I picked this up when I was in the mood for a good vinyl 7" album of blackened death metal. It fulfilled most of those requirements except one. This is not a good release.This album is UGLY. The intensity is there, the riffs are there, the vocals are there, but none of this can be heard all that well. This is a live recording meaning that there will be some sort of a decrease in recording quality, but wow. The only thing that can be heard well at all are the drums.
The drums are a good place to start as that's the only instrument that can be heard all that well. The mic must be on top of the drum kit. The drums are played in fairly typical blackened death style, i.e. lots and lots of blasting. The snare is the most used piece with occasional work on the crash, high hat and the bass drum. The drummer is pretty much blasting the entire time except for the occasional breakdown when he plays some truly interesting fills. The snare often sounds like he's playing a tin can.
The vocals are typically encompassed by rasping shrieks. He sounds a little muffled, not as bad as some of the other instruments but it almost sounds as if he is screaming into a pillow.
The guitar riffs, when they can be heard, are actually pretty good. Fast, almost thrashy riffing played with a lot of intensity and power. There are no guitar solos evident. There may not even be a bass player despite what the liner notes read. The music is fairly standard blackened death with lots of blasting and ugly, jagged riffs. The songs are decent and the band would be interesting to hear on record.
This album is not recommended, except for completists. If someone wants to get into this band, go to their studio output instead.
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