Wrath from the Unknown

Crematory's second tape is a continuation of the debut demo with improved song writing, musicianship and production. Anything that was missing from "The Exordium" was brought to the table on "Wrath from the Unknown". Musically, it's still very much in the dark, macabre style of the first tape; but the songs are better organized and more memorable as a result. The actual execution seems more energetic this time as well, especially from the drummer's side. It sounds like he's been practicing for ten hours every day since the last demo came out.

The biggest difference, however, is in the production. Crematory finally managed to secure themselves a decent studio for this recording, and the result is amazing. This is exactly how a death metal demo should sound. The instruments are actually separate this time, as opposed to the spinning mass of noise and distortion that was "The Exordium". The highs on the drums are very audible, as is the bass guitar which does much more on this cassette than merely being a faceless contributor to the hollow muddiness. The vocals have equally improved, being much more out front and throaty here.

Once again, Crematory have put together four hymns of darkest brutality, perfectly prepared to immerse the listener in unimaginable horror and heaviness. As with the previous demo, the music here is a nod to the Finnish style of death metal. There weren't really any bands from Sweden in 1991 that sounded this extreme, with the exception of maybe Uncanny or Séance. The vocal tone and frequent use of blastbeats are especially uncharacteristic of Sunlight-style Swedish death, but what's great about these guys is that they know their limits and don't overdo it. The blasting is fucking cool, but it always stops at the right moment before becoming repetitive and soulless. As a result, each song provides a good balance of tempo. For every section of relentless chaos, there's a slower part that shudders with massiveness and misery.

My personal favorites include the title track "Wrath from the Unknown", which begins with an epic, droning doom metal riff very similar to the one used on the title composition of the debut tape. "Mastication" is another highlite, containing some catchy grindcore-like structures and a cool, bluesy guitar solo towards the end. That particular song was also used on the death metal compilation "Pantalgia" on M.B.R. Records, where it sounds even heavier than on cassette.

In my opinion, this is the last great release from Crematory. Whenever somebody mentions their name, it's "Wrath from the Unknown" that instantly appears in my head. This is the tape that defined their sound, the one that will be remembered for years to come... The later material, while not completely horrible, just seemed to get progressively worse. If you want to mangle your mind, this is the demo for you.