
LIVING DEATH - Protected From Reality / Back To The Weapons CD
Comes in a regular plastic case with black tray housed in a slipcase box.
Includes a 4-page booklet and poster.
It had not been an easy road for Germany’s Living Death. Their 1984 debut album Vengeance Of Hell could possibly have beaten Metallica’s debut out of the gate chronologically as a thrash metal milestone, but weak sound and performances hampered it. Their second album Metal Revolution was similarly compromised, and being on a nowhere label like Mausoleum was at the time didn’t help them. But by 1986’s Back To The Weapons EP it was clear that a more serious tact had been adopted by the band, and their rather slack thrash metal style was being overhauled.
Thus, this album deserved to be much bigger news than it was, as it brought Living Death into the death metal realm of Sodom and Kreator with no lack of ability or power present. True, singer Thorsten Bergmann had always had a tough voice to love, but here the material is abrasive enough to make his distorted wails make contextual sense. A much heavier and darker sound job cranks the guitars and bass up, allowing the fast and tight outbursts of “Horrible Infanticide” and “Vengeance” to ring true. “Manila Terror” and “Intruder” are similarly strong, while the instrumental “Wood Of Necrophiliac” reveals some playing skills within the band that were heretofore unknown.