Genre - Death Metal
| 1. | The Truth | ||
| 2. | Mangled Dehumanization | ||
| 3. | Re-entry and Destruction | ||
| 4. | Pay to Die | ||
| 5. | The Final Conflict | ||
| 6. | Man Killed America/Embryonic Misconceptions | ||
| 7. | Pervert | ||
| 8. | Remorseless Poison |
Death Strike need little introduction to anyone who would
consider themselves seasoned in the realm of death metal, the legendary Paul Speckmann’s
debut foray into the genre has garnered
pretty much cult status now as a genre classic and not without good reason.
This reissue of 1991 album by Dark Descent compiles the debut demo from ’85 together
with four other tracks for the rather aptly titled Fuckin’ Death, and being brutally honest, could you possibly have a
more suitable description for the sensory annihilation present on this disc?
It’s that fact that half this material was recorded back
in the mid eighties that really makes it stand out, death metal was still in
its infantile stages back then with extreme metal making a transition between the
crust influenced filth of Hellhammer and the ilk to a more brutal strain with
bands like Possessed and Slaughter emerging out of the underground with a
significantly more potent and brutal form of metal unlike anything heard
before, and when you realise it came out at the same time as two monumental
releases by the aforementioned bands you wonder why the fuck it never got quite
as much attention as it was just as influential if not more so than those
classics.
In case you’re one of the unenlightened still wondering
who the fuck Death Strike are, Fuckin’
Death was essentially just the first Master album under a different
moniker, and if you ask me, along with Master’s debut and possibly On the Seventh Day are the only things
worth owning by Speckmann. The first four tracks as previously mentioned are
from 1985 and astonishingly ahead of their time. It’s basically ‘Hellhammer on
crack’, fast brutal and utterly primal Death Metal with that huge hardcore
influence shining through. Paul’s vocals are a maniacal and wretched reverbed
howl that just add to the chaos conjured with Kirk’s unbridled leads, the d-beat
styled drumming and thundering, bowel shaking bass. Songs like “Pay to Die” and
“Re-Entry and Destruction” are impossible not to like, it’s extreme metal
heaven (or hell, whichever you prefer), straight-forward, catchy and downright
punishing.
The next four tracks are noticeably different; “The Final
Countdown” starts off with a doomy dirge and forgoes flat out speed for a
suffocating heaviness that certainly hints at a change in thinking within the
band, also evident in the increased length of the songs. “Man Killed America”
follows much the same pattern while “Pervert” presses a little harder on the gas
while closer “Remorseless Poison” reverts back to that ominous onslaught of
bass driven death. And if like me you got your hands on the vinyl copy you also
get a bonus 7” of rehearsal tracks which are a nice addition albeit nothing to
write home about.
It’s the lo-fi shoddy execution and production of the
whole thing which adds so much character to this release and so many others
from the same time frame, a character and feeling which is sadly lost on today’s
tech and blast obsessed bands. In my books Fuckin’
Death is pretty much a classic of primitive death metal and when you
consider when it originally was released that makes it all the more spectacular,
and now that it’s finally seen a re-release it makes obtaining a copy something
that won’t cause your bank account to have a fit.
9/10
Sounds like - Master, Hellhammer, Possessed
Originally written for Dead Void Dreams
No comments:
Post a Comment