Morbid Saint

Spectrum of Death

Written by: EW on 17/11/2012 17:12:30

The re-release of Morbid Saint's "Spectrum of Death" presents an opportunity for you and I alike to check out the merits of one of the late 80s B-League thrash/death acts, an act who have over the passing of time have faded into obscurity but for the support of an underground few, such is the long-termism in the metal underground.

The only album released by this bunch of Americans in 1988 before splitting and only very recently reforming (featuring just 2 of the original 5 members), "Spectrum of Death" is a chaotic blend of thrashy proto-death metal from a time when the boundaries of the two genres were being blurred by the likes of Death, Possessed, Sadus and Kreator. The eight songs here reveal a competent if anarchic take on the style that was similarly practiced and yet more subsequently recognised by Incubus (not that one…) and Demolition Hammer, and although I can't hold "Spectrum..." up to be a defining artefact of the genre it is a nice find from Relapse that shows how drastically the genre has changed down the years.

Opener "Lock Up Your Children" through "Assassin" and beyond demonstrate how youthful vigour at the time could be recorded in spit and sawdust, allowing the manic metal drive of a young group of guys to shine through on record rather than the soulless, sanitised, mechanical product of most equivalent acts of today. The only track to slow things down, the 1 minute instrumental title track perfectly encapsulates the playing and recording abilities of the band which were nothing compared to the supreme skill of Death (who shared band manager with Morbid Saint at the time) but all around are riffs teetering on the edge of chaos and song structures that at the time would have been rivalling some of the faster acts around, long before triggered drums would drive tempos into the sky.

The production may be far from 'perfect' and not to everyone's liking but the result is a more honest band and their potential presented, which when displayed through the snarl and blast of any of these tracks is infinitely more aggressive and metal than a bog-standard 2012 21st Century release. Does not come with any bonus tracks but is a nice peek into the past of a band who slipped through the net.

Download: Assassin, Burned at the Stake, Damien
For The Fans Of: Demolition Hammer, Sadus, Incubus
Listen: Facebook

Original release date: 02.09.1988
Rerelease date: 19.06.2012
Relapse Records

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