Return from Tomorrow

Denmark has a great history of having some great death metal bands in the last 30 years. I first discovered this band in 1994 when I bought this CD and it's really good. I still enjoy it today it stands up even now. These guys are more melodic nowadays but this EP is when they were brutal and catchy. Bo Sommer's vocals are killer on this he had a great voice that sounds a bit like Frank Mullen from Suffocation. The production is really great too you can hear every instrument nicely. Pretty good for that time in the 90's when record productions weren't all that polished for extreme metal...whether that was intentional or not. It doesn't take away from the brutality it just sounds great and the guitars are big it's nice to hear.

It's a shame these guys weren't bigger in the death metal genre I think they could've been more recognized if they were on a bigger record label. Unfortunately small European labels back in the 90's didn't have the best distribution all over the world. That's why a lot of bands from that time get passed over and it stinks because there were some great releases back then. This is one of them it's a great EP that deserved more notice.

The songs are around the 5 minute mark but yet they have fantastic arrangements that keep you interested. You can definitely hear a lot of influences from the European style of death metal at that time... bands like Boltthrower, Autopsy and Gorefest sure come to mind. Illdisposed take that influence especially with the low tuned guitars and that chuggy riffing that reminds me of Boltthrower. Some great single note dark melodies interwoven in all these songs especially on the first one 'Depersonalization' which I think is the best song. A great mix of fast and some doomy riffs with some technical playing a bit. They don't have to be crazy with the technical playing and you can remember thses songs easily. That's what works the best when you have some technical playing but still have a great riff that has a hook. Some bands forget that and rely way too much on the technical playing. These guys have both elements and it's really good.

So here's another obscure death metal gem from 1994 that needs to be sought out by you old schoolers. I'm sure it's out there maybe not easy to find but if you do come across a copy get one. It's great and you'll be taken back to a time when death metal was more pure with solid riffing and some technicality. The band has great musicians too with some good arranging skills to craft a tune that can be brutal and heavy but catchy. They have some interesting lyrics as well. Very poetic lyrics on these songs that aren't your typical horror movie lyrics. It's great hearing some different lyrical ideas that are about other subjects that make you think a bit. They may be hard to understand but it's a breath of fresh air in the lyric department. You got to give them props for not going down that route of gory lyrics like most death metal bands do. These lyrics seem to have some questions about religion that I thought were really thought provoking.

Seek it out my friends it's always great to discover a lost gem from the 90's that you might have missed. You never know what you'll find when you dig deep and come across some old records that turn out to be gems. This is one of them most definitely.