Search - Various Artists :: Choosing Death

Forget High School Musical! This is a soundtrack!

Peter Azello | San Jose, California | 05/04/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Death and grind noobs...listen up. Maybe you have heard some death metal in your life. But, this compilation/soundtrack is the best compilation for the start of your death metal collection. Everybody is here. From Napalm Death to Cannibal Corpse to Morbid Angel, all the classics that have refined death metal and grind are here. This goes in collaboration with the great book by author Albert Mudrian, who wrote about the history of these two genre's in detail in his book "Choosing Death: The Improbable History of Death Metal & Grindcore". If you are a noob, and you don't know where to start in this big world of death metal, both this compilation and that book could give you a huge overview of the genres. All of the artists on here somehow influenced, started or pioneered death metal or grindcore. This is more of a death metal compilation, because with grind, there are only really 4-5 good bands (and three of them are here). The sub-genre's are also included, like gore-grind, melodic death metal and even some prog-metal. Compiler Albert Mudrian really knows good death and grind, because I don't even think I could have made a compilation this good.



The compilation starts off with Napalm Death's "Scum" from the album "Scum". That album created grindcore, (also Napalm Death's debut) so of course you have to lead off with that. That was the perfect choice from their grind days. Siege and Repulsion follow, and these two songs are definitely on my play list. Then, probably the most renounced death metal band, Morbid Angel. They could have chose a better song, maybe "Rapture", but "Chapel Of Ghouls" is still a great song. Nihilist follows, and they are also one of my favorite death metal bands. Obituary's "Slowly We Rot" and Deicide's "Lunatic Of God's Creation" follow. Both these bands are from the Florida area, and they pioneered the genre way back in the 80's and 90's. I credit Obituary's "Slowly We Rot" as a founder of death metal. Another Napalm Death song "Suffer The Children" is probably the best known song by them, and it sounds great live. Then Cannibal Corpse. "Hammer Smashed Face" is my all-time favorite death metal song, and even had its shot at mainstream success when it was featured in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.



The second-half of the album is more melodic then the first half. Carcass' "Heartwork", which is when they went melo-death, is a great choice. Then, the founder's of melo-death...At The Gates. They put "Need" on here, but I would have liked to see maybe "Suicide Nation" or "Blinded By Fear". No big deal. Death and Opeth, the most two talented bands in the genre, are both represented also, and two great songs by two great bands. If you don't like thee guys, you don't like death metal. "Dead Smart" by Brutal Truth and "Powers That Be" by Hate Eternal are next, and both of these bands rock my socks. Both of these songs are classics, and both bands essential. Pig Destroyer follows, and these guys are sick. My second-favorite grind band, just because they are loud, fast and crazy. The legendary Arch Enemy and Zyklon come next, and Arch Enemy is a great melo-death band that everybody probably knows about. Nile, who incorporates Egyptian themes, come next with "Sarcophagus", one of their best songs, and the album closes with a live Suffocation track.



For the noobs, this album is a must have if you want to find the best of death metal and grindcore. Also, pick up Slayer's "Reign In Blood" for the influences of death metal. I am very surprised Possessed didn't make the cut, but they have been underrated their whole existence, and "Seven Churches" by them is considered the first death metal album. With bands like Death, Opeth, At The Gates, Suffocation, Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel, Deicide and countless other legends, you cannot go wrong with this. As for the veterans of death metal, you probably own all of these songs somewhere, so it is mostly useless. Listen to these songs with an open-mind. If you are tired of the same old MTV metal-core, nu-metal and pop music that climbs the charts and reigns supreme in mainstream music, then pick up this cheap compilation for some of the most brutal stuff ever recorded. That is, if you have the taste for the extreme!



OTHER RECOMMENDED DEATH METAL NEWBIE ALBUMS:

Slayer - "Reign In Blood"

Possessed - "Seven Churches"

Obituary - "Slowly We Rot"

Death - "Human"/"Symbolic"/"Individual Thought Pattern"

Cannibal Corpse - "Tomb Of The Mutilated"



OTHER RECOMMENDED GRIND NEWBIE ALBUMS:

Napalm Death - "Scum"

Pig Destroyer - "Prowler In The Yard"/"38 Counts Of Battery""