Demos 1991-1993

Thanks to the rise and rise of the Internet, small, short-lived projects are becoming uncovered. Many bands with just demos/splits/EP’s are having compilations put together many years later in the hopes of getting any sort of recognition. One such band is this unknown death metal band from the United States called Blood of Christ. Releasing just two demos and an EP, they faded away into obscurity (not that they seemed popular in the first place), followed by the death of a couple of members. This particular compilation is dedicated to the memory of Tom Rojack, with his picture on the back cover.

All of their material is here, plus two unreleased tracks, and three live tracks at the end, so this is the full Blood of Christ experience. First four tracks are from Promo 1993, and these are some vicious songs. “Visions of Decay” and “Sacrilegious Saviour” are the mid-paced tracks, but lose none of their ferocity, where “Motivated by Disgust” and “Shed the Skin” are much faster, the latter having a healthy death/thrash feel. All of these songs are top quality death metal, and the production is dirty, yet everything is clear and punchy. The vocals from the late Rojack are shrieked with absolute power and precision, wrapping up the songs with an evil, blackened overtone. For these four songs alone, this compilation is totally worth the money, delivering some top-shelf death metal that’s old-school, filthy, riffs all over the place, and just plain awesome.

Tracks 5-7 come from the 7” EP released in 1992. After “I.N.R.I. (Intro),” you can hear the drop in production. It’s the same dirty feel as the first four tracks had, but here the guitars are a little quieter and flatter. The fuzz and grime are still present, and the vocals are still as ferocious as ever, if a little more buried in the mix. “Blood Runs Red” is a mid-to-fast-paced monster with a lovely solo in the middle, where “Slaughter of the Innocent” mostly picks up the speed, with even some subtle synths which sound amazing in context. I prefer “Blood Runs Red” from this EP, and the intro means that there are really only two tracks on offer. However, to have it included in this compilation without any modification is the way it should be done.

The next two are unreleased versions of “Visions of Decay” and “Shed the Skin” from the 1993 demo. These two definitely have a flatter production, and I greatly favour the demo versions to these. The band was reportedly unhappy with the production of these, which is why they were unreleased to begin with, and it shows. The bass drum is immeasurable and the guitars are a little too dropped for my liking, but, again, their inclusion here is welcomed to give listeners the complete package.

Rounding out the studio tracks are the five songs from the 1991 demo, which take up the most running time. Production here is a little better than the unreleased tracks preceding, and the bass drum is back, even if just slightly. The songs here are slower than tracks like “Shed the Skin,” and these ones have a far more death/thrash feel. Even the vocals – while still vicious and scathing – don’t sound as blackened as they would on later releases. Blood of Christ seemed to begin as a more death/thrash entity (considering the band itself started from the end of Civil Disobedience, a more thrash metal band), but that doesn’t lower the quality of these tracks. “Plagues Revel in Suffering” has some cool riffing, and “Essence of the Soul” has some slow chugging followed by some thrash nastiness that works in tandem. All five are great examples of old-school death/thrash with passion.

Unfortunately for the compilation, it really should’ve ended there. The last three tracks are live tracks that are completely unlistenable. The sound quality is beyond tragic, and simply becomes a wall of semi-incomprehensible noise for the majority of the three tracks. Whatever cheap recording device they used was not smart, since it’s very difficult to get into these live variations.

That wraps up this compilation, which, unfortunately, was only limited to a paltry 200 copies. Thankfully, for the majority of people that missed out, it has been re-released again in 2012 without the live tracks and with the unreleased tracks at the end instead of in the middle, which might make this experience even better again. The artwork there is a better representation of this one, too, so for interested fans, that might be the one to go for. Nevertheless, this compilation is a must-have for fans of quality death metal. The first four tracks are my personal favourite, with the live tracks being the worst, but none of the recorded material should be shunned. Hopefully Blood of Christ can get some recognition that was sadly lost during their formative years.