experience of listening, but in similar fashion to Morbid Angel's Altars of Madness, Realm of Chaos consists of tracks with enough memorable riffs and even melodies to stick with you after the disc has stopped spinning - a mark of exceptional songwriting I would suggest. Tracks like All That Remains and particularly World Eater are genuine death metal classics in my opinion, but there really isn't any filler on this album and I believe that Realm of Chaos can stand toe-to-toe with most of the classics of early death metal.

Although they are well-regarded, I still don't think Bolt Thrower get the credit they deserve. This was still 1989 and yet they had written the manual on brutal, grind-influenced death metal already (and went on to become one of the select few bands with decades-long careers who never put out a bad album) yet it seems to me that they remain the preserve of death metal enthusiasts and early grind adherents while lesser lights bask in the floodlights.
4.5/5

I recall having issue with this album on a production level but have to confess to it being a while since I listened to it and I may well have ended up with a horrible remastered version on CD somewhere.  Certainly need to revisit anyways.

The version on Spotify is the "Full Dynamic Range Version". So there are at least two versions available Vinny.

I was also reading on Discogs that the licence for the artwork from Games Workshop ran out in 2002 and they refused to renew it so subsequent re-releases have different cover art. The original vinyl LP is now going for £150 - £200!!

I have got this on this afternoon and a quick look on MA tells me that I have a CD reissue, remaster (THE HORROR!!!!!) which explains why it sounds stifled and horrible.  I really do not know off the top of my head of any remaster that has improved or benefited the sound.  I think I got this CD because it is a two disc affair with live footage on a DVD on disc two (which I have never watched) so after this spin I am going to get on the digital version and see how that measures up.  Familiar with FDR versions (have Altars of Madness and a couple of other classics on vinyl with that versioning) so be happy to check that one out.

Carcass - Symphonies of Sickness (1989)

Liverpool's Carcass started out in similar vein to Napalm Death musically but with an emphasis on gross-out, gore-drenched lyrical content and pretty much invented goregrind with debut Reek of Putrefaction. Much like fellow Englishmen Bolt Thrower, Carcass refused to stand still and refined their sound with each release throughout the late '80s and early 90s. With sophomore Symphonies of Sickness the Scousers reduced the debut's reliance on grindcore and introduced more death metal and variety into the songwriting mix with consequently longer tracks and a much more satisfactory result in my opinion. There is also a huge leap in quality of the sound from the debut - it is much cleaner and isn't the turgid sonic mess that the debut struggled with. The tone of Symphonies of Sickness is on a rancid offal-pit level of purulent filthiness, Ruptured in Purulence for fuck's sake, have you ever heard a dirtier sounding track? It's almost impossible not to imagine that something has gone off in your fridge while listening to this, yet they achieve this filthy sound without sacrificing clarity in the most part. As anyone who is familiar with my preferences in extreme metal will know that this sort of thing is exactly the kind of sound that I love.

I guess people going into a death / grind album from 1989 would probably expect an album that blurs into one with little progression or variety and that accusation has been thrown by some at Carcass, but if you actually listen to Symphonies of Sickness then you will hear that that is far from the case. There is far more going on here than initially meets the ear and it is evident that Carcass have had few equals in extreme death metal songwriting over the years. They never compromise the songwriting for brutality's sake and equally they don't compromise the brutality of the tracks either. That said, they are certainly not averse to throwing in the odd melodic riff and phrase that sticks a particular track to your memory cells most effectively, but rest assured, there will just as certainly be a blasting dose of grind to blowtorch your grey matter along any second.

Their use of three different vocalists also adds a variety to the different tracks. I don't know who provides which vocal, but they are all quite different with one being deep and rumbling like some nether pit-demon, one is ragged and harsh with an almost black metal level gurgling shriek and the third sits somewhere between the two. I must admit I do prefer the deep rumbling growl that features on tracks like Exhume to Consume - that almost sub-sonic vocal rumble is a vibe I love. I tend not to get too involved with the lyrics as the obsession with pathology isn't really my thing at all and, in all honesty, I also find the cover to be a bit much*, whilst understanding that it is all part of the band's aesthetic and does suit the virulently putrid atmosphere uniquely well.

Overall, for me I think Carcass hit a sweet spot between grind and death metal here that I haven't heard replicated too often. The variety and accessibility of the songwriting coupled with the dark, rotten-stench atmosphere is a masterclass in extreme metal song production and has resulted in an album that is right up there with the very best death / grind releases.
4.5/5

(*the cover above is not the cover on the version I own, which is more autopsy-photo-collage-style like the debut)

This was a hhuuggee record for me personally & I still regard it as a death metal classic. Morbid Angel produced the first genuinely classic death metal record in my life. This one became the second & in doing so solidified it as my genre of choice for all eternity. 4.5/5

Loudblast - Sensorial Treatment (1989)

Despite being big noises in the black metal scene, I think it's fair to say that other than a few minor exceptions, the French haven't played as big a part as some in the thrash and death metal scenes. Loudblast are from the very north of France and were formed in 1985 and are still extant today. Sensorial Treatment was their debut, released in 1989 after a succession of late-80s demos and has been gifted death metal credentials by some, but truly it inhabits that netherworld betwen thrash and death metal. Personally I think it has both feet in the thrash metal camp, with perhaps a toe or two creeping over the line into death metal territory, but essentially an extreme thrash release with belligerent, brutal, thrash metal riffs and bullish, bellowing vocals in the vein of the Brazilian heavyweights of the time like Sepultura, Mutilator and Holocausto. Unfortunately they lack the songs of a Sepultura and the album as a whole just seemed to fly in one ear and out the other without any hooks for it to gain purchase on the grey matter in between. No doubt Sensorial Treatment has it's advocates and it is decent enough, but I'm afraid it must be filed in the bulging "not bad but far from essential" drawer of late-1980's metal releases.

3/5

I had this one back in my tape trading days. I remember thinking it was pretty decent but it didn't receive the honor of a return visit after those first few listens.

Terrorizer - World Downfall (1989)

I quite like Grindcore but I wouldn't say I love it. I do however love World Downfall - it is one of my all-time favourite metal albums. Much as I enjoy some of Carcass and Napalm Death's earlier albums, when it comes to grindcore I would always reach for World Downfall first. I am not the most clued-in person when it comes to grind and death metal, but I feel that World Downfall is as much death metal as grindcore and comes across as the bastard child of Altars of Madness and Scum - and that is one hell of a lineage. It takes the punky energy of Discharge or Black Flag that has been transformed by being fed raw death metal riffs and shits out a heap of hyper-aggressive, brutal, but still somehow eminently catchy tracks that hit home like a jackhammer to the sternum. The Altars of Madness comparison is probably inevitable and understandable, as half the lineup of Terrorizer were also in Morbid Angel - bassist Dave Vincent and drummer Pete Sandoval (whose skinwork here sounds amazing). Vocalist Oscar Garcia sounds very much like Barney Greenaway with his deep, hoarse, bark/shout vocal delivery and guitarist Jesse Pintado unleashes brutalising riff after brutalising riff like a young Mike Tyson unleashed punches - and to a similar devastating effect.

To describe this as brutal and aggressive, although obviously factual, is to do it a great disservice. It's sixteen tracks are skillfully executed by guys who seriously know what they are about - which is it's great strength as it prevents it from just deteriorating into a moshpit of identikit riffs, blastbeats and growls, but rather it is a precisely executed manifesto of intense extreme metal that would reverberate down through the decades and can still be held up as a masterclass in extremity. For the longest time this was Terrorizer's only full-length and stood as a monolithic testament to a short-lived, but extremely influential band of guys who reshaped extreme metal in their own image. Despite reforming in the mid-2000's the shadow of World Downfall was long and they never approached this level of awesome again, but to have reached these heights even once is not to be easily dismissed. Unfortunately I never discovered World Downfall until much later, but I can only imagine the tear in the fabric of reality it's discovery would have shown me had I come across it in 1989.

5/5

Infected - Dark Century (1989)

A completely new one on me - I have never even heard of these Swiss death thrashers before, in fact they seem quite obscure even amongst those in the know. They were very short-lived, forming in '87 and splitting in '90 and Dark Century seems to be their only release. Now this seems to be a great shame as this is a great slab of metal, haunting those hinterlands between death and thrash where so many excellent late-80's releases dwelt. The riffs are energetic and enervating, the drumming is relentless and the bass is fairly pronounced in the manner of the modern Chilean thrash scene. The solos may not be the most invigorating I have ever heard, but they are fine as far as they go and vocalist Amos Gersmann has a pretty decent deathly growl. The production isn't the best, it must be said, but it gives it a cavernous murkiness that gives the album even more underground cred I guess.

I found this to be pretty enjoyable and am stumped as to why it isn't better known - although 1989 had some fucking phenomenal stuff coming out, this is still better than a lot of shit I've heard from the late eighties. Sometimes you've just got to be in the right place at the right time I suppose. Anyway if you have a particular love of early death thrash then I strongly recommend you wrap your ears around this bad-ass slab of red-hot metal goodness. Unfortunately it's not available on Spotify (or anywhere except some ancient rip on YouTube it seems).

4/5

Terrorizer - World Downfall (1989)

I quite like Grindcore but I wouldn't say I love it. I do however love World Downfall - it is one of my all-time favourite metal albums. Much as I enjoy some of Carcass and Napalm Death's earlier albums, when it comes to grindcore I would always reach for World Downfall first. I am not the most clued-in person when it comes to grind and death metal, but I feel that World Downfall is as much death metal as grindcore and comes across as the bastard child of Altars of Madness and Scum - and that is one hell of a lineage. It takes the punky energy of Discharge or Black Flag that has been transformed by being fed raw death metal riffs and shits out a heap of hyper-aggressive, brutal, but still somehow eminently catchy tracks that hit home like a jackhammer to the sternum. The Altars of Madness comparison is probably inevitable and understandable, as half the lineup of Terrorizer were also in Morbid Angel - bassist Dave Vincent and drummer Pete Sandoval (whose skinwork here sounds amazing). Vocalist Oscar Garcia sounds very much like Barney Greenaway with his deep, hoarse, bark/shout vocal delivery and guitarist Jesse Pintado unleashes brutalising riff after brutalising riff like a young Mike Tyson unleashed punches - and to a similar devastating effect.

To describe this as brutal and aggressive, although obviously factual, is to do it a great disservice. It's sixteen tracks are skillfully executed by guys who seriously know what they are about - which is it's great strength as it prevents it from just deteriorating into a moshpit of identikit riffs, blastbeats and growls, but rather it is a precisely executed manifesto of intense extreme metal that would reverberate down through the decades and can still be held up as a masterclass in extremity. For the longest time this was Terrorizer's only full-length and stood as a monolithic testament to a short-lived, but extremely influential band of guys who reshaped extreme metal in their own image. Despite reforming in the mid-2000's the shadow of World Downfall was long and they never approached this level of awesome again, but to have reached these heights even once is not to be easily dismissed. Unfortunately I never discovered World Downfall until much later, but I can only imagine the tear in the fabric of reality it's discovery would have shown me had I come across it in 1989.

5/5

I picked "World Downfall" up on cassette in the early 90's & it very quickly became my grindcore release of choice. I have to admit that I've never thought there was very much of a death metal component though. I seem to be in the minority in taking that position to be fair. Perhaps if there was more death metal on offer I could have got my score up to where I'd always hoped it would eventually sit. As it is I find it to be a very strong release that I throw on whenever I want a shot of adrenaline & aggression.

4/5

Infected - Dark Century (1989)

A completely new one on me - I have never even heard of these Swiss death thrashers before, in fact they seem quite obscure even amongst those in the know. They were very short-lived, forming in '87 and splitting in '90 and Dark Century seems to be their only release. Now this seems to be a great shame as this is a great slab of metal, haunting those hinterlands between death and thrash where so many excellent late-80's releases dwelt. The riffs are energetic and enervating, the drumming is relentless and the bass is fairly pronounced in the manner of the modern Chilean thrash scene. The solos may not be the most invigorating I have ever heard, but they are fine as far as they go and vocalist Amos Gersmann has a pretty decent deathly growl. The production isn't the best, it must be said, but it gives it a cavernous murkiness that gives the album even more underground cred I guess.

I found this to be pretty enjoyable and am stumped as to why it isn't better known - although 1989 had some fucking phenomenal stuff coming out, this is still better than a lot of shit I've heard from the late eighties. Sometimes you've just got to be in the right place at the right time I suppose. Anyway if you have a particular love of early death thrash then I strongly recommend you wrap your ears around this bad-ass slab of red-hot metal goodness. Unfortunately it's not available on Spotify (or anywhere except some ancient rip on YouTube it seems).

4/5

You've got me on this one Sonny. I've honesty never heard of it.

Pestilence - Conuming Impulse (1989)

I am going to round off my coverage of 1989 with Pestilence's highly praised sophomore full-length, Consuming Impulse. The Dutch masters' debut, Malleus Maleficarum, was a pretty brutal sounding thrash metal album, one I have always had a huge amount of time for, but despite the deathly vocals of future Asphyx frontman Martin van Drunen, it was still a thrash album in the vein of Possessed or Sepultura with little actual death metal. Consuming Impulse on the other hand exhibits a further descent down the extremity rabbit-hole and marks the transformation from brutal thrash to actual death metal.

As Dehydrated leaps kicking and clawing out of the blocks, it is immediately obvious that this is a very different beast to the debut. The production is fuller, clearer and is much more bottom heavy which accentuates the brutality of the performances and is much more in keeping with the band's evolution into a death metal machine. The legion of riffs are powerful, aggressive and exceedingly memorable - I find them running through my head long after I have finished listening, particularly those featured in Suspended Animation, The Trauma and Echoes of Death. Patricks Mameli and Uterwijk trade solos in the vein of Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King, their lead work being very strongly influenced by the Slayer guitarists it seems, although I would also say that influenced though they are, they don't just slavishly mimic the Slayer duo, but still stamp their soloing with their own personality.

Mention must also be made of Martin van Drunen's vocal performance. He sounds tortured, deranged and defiant as he rasps and shrieks his words of pain, suffering and death, turning in an archetypal death metal vocal performance. This would be his last recording with Pestilence before jumping ship to join Asphyx - so one death metal legend's loss is another's gain! Drummer Marco Foddis also turns in a fine performance, solid and machine gun-like, adding an understated solidity to the proceedings. There is also a sparse smattering of keyboards employed which, on the two or three occasions they are used, prove to be exceedingly effective.

There seems to be some contradiction as to the bass player on Consuming Impulse - Metal Archives attributes bass duties to guitarist Patrick Mameli, yet I have seen others comment that Martin van Drunen was the bassist on the album. Either way, the bass seems to be the most neglected aspect of the recording, buried as it is underneath the riffing and drum battery, so I don't know whether this confusion is the result of the band not being 100% happy with the bass track. This minor niggle aside, I think the Dutchmen can put their sophomore up against any of the early death metal albums coming out of the USA and hold their collective head high that they can be spoke of in the same sentence as Death, Morbid Angel and Obituary and not come up short.

4.5/5

As I now move into covering 1990 it is becoming obvious that death metal was beginning to mushroom. In 1988 RYM lists 13 death metal albums on it's death metal charts, in 1989 there was 29 and for 1990 there was 59 (incidentally, for 2021 there was 906!!). This means that I will need to be more circumspect in what I cover as I have no intention of covering all 59 albums. I have put together a shortlist of 17 albums, which I won't list here, but I would like Horde members to list a few essentials that you think I should definitely cover. I will be covering all the 1990 albums featured on the Horde 1st Decade Clan Challenge list - Deicide, Left Hand Path, Cause of Death and The Key so if you guys could do me a solid and suggest six or seven others that you think I should definitely listen to in addition to those four then that would be great.

The Delirium album I've recommended to you last month seems like a good addition, Sonny.

The Delirium album I've recommended to you last month seems like a good addition, Sonny.

Thanks Andi, I will put it on the list.

Pestilence - Conuming Impulse (1989)

I am going to round off my coverage of 1989 with Pestilence's highly praised sophomore full-length, Consuming Impulse. The Dutch masters' debut, Malleus Maleficarum, was a pretty brutal sounding thrash metal album, one I have always had a huge amount of time for, but despite the deathly vocals of future Asphyx frontman Martin van Drunen, it was still a thrash album in the vein of Possessed or Sepultura with little actual death metal. Consuming Impulse on the other hand exhibits a further descent down the extremity rabbit-hole and marks the transformation from brutal thrash to actual death metal.

As Dehydrated leaps kicking and clawing out of the blocks, it is immediately obvious that this is a very different beast to the debut. The production is fuller, clearer and is much more bottom heavy which accentuates the brutality of the performances and is much more in keeping with the band's evolution into a death metal machine. The legion of riffs are powerful, aggressive and exceedingly memorable - I find them running through my head long after I have finished listening, particularly those featured in Suspended Animation, The Trauma and Echoes of Death. Patricks Mameli and Uterwijk trade solos in the vein of Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King, their lead work being very strongly influenced by the Slayer guitarists it seems, although I would also say that influenced though they are, they don't just slavishly mimic the Slayer duo, but still stamp their soloing with their own personality.

Mention must also be made of Martin van Drunen's vocal performance. He sounds tortured, deranged and defiant as he rasps and shrieks his words of pain, suffering and death, turning in an archetypal death metal vocal performance. This would be his last recording with Pestilence before jumping ship to join Asphyx - so one death metal legend's loss is another's gain! Drummer Marco Foddis also turns in a fine performance, solid and machine gun-like, adding an understated solidity to the proceedings. There is also a sparse smattering of keyboards employed which, on the two or three occasions they are used, prove to be exceedingly effective.

There seems to be some contradiction as to the bass player on Consuming Impulse - Metal Archives attributes bass duties to guitarist Patrick Mameli, yet I have seen others comment that Martin van Drunen was the bassist on the album. Either way, the bass seems to be the most neglected aspect of the recording, buried as it is underneath the riffing and drum battery, so I don't know whether this confusion is the result of the band not being 100% happy with the bass track. This minor niggle aside, I think the Dutchmen can put their sophomore up against any of the early death metal albums coming out of the USA and hold their collective head high that they can be spoke of in the same sentence as Death, Morbid Angel and Obituary and not come up short.

4.5/5

I've always loved "Consuming Impulse" although I don't think Pestilence quite hit their peak until their next record "Testimony of the Ancients". Their sophomore album saw them borrowing Death's "Leprosy" model & giving it some additional sophistication & a cleaner, more accomplished & deliciously crunchy production job which resulted in another step up for death metal as an art form.

4/5

As I now move into covering 1990 it is becoming obvious that death metal was beginning to mushroom. In 1988 RYM lists 13 death metal albums on it's death metal charts, in 1989 there was 29 and for 1990 there was 59 (incidentally, for 2021 there was 906!!). This means that I will need to be more circumspect in what I cover as I have no intention of covering all 59 albums. I have put together a shortlist of 17 albums, which I won't list here, but I would like Horde members to list a few essentials that you think I should definitely cover. I will be covering all the 1990 albums featured on the Horde 1st Decade Clan Challenge list - Deicide, Left Hand Path, Cause of Death and The Key so if you guys could do me a solid and suggest six or seven others that you think I should definitely listen to in addition to those four then that would be great.

I don't think this exercise would be complete without visiting Atheist's "Piece Of Time", Death's "Spiritual Healing", Napalm Death's "Harmony Corruption", Carnage's "Dark Recollections" & Cannibal Corpse's "Eaten Back To Life".

As I now move into covering 1990 it is becoming obvious that death metal was beginning to mushroom. In 1988 RYM lists 13 death metal albums on it's death metal charts, in 1989 there was 29 and for 1990 there was 59 (incidentally, for 2021 there was 906!!). This means that I will need to be more circumspect in what I cover as I have no intention of covering all 59 albums. I have put together a shortlist of 17 albums, which I won't list here, but I would like Horde members to list a few essentials that you think I should definitely cover. I will be covering all the 1990 albums featured on the Horde 1st Decade Clan Challenge list - Deicide, Left Hand Path, Cause of Death and The Key so if you guys could do me a solid and suggest six or seven others that you think I should definitely listen to in addition to those four then that would be great.

I don't think this exercise would be complete without visiting Atheist's "Piece Of Time", Death's "Spiritual Healing", Napalm Death's "Harmony Corruption", Carnage's "Dark Recollections" & Cannibal Corpse's "Eaten Back To Life".

All added to the list.

I think you've got all the necessary releases now. If you want to go deeper, you could check out Hellwitch, Merciless, Massacra, Master, Atrocity and Cancer.

Atrocity! I forgot about their debut Hallucinations that I also recommended to Sonny last month. Thanks for the (indirect) reminder, Ben!