Right to the Core

It is always interesting to hear bands that changed their style on a whim. Plenty of bands evolve slowly, but some switch overnight. I remember being (pleasantly) surprised upon hearing the first Ripping Corpse demo, "Death Warmed Over". I had always considered Ripping Corpse to be a technical-ish death metal band, yet their first demo showcased the same line-up making some tight, face-ripping thrash. Eternal Dirge underwent a similar transition in between their third and fourth demos. If anything, the difference between this demo and their next demo (and their subsequent debut album, "Morbus Ascendit") is more striking than it had been for Ripping Corpse.

This unimpressive recording will only be of interest to 80s thrash/crossover completists. The music could be described as a tame version of Tankard mixed with a tame version of The Misfits. Now, I love both of those bands, but both peaked years before Eternal Dirge even thought about making this demo. The songs here are passable, likeable thrash, but there is nothing to grab your attention like there was on "Chemical Invasion" or "Earth A.D.". The band whizz through these tracks but nothing stands out. The shadow of bigger German thrash bands looms large. Albums like "Extreme Aggression" and "Agent Orange" had come out a few months before this demo, which tells you everything you need to know about where Eternal Dirge were in the pecking order. These guys were thrash metal also-rans, who must have played the early slots at the local thrash shows when someone like Tankard or Kreator was headlining.

But the band were tight and proficient. There are a few good riffs, such as the one that sounds like it came from "Hell Awaits" (i.e., the slower one near the end of "Arachnophobia"). There are some hints of melody too, like the beginning of "Paralzyed". The band would use these seeds and develop them further in the years that followed. This demo is the basis for something better and more historically relevant. I get the impression that the guys in Eternal Dirge heard “Altars of Madness” and decided to change their approach. This process began on their next demo a year later, and then culminated on their excellent debut album in 1992. Don’t bother with this demo, but check "Morbus Ascendit" out, because it has been neglected for too long.