What's the worst demo tape you've ever heard from an established band? Any metal band counts as long as they aren't a bedroom black metal project or obscure 80's thrash band who only spent 6 months together. I'd say the Burzum demo has to be one of the worse I've heard. The sound quality is unlistenable, I can hardly make out the individual instruments.

Amebix and Discharge both started out with ridiculously godawful demos for one. Both sound like the result of trying (and failing) to teach people with Down's syndrome how to play like the Sex Pistols.

I've had a similar thread once and I started it based on the very first Obituary demo that they released as Executioner, Metal Up Your Ass, which is just indescribably idiotic, it's like they had a crystal ball and could foresee the existence of 00s "pizza thrash" in all detail and managed to release a demo in the style two decades before it actually became a thing. The very first retro-thrash release, released in 1986!!

First Skepticism is also a total wtf moment compared to all that followed, basically has nothing to do with what they're known for and is just annoying ultra-generic gothy death/doom, and seriously bad at that.

Wasn't it Morgoth who started out almost sounding like speed metal or some shit like that on their first demo? I know it was one of those second tier but moderately well known old school death metal bands that had some beginnings in speed metal-tinged thrash.

Honourable mention for not being a demo but an EP, that very first Vulcano release, what THE FUCK?

That Burzum demo has always sounded fine to me, and very listenable (and worthy to listen to) actually. Then again, I spent my youth & adolescence in practice rooms, recording every jam session on a boombox, so I'm really used to listening to lo-fi recordings. Check out Disclose's side of their split EP with Homomilitia for an example of even worse audio quality: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIm_Kmi1zw8.

As for major bands with terrible sounding demos, none come to mind right now.

Can't be Morgoth, their demo is pretty much pure death metal (and awesome). Not quite as well known, but you might be thinking of Ceremonial Oath during their Desecrator days, as their demo is pretty weak thrash/speed with pretty hilarious vocals (the scream at 0:31 ).

I can see how people enjoy it, more power to them for finding something there that I couldn't but I didn't enjoy a second of it. It does have a hypnotic quality but that's all I can really say in its favour. Most of Burzum's output afterwards was really good anyway, so it isn't a huge deal that Varg's first recording doesn't appeal to me.

Could also be that UK death/doom band Nocturnal Visions, they definitely started out that way, but I thought it was something more famous than that. Thanatos maybe?

I often listened to that demo not only for that scream, but also the equally hilarious break in the first song where the drums go solo ... so technical, so demanding!

Gotta be Pure Fucking Armageddon

I'd agree. The reissues including them was a bad idea.

I think every band starts awful.
Lot of people around think it´s very shitty.
But i,can wonder an album with this sound.

And how can that be the "worst" if it's a normal rehearsal room demo like thousands of others? It's the band recording their songs on a tape recorder, I've heard countless demos exactly like it. What is it that makes it special?

I wish I still had my collection of demos from tape trading days. One of my least favorite demos is Deicide's. Can't stand Glens vocals and I am so glad that he changed his vocal style by their first release. Plus all of the music is hyper fast. They had a lot of fast hammer on hammer offs on the guitars, which made them sound like Iron Maiden on speed. Which was actually really cool at the time, but I like the direction they went.

probably the vocals on PFA. huge turn-off for many people, I suppose. personally I think it a great demo with some greast musicianship considering their age and the extremity of the music.

Celtic Frost "Prototype" demo, from 2002. Sometimes I still have to wonder if they're just trolling people with stuff like that and "Cold Lake". But that said, I don't think they were.

We have a winner.

Prototype was garbage. Cold Lake was better, at least it was metal and not a failed attempt at hip hop.

I haven't been this sick listening to a release, since the first and last time I heard St. Anger.

Most bands didn't take crappy rehearsal room demos and release them as if they were serious demos intended for distribution. That being said, it still has its charms and some value.

well, we are talking about major bands here, some of these bands aren't that well known (so I guess it depends on how "Major" you define "major bands.")

From what I've heard, the first couple recordings of Rotting Christ were noise punk recorded onto a boom box in their living room, and they literally had only just started playing their instruments. They were all around 16, 17 at the time, allegedly. You could check them out on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HgQhzw05jE
I mean, it's not even listenable at this point. Just sounds like kids fucking around making noise. "Decline's Return" is a little better, the songs are more structured at least, but really not that much better.

Nuclear Assault's "Game Over" is a great thrash album, but the first demo that came before it is really crappy: the songs are about half the speed as on the record, the playing is sloppy, John can't sing, and they had a lead guitarist that didn't know the first thing about playing lead guitar- needless to say they fired him shortly after the demo came out.

I heard that "Prototype" Celtic Frost release and yeah, it was not good. It sounded like Tom just experimenting in the studio and I'm not sure if he ever intended that to be heard. I give some props to bands who experiment, but also hold them accountable if their experiments are failures. That recording was one colossal epic failure; St. Anger and even "LuLu" are actually far superior.

The early demos of Sodom and blood (Germany) are pretty bad from what I remember.

Read through this thread last night, and just want to say that that scream is killing me

To echo, Celtic Frost's Prototype is something worse than garbage.

Sodom were one of a number of famous bands I thought of that released demos no better sounding than Pure Fucking Armageddon. The Kreator demos as Tormentor or the Death demos as Mantas aren't exactly known for their flawless studio production, either.

People had to put demos from bands like Mayhem and Sodom in context before bashing them. I know they sound like horseshit, but that's what the bands where capable to offer at the begining of their careers with strictly limited resources and little to no money to recording equipment, and those rehearsal demos where made just to spread the band's name and make some fuzz in the tapetrading scene enough to get some attention from other metalheads, fanzines and maybe some underground record labels.

As for a really, really shitty demo, i'll say that Exumer's "Whip And Chains" is one of the fucking WORST things i have heard in my miserable life. Is incredible that the band that make the classic "Possessed By Fire" had vomited such bullshit, and whats worse is that "Whip And Chains" came after "Rising From The Sea"!!! Ironically, their first demo ("A Mortal In Black") is very good.

Just listen to those vocals. Is the most boring thing ever. Also, the fact that there are some very cool riffs in it make it's worse... such wasted potential.

P.D: "Bloodlust And Perversion" it's the only Carpathian Forest i like, honestly, and is one of my favorite Black Metal demos ever.

Also, Impetigo's "All We Need Is Cheese" can be this for some people. I love it, its so juvenile and naive that is gold to my ears, but i understand when people say its shit, because it's shitty hardcore-crossover and not the grindcore madness we love. Still deserves a listen through.

I actually liked some songs from the Prototype demo, Beautiful End was cool, Totgetanzt had a great dark atmosphere, Deep Inside, The Dying I, and Human Dit really amazed me too. Does anyone know where I can listen to the Probe and Dark Matter Manifest demos? The Ground demo was great to listen to.

Prototype all the way. More people need to be aware of this abomination.

Could someone please provide a bit of background info re. Prototype?

I always assumed that "Prototype" was not so much a Celtic Frost release, as just a Tom Warrior solo project; basically just him experimenting in the studio with different sounds and ideas. I don't know if it was even intended to be an official Celtic Frost release, or if it was even intended to be released at all! Or if anyone other than Tom himself (and maybe a couple hired studio flunkies) was even involved with the project. But I can't say for sure. This release has always been a bit mysterious.

I mean, if you listen to that song on it's own, it isn't that bad (I wouldn't call it good though), but coming from the band that did To Mega Therion and Monotheist, yeah, it's a total mindfuck.

Hip Hop Jugend is an atrocious song, even for German rap standards of this time.
The lyrics are just awful and I envy everybody who doesn't understand, what MC Tom G. is "rapping" there.
The hook "Uh Baby, äh Baby, leck mich am Arsch - Uh Baby, äh Baby, ich blas' dir den Marsch" is painfully terrible either.

that's truth right there.

several of the moonblood rehearsals are much inferior to the others.

Mystic Circle - Dark Passion

Still haunts me to this day.

I never heard it but it can only be their best release.

Yes, the Sodom demos sound like horseshit indeed! They were the first ones that came to my mind when reading the thread title. They are important (and "kvlt") but - at least to me - they're unlistenable though I can enjoy both polished, sugary power metal and raw, dirty, grimy black/thrash/... metal. Not bad actually but the sound is horrible. However I respect Sodom for their early work and you're definitely right.

Sure, it's not nearly as good as Aeothe Kaear, but I wouldn't say among the worst

Absurd's early demos were horrible as are many demos but I think the trajectory of these works to the final polished results really showcases some good songwriting. For example, most people would look at the Lost Wisdom demo as complete trash but clearly there was enough substance to turn it into a staple track of the Burzum discography. This is what separates junk from gold to me and why I will give demos a complete chance instead of writing them off based on sound quality.

Been mentioned on here before, but Behemoth's demos are crap. Out of time and just plain shitty. Its amazing how good they got so quickly after.

i love prototype Tom is just fucking around and having fun on that demo. Its like the audio equivalent of a really absurd red dwarf episode or something.

The legend Tom G. Warrior taking a chance in Rap/Hip Hop?
I need to listen this
Also,the Angel Corpse's demo has a beautiful and simple cover artwork , but shitty sound too.

Whiplash's demos when they were known as Jackhammer were fucking atrocious, although the second one showed significant improvement. The first one is unlistenable in the most hilarious sense though.