Re-Release Extravaganza
Recommended re-released remnant records… ready?
Recently, I noticed an influx of re-releases popping up on my radar. Some turned out to be recondite relics buried deep in the history of death metal, others were more recent re-ups and restocks from a couple of our favourite labels. Old, new, black, death, thrash, you name it, it’s here. So I decided to do all the damn leg-work for you lazy bastards and collate them into one easy to digest dose. As with all good pharmaceuticals, professionals suggest you stick to the recommended dose. But as we all know, experts are total nerds, so fuck what they say and ingest them all right now! You probably won’t even die…
Ossuary Insane
If you are anything like me, you get all excited when a death metal band manages to deftly combine several sonic traits across a bunch of eras and sub-genres. This is why I’m going to be up front in saying Minnesota’s Ossuary Insane are fucking killer. Utilising elements such as the buzz-saw shred from the golden era of early 90’s Swedish melo-death, the hefty clout of Tampan OSDM, and perhaps most notably, the nuanced attention to technique that emerged in the USA during the mid-2000’s; Ossuary Insane are like fucking in an elevator… satisfying on multiple levels. Is that already an idiom? If not, it probably should be… I need more phrases to ruin.
This upcoming compilation of some of the band’s unreleased material from 2001 and 2003 is of greater quality than most bands of similar status ever commit to tape. The calibre of the 10 tracks on offer here really surprised me, and I’m sure they’ll do the same for you too. Throughout the intelligently crafted songs the riffing seamlessly oscillates between the HM-2 driven laceration of bands such as Dismember, Grave et al, and the technical yet chronically memorable sound of Isle of Disenchantment-era Psycroptic. The drums are placed right up front and centre in the mix, and rightly so, as the percussion does a solid job of balancing the see-saw between the choppy stop-start breaks and the more synergistic rolling double-bass accompaniment to the guitarist’s contagious tremolo hooks. The snare-laden fills exhort that familiar neck-snapping reflex with as much compulsion as the riffs. My only complaint is that I really think the band should have uploaded “Killing Mortals/Laid To Waste” or “The Original Master” (tracks 2 and 3 respectively) as the teaser track, as they offer a better representation of the quality here.
Visit the hallowed ossuary of Blood Harvest Records from July 29th to pick up this gem.
Death Courier
Hailing from Greece are the 3-piece thrash-infused raw death group Death Courier. The Mediterranean trio’s original run took place during the period between 1987 and 1993, where they apparently released a tonne of demos, a split and an EP leading up to the 1992 full-length titled Demise. Seems that title portended to the group’s fate, as nothing was officially released under the Death Courier moniker until bassist/vocalist Bill resurrected the band with a two new members around 2010. This reformation resulted in the release of the much more modern sounding and somewhat more grind-infused Perimortem in 2013.
Fast forward to 2016 and Nuclear War Now! are set to re-release a compilation of the band’s 1989 demo Deny Your Destiny combined with the 1990 Necrorgasm EP, along with a separate release of the aforementioned debut full-length Demise. As raw as it is obscure, the demo/EP section will please those who tire of the frills of modernity and seek refuge in the ancient roots of the emerging Greek metal scene. The production aesthetic throughout this portion of the release is quite variable, but as I mentioned before, it is probably best described as raw and primal. This fluctuation of recording quality might not appeal to everyone, but I found it to be somewhat endearing. The riffing has quite a punk-ish vibe at times too, and is actually quite reminiscent of the budding South American thrash sound. Check out “Copkiller” and tell me it doesn’t at least echo the crossover punk thematic. The LP is rounded out by a series of live tracks from a couple of concerts around the turn of the 90’s, rendering this relatively unknown collection just that little bit more arcane.
In comparison, the full-length Demise is much more akin to the primordial death metal acts of the Americas. The guitar-work is still raw. However the overall band’s sound tends towards the sound of genre pioneers such as Possessed. If you crave primitive first-wave death metal and have a place in your collection for a forgotten relic of a bygone era, then these couple of Death Courier releases could be something worth investigating.
The Demise LP and the EP/Demo LP combo will be available from Nuclear War Now! on August 15th.
Tomb Mold
Back in the early 1900’s droves of rich Europeans flocked to ancient burial sites the world over. Not content with simply inheriting fine antiquities and relics from their ancestors’ accumulated imperialistic conquests, they sought new fame and fortune. Uncovering antediluvian chambers filled with lost treasures and prying open elaborate sarcophagi were apparently the only means of satiating their desire for riches. However, many mysteriously died in the process of alleviating their archaeological avidity.
The common belief was fittingly delusory for the times; it had to be an archaic curse. Those who brushed the dust clear and breathed the hexed miasma within were surely bound to death. There was simply no way all these instances of terrible subsequent misfortune had anything to do with the coupling of their unwittingly dangerous lifestyle choices and primitive medical practises with rampant confirmation bias. Nope! The incantations of those pesky illusory spectres made it hard for you to breathe. Well not to undermine the elucidative skills of the venerable Scooby-Doo and co., but it is now believed quite possible that some of these supposedly inexplicable deaths can be attributed to the inhalation of infectious bacteria found in these air-locked catacombs. All that being said, I invite you to take a deep breath of the mephitic air arising from Toronto’s Tomb Mold.
Appropriately, this re-release of the band’s four song demo from earlier this year is being committed to cassette. It would make no sense to record these raw guitar tones and distorted vocals to any greater fidelity medium. Put simply, The Bottomless Perdition is 20 minutes of noxious death metal. The band’s name and lo-fi production aesthetic belies what is actually quite a lively approach to song-writing. Slight percussive and riffing variations offer a welcome addition to the mix, providing a bastion which strengthens this short but energetic release. The EP is bookended by a short intro of fetid synth, and rounded out by a seemingly spontaneous bendy blues solo. While not as uniquely nuanced as the Cadaveric Fumes’ EP from earlier this year, Tomb Mold’s work here does bear some resemblance.
Blood Harvest Records has picked up this demo from January this year for a limited 200-tape run. They’ve also announced that a second demo from the two-piece will follow; both releases paving the way for the band’s debut full-length. Pre-order The Bottomless Perdition at Blood Harvest Records page for release on July 29th.
FFO: Cadaveric Fumes, VoidCeremony, Cemetery Filth.
Sarcófago
The last couple of years have seen the vibrant hotbed of South America continue its reign of chaos across both the thrash and death metal scenes. The clear distinction that is often found between the sub-genres elsewhere does not appear to be so apparent in Latin America. Death, black, and thrash metal all seem to easily hybridise in the verdant musically fertile forests and favelas. The bestial Athanatos proffer a mix black and death, Hellish and Invocation Spells conjure a primal form of blackened thrash, while bands such as Invincible Force and Ripper combine death metal with untold thrash ferocity. Anyone who has spent some time checking out the history of the rabid South American metal scene knows this heightened localised fecundity is in no small part due to the potent nature of forefathers Sarcófago.
Nestled in between seminal classic I.N.R.I and 1991’s The Laws of Scourge, was the somewhat forgotten Rotting EP. Released in 1989, these 6 tracks are essentially the most aggressive time capsule you’ll ever open. The songs here may be regarded as transitional material, but they are no less savage. This is half an hour of pure evil, intense speed, bellicose hostility, and complete destruction. Assuming fans of the band will already have smashed that motherfucking “BUY NOW” button, I’ll give the more fiscally responsible wimpish among you even more reason to pick this up on September 2nd… it comes with a live DVD of the band supporting Morbid Angel on the 1991 Altars Of Madness tour! Showcasing Sarcófago ripping through most of this EP and a couple of tracks from the exalted I.N.R.I in Belo Horizonte (their hometown they share with some band called Sepultura, you might have heard of them?), this re-release is nothing to be scoffed at.
Pre-order the Rotting CD/DVD pack through Greyhaze Records here.
Supremative
Switching from the death and thrash above, we come to something a little different. A little more blasphemous. A little… blacker. Originally released as a demo tape in 2013, these four tracks from the Spanish duo based out of the Canary Islands is definitely the most profane item on today’s agenda. I’m led to believe they have a strong similarity to fellow countrymen Proclamation, a fact I cannot confirm nor deny as I had not heard of either band prior to this. What I can tell you though, is that Supremative have some of the most elaborate aliases I’ve ever come across. Chanting out for “Disciple of Eternal Damnation and Captor of Pure Souls” to turn his bass up might be difficult to hear over the guitars of “Instigator of the Seven Demons and Inexorable Necromancer,” although I’m not sure the group play live anyway, as the guitarist also performs drums and vocal duties on this release. Maybe they get assistance from “Diviner of Severe Allergic Reactions from Supposedly Hypoallergenic Corpse Paint,” or have local guitar tech “He of Supreme Nomenclatic Convolution and Possessor of the Horrid Sweat Stain” fill in to round out the live line-up, I don’t know.
In all seriousness though, these four tracks are quite a malefic offering and should please fans of Blasphemy, Archgoat, and ummmm… Proclamation.
Head on over to Blood Harvest Records to pre-order this demonic vitriol (Releases on various 7″ vinyl July 14th).
Eructation
Keen eyes will remember seeing this killer cover from our recent OSDM edition of Riff ov the Week. As I mentioned in that blurb, Sweden’s Eructation existed during the halcyon period of death metal in the early 1990’s (92-95 in their particular case). Having never managed to release anything of note, save for an independent 3 track cassette innocuously titled Demo #1, the rest of the band’s music has finally been given the chance to infest your ears through the release of a 10 track compilation album. The Fumes of Putrefaction combines the three demo tracks, five tracks that were scheduled to be released as an EP in 1994, and the two final tracks that were pulled from the band’s last recording session in 1995.
Now I know what you’re thinking – Early 1990’s + Sweden + Death Metal = some sort of Entombed-core. NOPE! While Eructation do show little flashes of that style here and there, they are quite atypical of that commonly adapted and subsequently heavily diluted sound. The angular riffing found here is more akin to that of the Dutch legends such as Asphyx, and particularly Pestilence, with some Atheist-style tech creeping in, minus the jazzy noodling. Sure there are certainly some more obscure bands that bear a slightly closer resemblance, but if name-dropping those 3 monsters above doesn’t pique your interest, what chance do mentions of Cerebral Prism, Dementia 13, and Incubated Filth (*) have of procuring your clicks on this highly deserving release?
The Fumes of Putrefaction compilation was re-released through Memento Mori on April 25th and can be picked up here.
FFO: Incubator, Brutality, Disincarnate, Death Metal!
[* – One of these three bands is real. And of course, it happens to be the one with the worst name]
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