RESURRECTIONS
Unearthing the latest metal reissues
TYNESIDE TERRORS VENOM occupy a special place in our hearts, effectively birthing extreme metal with their gloriously crude, wild racket. Demo collection Sons Of Satan (BMG) [8] reveals the infernally ordained Cronos/mantas/abaddon line-up in their earliest, crudest, wildest form, joined by a short-lived vocalist named ‘Jesus Christ’, whose belched ejaculations effectively represent metal’s first death grunt. The boombox-taped 1979 Church Hall rehearsals sound abysmally primitive, but remaining sessions ring out loud and clear. Filled with raw, embryonic takes on future OTT classics, the whole experience feels akin to handing round thrash’s blurry baby photos.
The Geordie trio’s impact was particularly profound on Japan’s avant-masters SIGH; four live Venom covers are included on Peaceville’s two-disc reissue of 1993 debut, Scorn Defeat [9], one of the era’s most singular black metal artefacts. Already experimenting with unorthodox sounds and structures, blending haunted-house atmospheres with a playful eccentricity, it’s clear why Sigh so impressed Norwegian BM’S ‘Inner Circle’.
Following Sigh’s lead, by 1999 the metal landscape had become a far more diverse, experimental place. Portugal’s MOONSPELL had begun as folk-bm, gone goth to much acclaim, before confounding expectations again with The Butterfly Effect (Napalm) [7], reintroducing heavy guitars and harsh vocals alongside mechanical beats, industrial synths and a more cold, clinical aura. It doesn’t always work, but it was a bold relaunch from a band keen to keep moving forward.
A year later, Gothenburg scene leaders IN FLAMES
were similarly keen to move on from the Swedeath ear-candy of their 90s work, and 2000’s Clayman
(Nuclear Blast) [7] was a concerted heave up the greasy pole of mainstream accessibility. Further diluting the death metal influence, mixing melodic Maidenisms with nu metal grooves, Anders Fridén alternating between goth croaks and caustic metalcore yelps, Clayman
provided In Flames with some of their catchiest material, although after the first three monster tunes (each reprised as new re-recordings, Anders putting a bit more effort in) it does slightly flatten out.
CHRIS CHANTLER