Törr - 1990 - Armageddon LP

Armageddon is the very first Törr album, the brilliant black/thrash/speed metal masters from the Czech Republic. Although this album came out in 1990, it sounds like it could have been recorded between 1984 and 1988, when black metal was at it's peak and still had a lot of thrash and speed metal characteristics. And that isn't just because some of the songs were on demos made in the 80's, because all of their best material (everything before Made In Hell) has that great 80's black metal sound.

Like all of pre- Made in Hell era Törr, this album shows an incredible amount diversity between song styles which is one of the many things that makes this band so great. Some songs are at a slower pace such as "Žal" and the title track, while there are other songs that are all out rapid black/thrash assaults. But those aren't the only two sounds on the album. That would be a bit too one dimensional for the mighty Törr. The majority of the songs on here are made up of great non-repetitive riffs that make band's ability to write some great, versatile songs very clear. The diversity within the songs is also due to the vocalists (Vlasta and Ota) wide range of vocal styles, which can change section by section a number of times within just one song, as well as Radek Sladký's simple but effective, varied drumming.

This album is one of the best albums to have ever come of the black metal scene. Here is my own rip of it. Enjoy.

Upsidedown Cross - 1993 - Evilution

Upsidedown Cross have been one of my favorite bands for a long time. Evilution is one of the most demented and fucked up albums I've ever heard. Musically it is a unique mixture of sludgey doom metal, psychedelic and noise. All this insanity is accompanied by the sleazy vocals of Larry Lifeless, ex-vocalist of Kilslug and who is also involved in the bands Angry Hate and Adolf Satan (both are great names). And when I say this is demented doom, I mean this is REALLY demented.

They started in the late 80's, released a self titled LP in 1991 (which I will upload when I rip it from my vinyl), released this album in 1993, and an EP in 1994. Then in 2002 they re-formed and recorded a song for a split 7" with the hilarious sludge band Sloth (US). I'll upload the EP and split 7" sometime in the future as well.

Here is my own 320kbps CD rip of the album. The only thing that sucks about Evilution is that it never got the proper vinyl treatment. Just tape and CD. Enjoy anyway.

Part 1
Part 2

Obscurity (Swe) - 1986 - Ovations of Death demo

Obscurity were pretty much the first band in Sweden to release a death metal demo. But this is not your usual Swedish death metal. Ovations of Death contains a really raw and primitive early death metal sound, kind of like the Poison (Ger) demos. Obscurity were not quite on the playing level as bands like Nihilist and Sorcery, which may be why they are so overlooked.

This is great if you're into ugly, early forms of death metal. Enjoy.

Leprocy - 1988 - Brutal Occupation demo

Leprocy were a Canadian thrash band who released 3 demos. They played a hybrid of dirty thrash with elements of power and traditional heavy metal. This band clearly had what it takes to make some killer thrash, and it's a shame they never recorded an LP, although this demo kind of makes up for it.

Enjoy.

Violent Dirge - 1993 - Elapse

What we have here is some pretty technical death metal. But don't let the term "technical" scare you away because this is far from the modern day "tech. death" bullshit from utterly terrible bands like Cephilac Carnage and Beneath the Breakdowns (aka Beneath the Massacre). The death metal on this recording is unadulterated and raw technical death metal full of outstanding riffs, flailing solos and Luc Lemay-esque vocals. The drums are also great because they manage to come off as sounding less intricate then the riffing, but without undermining the music and technicality at all.

The production is pretty dirty, which I like a lot. If I had to make a stylistic comparison, it would be more to bands like Insanity that blended eccentric, technical riffing with more straight forward old school death metal sections rather than Atheist, Hellwitch or later Gorguts. Those bands had more complex arrangements and would stay in the "technical" vein throughout whole songs (not that that's bad. I love those bands).

Here it is. Enjoy.

Transmetal - 1988 - Muerto en la Cruz LP

Excellent deathly thrash metal from Mexico. It's a really great album.

Enjoy.

Mutilator (Fra) - 1987 - Omens of a Dark Fate demo

The French band Mutilator released one demo under that name before changing their name to Mutilated. The music here is pretty different from the first Mutilated demo, Psychodeath Lunatics. It is more of a bestial form of death/thrash, and in terms of speed and overall relentlessness, this demo is even more extreme then the demos being put out by Massacra and Agressor in '87. Although this is not the all-out death metal assault of Psychodeath Lunatics, it is still an awesome demo and had somewhat of a building block role in the French extreme metal scene.

Enjoy.

Deteriorate - 1993 - Rotting In Hell LP

This is one of the most brutal and ferocious death metal albums to have ever come out of the US. If you thought John Tardy and Chris Reifert sounded demented, just wait until you hear Jack Gannon. And the music is just as grotesque as the vocals. This is an underrated essential.

Enjoy.

Törr - Witchhammer 2xLP set

I already uploaded the first LP from this double LP set which had the 1987 Witchhammer demo on it. Now here is the 2nd one, Kladivo na èarodìjnice as well as the first LP but with a new link.

I have already made it quite apparent that I worship this band and why (these recordings especially), so I don't really feel the need to go into detail about why these are essential listenings for anyone into black/speed metal, or just metal in general.

Here are my own vinyl rips of both LPs. Enjoy.

Witchhamer demo LP
Kladivo na èarodìjnice LP

Assesor - 1990 - Invaze LP

Assesor's one and only release, Invaze, is an excellent, unique slab of Czech death/thrash. The overall feel of the album is very unrefined and aggressive, but also kind of strange in some parts (all of which, are very good things).

Song structure wise, Assesor keep things very interesting with an unorthodox way of doing things, even by death and thrash metal standards. The vocals are penetrating, ruthless high-pitched rasps, which work perfectly because the guitars tend to stay on the higher end of the fretboard (that, or they just aren't that down-tuned), and move along viciously, one excellent riff after another. And when I say the riffing is excellent, I mean flawless and well thought out tremolo picked frenzies with a bit of weirdness and dissonance thrown in. The bass, which follows the guitar nicely, has a pretty cool clunky sound to it, but not in an irritating "funk metal" manner. The drums are also noteworthy for following along nicely during the oddly-timed sections and remain interesting without getting technical.

This is an excellent, underrated Czech metal gem. It is another perfect example of the versatility and originality that was once present in metal. You definitely won't find albums like this being made anymore.

Here is a nice vinyl rip. Enjoy.

Mutilated (Fra) - Psychodeath Lunatics + Resurrected bootleg LP

Mutilated were a very influential and important band to the French metal scene. Before the release of Mutilated's 1988 demo, Psychodeath Lunatics, there really was no death metal scene in France. Yes, France had their share of extreme bands such as Agressor, Loudblast and Massacra, that sounded too brutal to just be called "thrash metal", but these bands still had strong thrash metal characteristics. It wasn't until Mutilated (originally called Mutilator) came around that the distinct barrier between death and thrash metal was put in place, influencing oodles of other bands to follow.

This bootleg LP put out by Vodoo Evil Rec. contains the legendary 1988 Psychodeath Luntatics demo and the 1991 Resurrected demo. Although Resurrected is excellent, (other then that god damn snare drum), the 1988 demo is what really shines. It's just a shame that it is so short.

This is a rip from my own copy of the LP. Enjoy.

Wyzard - 1984 - Knights of Metal EP

Wyzard were a US power metal band who's only release was this EP. Knights of Metal is 20 minutes of well executed, badass power metal from 1984. This is the Perris Records CD reissue with the "Breaking the Spell" bonus tracks, which sounds like it may be a demo recording.

Enjoy.

Eternal Darkness (Swe) - 1992 - Doomed 7'' EP

Eternal Darkness were a death doom metal band from Sweden, the most prominent country for dark, dismal, death metal. The atmosphere of this EP is very gloomy and obscure. It is full of haunting melodies soaked in reverb and delay, overlapping crushing doom riffs with that classic Swedish guitar sound. The drums and bass plod along lethargically beneath all of it and of course are done perfectly.

This is not your run of the mill, weepy goth, homo-erotic death doom that seems to be so popular these days. The music contained on the Doomed EP is devastatingly heavy and sluggish death metal of the highest order.

Enjoy.

Witches Hammer - 2005 - Stretching Into Infinity LP

Witches Hammer were a Canadian band that played some exceptionally evil thrash metal. This compilation LP was put out by NWN! Prod. in 2005 and contains the 1987 Mortalas MLP and another previously unreleased MLP.

Enjoy.

Sororicide - 1991 - The Entity LP

It's gems like Sororicide's The Entity that make me the avid death metal junkie that I am. To the outsider, death metal may seem like it was a genre with no room for uniqueness or creativity, which is understandable considering how atrocious and generic it collectively has become. But those who care enough to dig into the genre and look for those albums that really stick out amongst the rest know what a great form of music it once was. The Entity is really one of those unqiue, stand out albums. It may be partially due to the fact that the band was from Iceland, so it is not like they had a lot of local influences. They just played and wrote the way they naturally felt they should.

One of the things I really love about this album is the use of dissonance and the bizarre melodies and counter melodies sprinkled throughout. It really adds to the intensity of the slower sections. The riffing and song writing in general are just spectacular. The bass mostly follows along with the guitars, but sometimes will go off into its own dissonant riff while a discordant guitar melody is overlapping, which is another unique feature. The vocals are a gut-wrenching mid range growl and are just as powerful and eerie as everything else about this album. Everything is just perfect.

This album is a highly original and unique masterpiece. It is one of my all time favorite death metal albums. Enjoy.

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Törr - 1991 - Institut Klinické Smrti LP

Törr were are amazing band, and Institut Klinické Smrti is a perfect example why. They have a number of different, distinct sounds and are by no means a one dimensional band. Essentially all their sounds boil down to a blending of thrash metal and early black metal, but like I said, they had a lot different methods to play it and would change it up pretty much from song to song. You would never hear them recycling ideas.

This album showcases the band's amazing ability to write some brilliant blackened thrash metal. The vocals are harsher then what you hear on the on the 80's demo material but they also change from song to song. The riffing and song structures for the most part are also not as simplistic as the earlier stuff. This band really has a unique sound (or sounds) and will never be matched or reproduced, even though Nifelheim (Swe) do a pretty good job of showing how big of fans they are of this band through their music. But even then, they still can't do it the same way the mighty Törr can.

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Necrovation - 2004 - Chants of Grim Death 7'' EP

Pure, unadulterated, filthy, rotten, old school Swedish death metal. Necrovation are a new band playing death metal in the vein of their country's classic acts such as Merciless, Nihilist, Carnage, Centinex etc. They even cover Merciless's "Pure Hate" from their legendary debut LP.

This EP has more of a rotten and menacing sound to it rather then the dark, brooding atmosphere of their LP, which isn't a bad thing by any means, it is just a whole different sound. The production is nice and ugly with layers of grime on top of the already putrid music, making everything about this recording absolutely perfect.

I really recommend this to everyone. This band is really living up to the legacy of old Swedish death metal scene. It is a rip from my own copy of the 7''. Enjoy.

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Bloodbath (Ser) - 1989 - Toxic Death (demo)

Not much is really known about the Serbian band Bloodbath other then the fact that the drummer is now in some stupid "hardcore raggae" band. However, despite their unwarranted obscurity, what is known is that they produced some sickening death/thrash metal that reminds me of a mixture of Massacra (Fra) and Necrovore. The production is crunchy and lo-fi, but still perfectly audible. And the music, as stated before, is some excellent deathly thrash metal. Download and enjoy.

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Airwolf - 1988 - Victory Bells LP

Airwolf's 1988 Victory Bells was the only release from this obscure German band. This is some quality, epic power metal back from the days when power metal didn't suck and had some substance to it.
Enjoy.

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Necrosanct - 1992 - Incarnate LP

I LOVE THIS ALBUM. Necrosanct are an obscure death metal band from the UK that released a demo and 3 albums, this being the 2nd. This LP is a pummeling, devastating death metal masterpiece that has remained in the depths of obscurity for far too long. This album is just oozing with malevolence and uncomprismised brutality and I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone looking for raw and relentless death metal mayhem. This description sounds pretty cliche but there is really no other way to describe this album.

This is my own rip from my copy of the LP. Enjoy.

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Order from Chaos - 1990 - Will to Power 7'' EP

This is the first official release from the legendary band Order from Chaos. I don't feel the need to write one of my shitty mini-reviews because you know what to expect. Great song writing, good musicianship and just an overall sense of perfection, like everything they ever released.

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Nuclear Desecration - 2008 - Desecrated Temple of Impurity

Note: This is not the 128kbps shitrate that is circulating on soulseek, nor is it the "192" kbps TRANSCODE. It is my own 320 kbps CD rip.

There is a whole slew of new bands playing excellent, sinister old school black and death metal, but stuff THIS evil is hard to come by.

Nuclear Desecration play black/death metal in the vein of Blasphemy, Archgoat, Bestial Warlust etc., but incorporate a lot more tempo changes then the aforementioned bands, making the music a bit more death metal oriented at times. But don't get me wrong, each section is just as pummeling as the next, but there is just more variation in the writing. They can go from relentless Bestial Warlust blasting, to trudging Hellhammer rhythms to Profanatica type riffing in just one song.

This is a very promising album, and I am really anxious to get more material from this excellent band.

Here is my own 320kbps CD rip. Download, enjoy, then buy.

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Bestial Raids - 2004 - Order of Doom 7'' EP

Bestial Raids are a fairly new band playing bestial black/death in the vein of Blasphemy, Beherit, Proclamation etc. This is their Order of Doom demo pressed on 7'' by the mighty NWN! Productions.

This recording has a very filthy, raw sound to it, which is exactly what this genre calls for.

This is ripped from my own copy. Enjoy.

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Yes

Death Attack - 2008 - Death Attack 7" (1985 recording)

Death Attack were only around less than a year, and this 7" compiles the 2 songs they recorded, plus an intro. It's pretty good mid-80's death/thrash, with a bit of an early Protector feel (probobly because it features members before they went on to later form that band). The production is nice and raw and it's just a great, concise EP. It's ripped from my own copy. Enjoy.

(sorry for the awful pictures)

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Holocausto - 1987 - Campo De Exterminio

NOTE: This is not the 128 kbps shitrate rip that is on soulseek (and I'm sure has made it's way onto other blogs). This is my own CD rip at 320 kbps.

Out of all those great 80's Cogumelo releases, this is definitely one of my favorites. The grimey production fits the music perfectly (although I'd prefer a thicker guitar tone), and still allows each instrument to breath. The vocals are similiar to what a lot of Brazilian bands were doing at the time, but that's a good thing. The riffing is probobly the best part of this album. It is a little atypical, but you just have to listen to them to really know what I'm talking about. The drums are pretty barbaric and simple, but they don't get boring or detract from the overall sound at all.

Like most 80's Brazilian death/thrash records, this album is great. It's a shame the band headed down the Sarcofago/Sepultura path and eventually started sucking.

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Kat - 1986 - 666 LP

This is an absolutely brilliant album. The music contained on this masterpiece is Satanic Polish speed metal, full of exceptional riffing, unique and harsh yet stunning vocalwork, thundering bass and simple, but precise, drumming. Each song has been simply, yet brilliantly assembled and shows that they don't need complicated song structures to demonstrate their genius song writing capabilities. Why do you think Kat have remained one of the most well known, influential and respected bands in Poland for all these years?

Really, this is an essential classic and every fan of true metal should have the chance to listen to it. I would put it up there with Don't Break the Oath, Show No Mercy, Seven Churches, Gates to Purgatory, and other such classics. It's THAT good.

Unfortunately, the only rip I have seen on the internet of this album is the 128 kbps CD rip and the "320" kbps TRANSCODE of the 128 kbps rip. Obviously, both sound like utter shit which no one should have to endure and to me is quite unbearable. So for all those who do not own a copy of this and have had to put up with the aforementioned shittiness, here is my own nice sounding vinyl rip of the LP, at a REAL 320 kbps bit rate. Enjoy.

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