OK, for those that don't know, this is a collection of material from an early (is 1989-91 early? - damn, I'm old) band of people who went on to form Immortal, Hades Almighty, and Burzum. Perhaps a couple others too, but that is all that is mentioned in the booklet, and I'm too lazy to investigate further. Anyway, this is, for me at least, further proof that there is something evil (which is .. um, good) in Scandinavian water. The beginning tracks are thrashy in a Merciless sort of way, which rocks. As the tracks get newer, they move into a raw death metal vein, with clear indications of the Norwegian black metal to come. And the kicker is that it is all rather original and it is all good. Production is decent and raw - not thin and trebly which became a trademark of the genre, but raw nonetheless. This disc, Darkthrone's "Soulside Journey" and the 1991 CBR compilation "Projections of a Stained Mind" are wonderful illustrations of the blackened roots of those who gave birth to the Scandinavian black metal scene of the early 1990's and should be sought out with all due diligence.

© 2000 j. mcintyre