Depending on which extreme metal fan one speaks to, an eternal debate rages as to whether
Death's debut offering or Possessed's 1985 LP, Seven Churches, is the first true death metal album.
Scream Bloody Gore may have been released two years later, but it's the winner: It contains all of the elements that came to define the genre.
Scream Bloody Gore is the brainchild of late bassist, guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter Chuck Schuldiner. He and drummer Chris Reifert deliver a lyrically grotesque, exceedingly violent set of tunes based on massive, brutal riffs, insanely fast double-kick drumming, and walloping, clean, hyperkinetic basslines in a mix produced by
Randy Burns that is savage and raw. While this pair were no doubt influenced by hardcore punk, early
Metallica, and
Slayer, they took it to an entirely different level. These guys were keen on cutting the most brutal, album ever -- they actually recorded it twice, in Florida and Los Angeles -- and succeeded in creating a testament to pure rage. Schuldiner's screaming, roaring vocals are as memorable as his composing and playing. Opener "Infernal Death" commences with a slow-ish, doomy intro, but hits the meltdown zone within 30 seconds. The guitar break is utterly unhinged, matched by breakneck snare and machine-gunning double-kick drums. The twin guitars that open "Zombie Ritual" are almost majestic, but when it inevitably accelerates, a knotty, taut bassline adds another dynamic dimension. The guitar and Reifert's off-kilter drums actually syncopate, foreshadowing "technical death metal." "Denial of Life" is chaotic and ferocious; it sounds like it starts in the middle and doesn't relent, even in the breakdowns. The primitive riffing in "Sacrificial" is multiplied in force by Reifert's triple-time drumming. Schuldiner's wiry, razored guitar break sounds like the opening of the gates of hell. "Evil Dead"'s intro is nearly cinematic, with Schuldiner's guitar line simulating something akin to a church organ, but quickly shifts gears toward crunching riffs and blasting chord progressions. His bassline plays the changes and bridges of guitar and drums, adding an extra bottom layer.
Scream Bloody Gore endures not only as the first true death metal album, but as a classic document that signaled the genre's transformation. [Relapse concludes their
Death reissue program with a deluxe presentation, in several formats, of
Scream Bloody Gore. This triple-disc version was remastered from original tapes by
Alan Douches. It features the released album on disc one, a second that contains the oft-bootlegged Florida sessions (eight cuts), and ten rehearsals rehearsals from August 1986. The third and final disc contains 13 earlier rehearsals from May. There are extensive new liner notes by Reifert,
Burns, and
Sepultura's
Max Cavalera.] ~ Thom Jurek