Review by Ben for Death - Scream Bloody Gore (1987)

More than just the first true death metal album, Scream Bloody Gore is bloody good entertainment.

There will always be the argument over whether Possessed or Death should be considered the first death metal band. We do know for certain that Possessed were the first to get an official release out (1985’s Seven Churches album), but trying to figure out which band’s demos beat the other to the punch always seems to end in uncertainty. Personally I can’t help but be part of team Death (no, this is not like Team Edward or Team Jacob!) for the simple reason that Scream Bloody Gore is undoubtedly the first true, and by that I mean undiluted, death metal album. As influential and entertaining as Possessed’s debut is, it contains just as much thrash metal as death metal, taking its cue from Slayer’s Show No Mercy album and beefing it up to unprecedented levels. On the other hand, Scream Bloody Gore nailed all the elements of true death metal straight up, setting the blueprint for years to come. Whichever side of the fence you sit on, no-one could ever deny that Chuck Schuldiner was one of the most talented, influential and respected musicians in the metal scene, and that Death consistently created excellent releases until Chuck shatteringly passed away.

Death never had the same line-up for two albums in a row, but that pattern began way before even the debut was recorded. Originally the band came under the moniker Mantas and contained Chuck (guitars / vocals), Rick Rozz (guitar) and Kam Lee (drums). After recording the infamous Death by Metal demo in 1984, Chuck changed the name of the band to Death as he felt this represented the vision more appropriately. There would be numerous demos recorded with numerous line-ups over the next couple of years and it wasn’t until the sixth attempt in 1986 called Mutilation that the Scream Bloody Gore configuration, which was simply Chris Reifert on drums with Chuck handling everything else, was finally achieved. The demo made it into the hands of Combat Records who signed Death up for a multi-album deal. Interestingly, Chris and Chuck initially recorded the guitar and drums at a Florida studio but were not happy with the results, deciding to start again at Music Grinders Studio where the end result was produced. Incredibly, after all these years of working at achieving his dream, Chuck was still only 20 years old when Scream Bloody Gore was recorded.

And what a recording it is! More than just the first of its kind, Scream Bloody Gore contains some really great death metal that still stands up over 20 years later. It may not be anywhere near as technical or intelligent as later Death albums, but it was never meant to be that way. Chuck just wanted to create evil sounding, gore drenched metal and that’s exactly what you get with Scream Bloody Gore from start to finish. The production quality is perfectly suitable given the intent (the remastered versions admittedly help on that front) and all instruments, including the bass, are perfectly audible and suitably powerful. The lyrics are immature to say the least but they’re all just part of the fun. No-one is going to take corkers like “watch you bleed to death, gasping for last breath, chocking on your blood, I shit onto your guts” seriously are they? If they do then they need to lighten up a bit. Obviously Death would get much, much better than this throughout the next decade, but as a starting point for both the band, and in some respects the genre, this deserves a lot of praise. After all, who doesn’t love tracks like Zombie Ritual and Baptised in Blood!? Anyone?