This album stood the test of time. It passed without loosing its power. A power that consists in brutality, smooth parts, technical skills, creativity.
In fact this is an album out of its time a bit. I remember getting the hands on a cassette copy back in the day, and honestly…I hated it, very much. Such an ugly music and that voice was very annoying – I just didn’t got it. All this in the context of death metal still situated in the Zeitgeist of the classical death metal. Where productions were well established, when there was not embellished and “jazzy” progressive death a thing, to be considered. In a way it was an “alien” release, an album which not many got it right, including myself and back then, it seems, that also the label did’n too…
Only recently I found out the story about the album, where band said it was dismissed by label then because the whole extreme metal scene was low and changing, and not many were investing anymore in death metal releases.
About the trend, the scene, I can confirm there was a time when grunge took over, or other styles like “g’n’r”style rock, so there was not much hope for financial success for death metal albums then. Also around 1994-1995 the whole extreme metal scene changed quite a lot sound-wise – maybe as a means to contra-attach the other waves. So the productions in much of the big metal houses, transitioned to a more open sound, more commercial aim, more sensitive, inclusive, more round sound, to their releases. Much of the grind bands turned to death metal for example.
I am pretty much sure that this was the mode the band means that this album got caught into. But apart from that…man, I hated this album. From its progressive side, I could not stand the voice at all. It took me some years, to approach it again. I am pretty sure, time then caught it too. I was also more accustomed to technical metal so I changed too. Then I began to like it, more and more. It is even nowadays on rotation, as I got the vinyl release a few years back and recorded it on a C90 tape along with another gem of that period. Also got the CD version in collection, so I can prove my total worship, today, for this special album.
To conclude: it was ahead of its time a bit. Label did not got it right, DM people found it progressive, with a voice…well not really DM guttural as it used to be. Back then, there were changing times, around 1994-95 there was an overall change in production on most of the metal bands albums.
So if you did not got it then, you definitely should try it today. This is a DM jewel.
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