The Brutal Death Metal Thread
Disgorge - "Cognitive Lust of Mutilation" demo (1992)
This is another one of the early brutal death metal demos I picked up during my 1990's tape trading heyday &, listening back now, I can easily hear the sound that my band Neuropath would eventually develop in this material too. I'm not ashamed to admit that my influences & inspiration were drawn from this sort of stuff during what I regard as one of the most enjoyable periods of musical discovery in my lifetime. The production is of demo quality of course & the performances aren't the most precise or polished you'll find either but the atmosphere & brutality is certainly there with the riffs always maintaining a level of catchiness, despite the unadulterated extremity. The vocals of bassist Bryan Ugartechea are the obvious main attraction as they're not only ultra-deep, super-gutteral & thoroughly unintelligible but also pretty fucking awesome. The unfortunately titled "Cognitive Lust of Mutilation" demo tape is an accomplished effort for a debut release with all four songs proving themselves worthy of being heard & fans of brutal death metal bands like Brodequin, Gorgasm & Disentomb might wanna give it a spin at some point.
4/5
Cannibal Corpse - Tomb of the Mutilated (1992)
Whilst listening to Tomb of the Mutilated this morning a revelation hit me. The reason I was so belated getting into death metal was the fact that the very first DM band I encountered was Cannibal Corpse (possibly even this album, I don't remember) and I made the error of believing them to be typical of death metal in general. So what, I hear you say. Well the simple fact is that I find CC to be incredibly boring and so took very little interest in death metal generally after that. The vocals are a dull monotone that exhibit no emotional context and although they are capable of throwing out the odd decent riff, they seem incapable of sustaining it for any length of time. Then there is the band's whole extreme gore and horror perspective. Like slasher movies they don't repel or cause me moral outrage, they just bore me because they have no connection to my life or thoughts and so are rendered completely meaningless. I understand that it may just have been a way of baiting the PMRC and the Moral Majority, which, if it is the case, I wholeheartedly endorse, but, I'm sorry, that's just not enough for me. The drumming is good, I'll give them that, but outside the odd riff that briefly hits the spot I can quite happily live out my life never listening to Tomb of the Mutilated again.
2.5/5
Cannibal Corpse - Tomb of the Mutilated (1992)
Whilst listening to Tomb of the Mutilated this morning a revelation hit me. The reason I was so belated getting into death metal was the fact that the very first DM band I encountered was Cannibal Corpse (possibly even this album, I don't remember) and I made the error of believing them to be typical of death metal in general. So what, I hear you say. Well the simple fact is that I find CC to be incredibly boring and so took very little interest in death metal generally after that. The vocals are a dull monotone that exhibit no emotional context and although they are capable of throwing out the odd decent riff, they seem incapable of sustaining it for any length of time. Then there is the band's whole extreme gore and horror perspective. Like slasher movies they don't repel or cause me moral outrage, they just bore me because they have no connection to my life or thoughts and so are rendered completely meaningless. I understand that it may just have been a way of baiting the PMRC and the Moral Majority, which, if it is the case, I wholeheartedly endorse, but, I'm sorry, that's just not enough for me. The drumming is good, I'll give them that, but outside the odd riff that briefly hits the spot I can quite happily live out my life never listening to Tomb of the Mutilated again.
2.5/5
You make me sad good Sir, you make me sad. Seriously? "Hammer Smashed Face" riffs do nothing for you? Poor creature!
With that out the way, I would encourage you to take a second shot at CC with "Eaten Back to Life" it is their debut and in my opinion most catchy album. If "Skull Full of Maggots" doesn't move you then you can dismiss CC.
Cannibal Corpse - Tomb of the Mutilated (1992)
Whilst listening to Tomb of the Mutilated this morning a revelation hit me. The reason I was so belated getting into death metal was the fact that the very first DM band I encountered was Cannibal Corpse (possibly even this album, I don't remember) and I made the error of believing them to be typical of death metal in general. So what, I hear you say. Well the simple fact is that I find CC to be incredibly boring and so took very little interest in death metal generally after that. The vocals are a dull monotone that exhibit no emotional context and although they are capable of throwing out the odd decent riff, they seem incapable of sustaining it for any length of time. Then there is the band's whole extreme gore and horror perspective. Like slasher movies they don't repel or cause me moral outrage, they just bore me because they have no connection to my life or thoughts and so are rendered completely meaningless. I understand that it may just have been a way of baiting the PMRC and the Moral Majority, which, if it is the case, I wholeheartedly endorse, but, I'm sorry, that's just not enough for me. The drumming is good, I'll give them that, but outside the odd riff that briefly hits the spot I can quite happily live out my life never listening to Tomb of the Mutilated again.
2.5/5
You make me sad good Sir, you make me sad. Seriously? "Hammer Smashed Face" riffs do nothing for you? Poor creature!
With that out the way, I would encourage you to take a second shot at CC with "Eaten Back to Life" it is their debut and in my opinion most catchy album. If "Skull Full of Maggots" doesn't move you then you can dismiss CC.
I need no pity, unless I have to listen to this again!
Cannibal Corpse - Tomb of the Mutilated (1992)
Whilst listening to Tomb of the Mutilated this morning a revelation hit me. The reason I was so belated getting into death metal was the fact that the very first DM band I encountered was Cannibal Corpse (possibly even this album, I don't remember) and I made the error of believing them to be typical of death metal in general. So what, I hear you say. Well the simple fact is that I find CC to be incredibly boring and so took very little interest in death metal generally after that. The vocals are a dull monotone that exhibit no emotional context and although they are capable of throwing out the odd decent riff, they seem incapable of sustaining it for any length of time. Then there is the band's whole extreme gore and horror perspective. Like slasher movies they don't repel or cause me moral outrage, they just bore me because they have no connection to my life or thoughts and so are rendered completely meaningless. I understand that it may just have been a way of baiting the PMRC and the Moral Majority, which, if it is the case, I wholeheartedly endorse, but, I'm sorry, that's just not enough for me. The drumming is good, I'll give them that, but outside the odd riff that briefly hits the spot I can quite happily live out my life never listening to Tomb of the Mutilated again.
2.5/5
You make me sad good Sir, you make me sad. Seriously? "Hammer Smashed Face" riffs do nothing for you? Poor creature!
With that out the way, I would encourage you to take a second shot at CC with "Eaten Back to Life" it is their debut and in my opinion most catchy album. If "Skull Full of Maggots" doesn't move you then you can dismiss CC.
I need no pity, unless I have to listen to this again!
Love it lol. \m/
I've always found that the fact that I was already a Cannibal Corpse fan before the release of "Tomb of the Mutilated" gives me a slightly different perspective to many people. It was the record that converted a lot of the kids in my area over to death metal & that certainly did my band Neuropath a lot of favours as the only more brutal death metal band that existed in Sydney back in 1993. I don't think there's any doubt that it was the shock-factor that was responsible for Cannibal Corpse's rise as, despite it being a solid enough release from a purely musical point of view, there were frankly more classic death metal records out there. There can be no denying how fun it was to listen to as a young fella though & it certainly ticked the brutality box that was so much of a passion for me at the time. Some of that gloss has definitely been taken off it over time though & I struggle with Paul's drumming in particular these days as he really does only have three beats that he repeats over & over again with one of those admittedly having invented the double-kick-driven blast-beat technique that would become common-place in the scene almost immediately afterwards. These days I find myself preferring records like "The Bleeding", "Evisceration Plague", "Kill" & "Butchered At Birth" over "Tomb of the Mutilated" but I'll always have a soft spot for it. Neuropath was heavily influenced by early Cannibal Corpse & inevitably always seemed to be associated with them too, perhaps unsurprisingly given our early lyrical direction. We actually played a cover version of "Hammer Smashed Face" at the end of a couple of shows in order to satisfy the repeated crowd requests.
I've always found that the fact that I was already a Cannibal Corpse fan before the release of "Tomb of the Mutilated" gives me a slightly different perspective to many people. It was the record that converted a lot of the kids in my area over to death metal & that certainly did my band Neuropath a lot of favours as the only more brutal death metal band that existed in Sydney back in 1993. I don't think there's any doubt that it was the shock-factor that was responsible for Cannibal Corpse's rise as, despite it being a solid enough release from a purely musical point of view, there were frankly more classic death metal records out there. There can be no denying how fun it was to listen to as a young fella though & it certainly ticked the brutality box that was so much of a passion for me at the time. Some of that gloss has definitely been taken off it over time though & I struggle with Paul's drumming in particular these days as he really does only have three beats that he repeats over & over again with one of those admittedly having invented the double-kick-driven blast-beat technique that would become common-place in the scene almost immediately afterwards. These days I find myself preferring records like "The Bleeding", "Evisceration Plague", "Kill" & "Butchered At Birth" over "Tomb of the Mutilated" but I'll always have a soft spot for it. Neuropath was heavily influenced by early Cannibal Corpse & inevitably always seemed to be associated with them too, perhaps unsurprisingly given our early lyrical direction. We actually played a cover version of "Hammer Smashed Face" at the end of a couple of shows in order to satisfy the repeated crowd requests.
But Daniel, Neuropath were better than Cannibal Corpse. If I had heard your Nefarious Vivisection demo back in the day, instead of this or whatever CC album it was, then my whole death metal adventure may have begun much sooner. I would have liked to have heard your version of Hammer Smashed Face, though. Mark definitely sounded better than Barnes.
I can confirm that it was Neuropath that made me appreciate just how awesome Hammer Smashed Face is when experienced live. No matter how little time I've devoted to Cannibal Corpse over the years, their approach is great in a live environment.
Mark definitely sounded better than Barnes.
Mark is absolutely frothing that you just said that. His most major influence/idol is 1991-92 Chris Barnes.
Mark definitely sounded better than Barnes.
Mark is absolutely frothing that you just said that. His most major influence/idol is 1991-92 Chris Barnes.
To transcend one's idols is surely the aim of all artists. Believe me, I genuinely think he's better.
Skeleton of God - "Urine Garden" E.P. (1993)
Colorado four-piece Skeleton of God are another band that I sought out back in my tape trading days in my quest for ever more extreme forms of metal with their debut E.P. "Urine Garden" receiving quite a few plays back in the day. The Skeleton of God sound could be described as a quite technical, avant-garde & progressive take on the brutal death metal model although these guys were clearly still finding their sound so some tracks are definitely more unusual than others. You can't deny the ambition from such a young group of dudes but I do have to admit that I prefer the conventional material like highlight track "10 Second Infinity" over the more intentionally weird inclusions (see the opening title track for example). The way Skeleton of God construct their riffs is quite unique though & this attribute gives the band their edge, along with the gutteral vocals of guitarist Jeff Kahn which are very effective. It's a real shame that the production job isn't adequate for this type of release though as I feel it may have picked up more of an underground reputation with a cleaner & more powerful sound.
For fans of Human Remains, Wicked Innocence & Embrionic Death.
3.5/5
Dying Fetus - "Bathe in Entrails" demo (1993)
Dying Fetus' first demo tape was an important influence on me & the musical direction I would take with my own band Neuropath during the mid-1990's. Listening back now, it's easy to be critical of the terrible drumming of main man John Gallagher but his guitar work is very accomplished (particularly the James Murphy-ish solos which are surprisingly proficient for such a young dude) & the multiple-vocal attack is as gutteral as all fuck so it can't be all bad now, can it? It's interesting that Dying Fetus really haven't changed their sound all that much at all over the 31 years since this demo which says a lot about why I found it so appealing as a young fella. Dying Fetus would certainly get better & I tend to dig their albums a bit more than this early tape these days but I can't deny that I still get a fair bit of nostalgic enjoyment out of a good half of the six songs included here. The others simply suffer a bit too much from Gallagher's inability to play double kick in time.
For fans of Suffocation, Skinless & early Cannibal Corpse.
3.5/5
Pyrexia - "Sermon of Mockery" (1993)
The 1993 "Sermon of Mockery" debut album from New York brutal death metal outfit Pyrexia first came to my attention at a time when I was desperately trying to identify more & more of the most extreme metal music on the planet & this record fit my requirements to a tee. Fellow New York brutal death metal godfathers Suffocation had changed my perspective on what death metal should be over the previous few years but my quest for similarly brutal releases was tough going with only a few artists managing to compete on the same sort of level. Pyrexia changed that by proving that it could be done &, in doing so, produced an album that was highly influential on me as an artist, perhaps not quite as influential as the great Suffocation releases but not all that far behind given how regularly I spun "Sermon of Mockery" throughout the middle of the 1990's. In saying that, I'm not sure I ever regarded it as a genuine death metal classic. It was more of a second tier release whose sound I could relate to on a deeper level than most of its peers which saw me returning to it more regularly than I would other releases of the same quality. The brutal death metal community have generally placed "Sermon of Mockery" up on a pedestal though so it's time to dig into the finer details of this seminal release.
The cover artwork is a major selling point for "Sermon of Mockery" as it's brutal as fuck with its image of zombified figures impaling mutilated human bodies suitably summing up the musical content you can expect to hear inside. It's a shame Pyrexia elected to accept such a tame font for the album title though as it's not nearly as imposing as it should be. The Jim Sabella production job is a real feature though with the heavily compressed guitar tone suiting this style of palm-muted savagery very nicely indeed. I didn't notice it so much back in the day but the drum sound is fairly disappointing with the kick drums in particular sounding thin & clicky which doesn't do drummer Mike Andrejko any favours. This would be Andrejko's only major release & you can see why as he struggles to compete with the accomplished death metal musicianship around him, his blast beats seeing him finding it difficult to keep his feet perfectly in time with his hands for any length of time. It's not anything too major in the grand scheme of things but it does detract from the overall effect just a touch.
There's very little doubt that the Pyrexia sound was built on the one that Suffocation had developed with their 1990 "Reincremated" demo tape three years earlier & had further refined on their first two classic 1991 releases "Human Waste" & "Effigy of the Forgotten". In fact, Pyrexia have limited their sound to a couple of different components of those records i.e. the faster tremolo-picked blast beat sections & the slower, heavily palm-muted slam parts. There's an element of technicality about early Pyrexia but it's not as overt as it is with Suffocation which is probably a good thing because Pyrexia simply weren't capable of it at the time. There are some genuinely great slam riffs included here though & that's ultimately what has made "Sermon of Mockery" such a pivotal release for the subgenre with the monstrous vocals of Darryl Wagner (another who would drift off into obscurity after this release) being a major highlight. Wagner had clearly been influenced by Frank Mullen's performance on the first two Suffocation records but pulls off his own ultra-gutteral delivery to just as great an effect here which further enhances the thick, chunky riffs of guitarists Guy Marchais (Internal Bleeding/Suffocation) & Tony Caravella & bassist Chris Basile.
"Sermon of Mockery"s other strength is its consistency as all eight tracks are of a very similar quality level, all being rock solid examples of their type. It's a little bit of a shame that none of them manage to reach the top tier though, perhaps being limited by the fairly restricted musical palate Pyrexia had chosen to create from. I feel that the compressed production probably emphasizes the similar feel of the material too but, looking on the positive side, if you like Pyrexia's sound then you're not gonna be disappointed by any of the eight tracks included here in what amounts to a very professionally composed & executed early example of the brutal death metal sound. All fans of the more extreme end of the death metal spectrum will definitely want to hear this album at some stage & I'd be surprised to discover that any of them didn't find plenty of enjoyment in it too.
For fans of Suffocation, Internal Bleeding & Dehumanized.
4/5
Cryptopsy - "Ungentle Exhumation" demo (1993)
I was lucky enough to pick up a high-quality dubbed copy this early demo tape from the Canadian brutal death metal masters shortly after it was released through one of my Neuropath band mates who had somehow gotten their hands on an original copy. It was right up my alley too & saw me giving it lots of revisits that year. I'd also suggest that it contributed to Neuropath taking an increasingly more brutal musical direction over the next few years. Interestingly, despite being a huge fan of the brutal death metal subgenre & having played in a notable band myself, I've never rated Cryptopsy's two most celebrated records (i.e. 1994's "Blasphemy Made Flesh" & 1996's "None So Vile") as highly as most other extreme metalheads seem to. In fact, I don't even like "Blasphemy Made Flesh" much & I think that some of that likely comes back to my initial experiences with Cryptopsy. This demo simply sounds much better than their debut album with the production job being much more accomplished than you'd expect from a release of this type. I've never enjoyed it when Flo Mounier tries to play ridiculously fast blast-beats because he simply couldn't pull it off (at least not in the mid-1990's) so it's always left me bemused when people talked about him like some kind of a god. Those that possess a deeper understanding of extreme drumming must surely know better. Anyway.... there's a lot less of that here & the vocals don't sound as ridiculous either which leaves "Ungentle Exhumation" sounding a touch less overthetop & with a few less obstacles to gaining my affection. The two tracks that bookend the release are where the real gold is with opening number "Gravaged: A Cryptopsy" being my pick of the bunch. This is savage shit for fans of savage music only but it does it really well, so much so that I rank this demo as my second favourite Cryptopsy release behind 1998's "Whisper Supremacy" album. There wasn't much more extreme music than this at the time.
For fans of Suffocation, Lykathea Aflame & Wormed.
4/5