LEFT TO DIE 'Initium Mortis'

LEFT TO DIE
Initium Mortis
Relapse Records

We live in an era where a lot of Classic Rock and Metal music is being appreciated more and more for its cemented roots and influence it’s had on various generations, both young and old. One of the key ways this is being done is a combination of the veterans still out there performing these songs, whether it’s their own or that of their peers, blended along with with some young-blood who recognize and understand how important it is to keep these legacies alive along with the idea that this music is crucial to generations to come. One Legacy in that of Chuck Shuldiner and the band DEATH, along with the MANY talented musicians who were on those albums or shared the stage with him, I truly believe this is a Legacy that should not and will not go away.

The Godfather and creator of Death Metal who left us too soon is currently being honored by a couple of live entities and 1 in particular is the band LEFT TO DIE who, recently signed to RELAPSE RECORDS, features DEATH alumni Rick Rozz (MASSACRE) who played with Chuck in a pre-DEATH incarnation known as MANTAS, and Terry Butler (OBITUARY, INHUMAN CONDITION) who appeared on 1990’s ‘Spiritual Healing’. Joining forces with these 2 badasses are Gore Metal pioneer Matt Harvey (EXHUMED) and GRUESOME bandmate, drummer Gus Rios. Their RELAPSE debut and first record together under this moniker entitled ‘Initium Mortis’ pays a great homage to very early brutal beginnings of not only Death Metal, but Chuck and DEATH. 

While this debut record isn’t original material, it is however material Rick Rozz had a hand in creating with Chuck in the early demo days with MANTAS and DEATH. Tracks on ‘Intium Mortis’ here are from the “Death By Metal” 1984 demo like ‘Legion Of Doom’, ‘Mantas’, ‘Death By Metal’, ‘Power Of Darkness’ and ‘Rise Of Satan’. Then you have ‘Archangel’ coming from the “Infernal Death” demo from 1985, and ‘Zombie’ which was a song only featured in live demos. Additionally including songs fromthe  “Reign Of Terror” 1984 demo with ‘Summoned To Die’, ‘Witch Of Hell’ and ‘Slaughterhouse’.

So as you can probably guess, and if you are a diehard DEATH fan, hearing these newly recorded songs can pull on your heart-strings a bit. As Matt Harvey would describe “a kind of ‘alternate-universe”, this trip back in time piggy-backs off the success of the live tours LEFT TO DIE had, performing the albums “Leprosy” and “Spiritual Healing”. They (along with DEATH TO ALL featuring Gene Hoglan and Steve DiGiorgio) do their best to bring back the nostalgia of those DEATH shows that many of us missed.

Now rating this was both unique and hard because you’re talking about material that only existed in the shadows and in the pockets of the die-hard tape traders back in the day. Demos that got passed around so much that after 6 degrees of separation, the quality of the recording had become so diminished. Thankfully somehow, and who knows how true to the originals, a lot of this material is available online on Bandcamp and through RELAPSE RECORDS. So while it’s great to hear all this unearthed music that Chuck and Rick and Kam Lee (MASSACRE) made, today’s modern recording and production technology can really hinder classic music, but as I’m listening to this in my in-ear-monitors, while it certainly sounds like a modern production, these songs themselves are a great display of the musicianship MANTAS/(pre)DEATH had in those early days. Gus’ drums were a tad over-produced as I wanted more depth in the drums (except for the bass drum which I think sounds great) and felt like the cymbals could have been pushed up a bit more, while a bit more reverb for an organic sound from the guitars which only really shows during the outstanding solos. Regardless, this is a great thing to put out and own, a piece of history not necessarily touched up but reproduced for longtime fans and those new to Chuck’s Legacy to experience either for the first time or all over again. 

4.5 Out Of 5.0