#37: Death - Scream Bloody Gore

One of the first death metal albums ever released (Possessed's Seven Churches probably takes the trophy for the absolute first), Death's Scream Bloody Gore sounds a lot less like a guy figuring out a new genre and more like something already fully-imagined. Chuck Schuldiner, Death's only member from start to finish, a la Nine Inch Nails, kicks things off with a complete grasp if what he wants to create. Writing about Scream Bloody Gore tends to present it as a much more primitive, perhaps boneheaded predecessor to the progressive and experimental touches that would later define the band's more storied output, but from my perspective, this record is just as accomplished as almost everything the band would release up until Sound of Perseverance, an album that's essentially an era unto itself.

"Evil Dead" opens with the same sort of restrained melodic flair the band would later use on songs like "The Philosopher" and "Lack of Comprehension," so it's apparent that Chuck knew what he was doing from the start. The opening track, "Infernal Death," rages just as hard and with as much precision as anything found on Human or Symbolic, and even though Schuldiner handles bass guitar duties here, something he'd never again do on a Death record, it all sounds fully constructed and as ably performed as could be desired.

In fact, the bass is actually pretty great - prevalent in the mix, thick and expressive. The only element that's a bit dated is the drumming, which is more a fault of the production process than the performance. This was before people like Scott Burns and Colin Richardson came around and figured out how to actually record death metal drumming without it blowing out the consoles, so everything is reduced to a distant rumble.

Death would definitely put out better records that Scream Bloody Gore, sadly reaching an early end with Schuldiner's death in 2001, just when it sounded like he was really pushing his boundaries. But pulling back all the way from this record, Death's first LP, and looking all the way down the line to Sound of Perseverance, it's undeniable that Death put together a discography that stands up to and surpasses any of the genre's greats.

"Denial of Life" live