Review Summary: An entertaining blast of old school death metal straight from the source
Having formed as a Death tribute act, Left To Die’s debut album has a funny little loophole as it consists entirely of songs that Death had demoed but never appeared on any of their studio releases. While this move risks potentially opening a can of worms, I’m also the sort of diehard that’s always been intrigued to see how these songs would hold up in a more professional context. And with the lineup featuring Gruesome guitarist/vocalist Matt Harvey alongside bassist Terry Butler and guitarist Rick Rozz as Death alumni, it’s fair to say that such prospects are in safe hands.
The irony of Initium Mortis (do you get it?) is how it pairs such a convoluted backstory with no-nonsense death-thrash. It sounds exactly like you think it does, which is to say like Scream Bloody Gore with modern production and more rudimentary compositions. There’s an interesting contradiction at play as the presentation is inevitably more professional than the real band ever would’ve been during this era, but a tastefully intense production keeps things from getting too polished. The guitars alternates between razor sharp chugs and squealing divebombs, the bass gives the riffs a thick undercurrent, the drums are packed of blunt blasting, and Harvey’s resemblance to Evil Chuck’s signature growl remains uncanny.
And with these songs having been originally written by a group of eager teenagers four decades ago, it’s not surprising for them to sound so primitive. Beyond the occasional bursts of melodrama and the instrumental “Zombie,” the emphasis on blistering speeds and simple structures across two-ish minute average lengths can make it easy for tracks to sound alike. At the same time, there’s clear enthusiasm for the material and the simplicity helps the catchy parts shine through. I’m especially partial to the Celtic Frost-esque chug on “Legion Of Doom,” the ripping “Power Of Darkness,” the especially frenzied “Mantas,” and the closing rowdiness of “Death By Metal.”
Overall, Initium Mortis is an enjoyable exercise whose circumstances make for some interesting conundrums. As much fun as it is to consider how this album could’ve panned out had these songs been properly recorded back in the day, it’s also hard to imagine them defining death metal with the same fervor as Scream Bloody Gore or Leprosy. But taking the album for what it is, it’s an entertaining blast of OSDM that’s enough to show the new wave of bands how it’s done straight from the source. I’m not sure how much more material could be sourced from those old tapes, but I’ll be glad this turned out as well as it did.
