Review Summary: Death's "Scream Bloody Gore" is still offensive almost 30 years down the road.
Oh, boy...Where to start with this abomination (in a good way!)? If a suburban white Christian mother (i.e. my beloved friend A.J. Cook! YES, THAT A.J. Cook...and no, I don't live in L.A.) 's worst fears were to ever befall her child, this record is the sonic adaption of such fears. Nearly 30 years down the road, this album is keeping Christians and ear-candy enthusiasts like Eddie Trunk out of real metal. Chuck Schuldiner honestly didn't know how groundbreaking this album would be when it was released in 1987, evidenced by how modest he was about his position in death metal.
Building off of the blueprint set by Slayer's "Reign In Blood" in 1986, this album starts off strong with tracks like "Zombie Ritual", and "Denial of Life"; vicious tracks with violent lyrics about getting intoxicated on blood and committing sacrificial suicide. It was lyrics like these along with a sound that combined the technical side of albums like "Hell Awaits" with the sheer brutality of a record like "Reign In Blood" that set Death apart from any band that had come before. Parents had no longer to fear Neo-Nazism and black magic rituals from teenagers due to influence from heavy metal; now they had to ignorantly live in fear of murder due to influence from heavy metal.
The guitars display an unusual amount of technical skill, even for a death metal record. Obviously, as Death was ever-evolving, this was a precursor to the more intricate riffing that would be utilized on the releases from the 90s. The riffing is ominous, as any good death metal riffing should be, and the distortion creates a demonic atmosphere, an atmosphere that would be furthered by Morrisound Studios' own Scot Burns on future albums.
The bass is audible, which is rare for any death metal record I've heard. This naturally is a plus, it adds a nice backbeat to the music, which is necessary, and furthers the already terrifying atmosphere. Chuck played bass on this album, so I don't think there's much else to say about it, other than I think that despite the bass being most audible on an album such as this, it lacks the creativity that a bassist such as Steve DiGiorgio would incorporate on Death's 90s records. Then again, this is death metal, not tech-death, so I guess it really doesn't matter all that much.
Chris Reifert has to be one of the most underrated drummers of all time, even given his contributions to Autopsy. He also happens to be a pioneer of the death/ doom style, a genre which would go on to branch out into the more lush and evolved gothic metal sound. Although the drumming is a little monotonous, the same goes for the instruments; this is death metal. It's complex, yes, but also focused on speed and brutality. No need to masturbate your axe on a death metal record, or go all Bam-Bam on the drums like the Flintstones character does when he sees Pebbles.
The vocals are actually probably the most savage I've ever heard. They're not only tortured and evil, they're also double-layered, which makes them sound even more sinister and builds atmosphere within itself. Chuck's ability to hit a higher range and retain shrieks of suffering on tracks like "Denial of Life" while at the same time retaining a death metal snarl as opposed to a black metal scream is something very few death metal vocalists can actually pull of effectively, but Chuck doesn't even break a sweat doing it. My adorable fiancée, who's the only good thing I have, and is a pretty die-hard fan of metal such as Iron Maiden and Slayer herself, told me the vocals were one of the reasons she'll never be into extreme metal. Mission accomplished, my love; mission accomplished.
In closing, if you are not a scene kid, if you listen to real metal and are interested in embracing extreme music and mindset, this is the album to start with. This was the first true extreme metal record, and it's still causing intolerant, cross-bearing soccer moms on the PTA to cringe in terror nearly 30 years down the road. This record is a timeless classic, and never gets old.
-Morgan LeFay
