Sepultura

Beneath The Remains: Deluxe Edition

RHINO

A thrash classic rides again.

For so many metal fans, Beneath The Remains was the last great thrash record of the 80s. For some, no doubt, this 1989 album came to feel like the last great thrash record, full stop.

To all but the most dedicated underground metal watchers, the Brazilians’ surgically precise brand of intense speed seemed to come out of nowhere, despite being their third album. The quartet combined a cleanly heavy twin-guitar attack with a dash of death metal’s earthy brutality and truckloads of restless energy. Highlights like the title track, Inner Self and Mass Hypnosis all sound brilliantly like a band determined to impress the hell out of everyone with their first album for Roadrunner Records, without sacrificing any of the intensity they’d displayed on its feral predecessor, Schizophrenia.

While Sepultura’s unique identity would really bloom over the albums that followed, Beneath The Remains stands tallest for anyone who loves heads-down music.

Rather awkwardly, this Deluxe Edition marks the album’s thirtyfirst anniversary, as opposed to a nice round number, but nevertheless delivers quite a nice package, on either double CD or double orange vinyl. The first disc contains a remastered version of the album, while the second gathers a moderately exciting collection of previously unreleased ‘mixdown’ sessions from the making of the record, drum tracks and 1989 live recordings. It’s worth noting that the CD set packs in 31 tracks, compared with the vinyl’s paltry 19. ■■■■■■■■■■