Into Cold Darkness

Like many others, my introduction to Vital Remains was with their breakthrough album, "Dechristianize". It was hailed all over as a "death metal classic" and while I enjoyed the album a lot, after time the constant speed got to be annoying. There was little to no variety; everything was constant blast-beating, and the album's ridiculously thin, trebly production took away from the experience. I usually have to listen to the album with the bass boost on its highest setting.

The thing is, people were praising this band as the best thing since canned beer, when they had no idea Vital Remains was no newcomer to the death metal scene. They formed in 1989 in Rhode Island, around the same time period as most other well-known death bands. I felt compelled to explore the band's back catalogue, so I ordered "Into Cold Darkness", which was released by Peaceville in 1995. Also, a nice "fuck you" to Peaceville for the shoddy re-issue package. Aside from the tracklisting, there were barely any credits at all. But listening to this album, I can safely say I prefer their earlier period, by far, to their Glen Benton era. The album starts off with the ominous bells of "Immortal Crusade", which breaks down into a dark, sinister marching pace midsong, backed with clashing gongs and atmospheric keyboards. Jeff Gruslin's voice may not be as deep as Benton's, but he does an adequate job and even uses some double-tracking in some areas. "Under The Moon's Fog" has a main riff which sounds a LOT like the slow, creepy riff from Mayhem's "Freezing Moon". The keyboards add a cold, black metal-type atmosphere to this song. Tony Lazaro's guitar work was fairly competent at this point, and from here he'd begin to develop his epic, flashy leads. The music reminds me of Suffocation in spots, as well as early Bathory and Celtic Frost The bass, done by Tom Supkow I believe, is also audible in spots. Drumming is your typical death metal double-bass, hammer-to-your-skull attack. The production is decent, standard production for mid-nineties death metal. "Crown of the Black Hearts" is one of the faster songs on here, as with "Scrolls of a Millenium Past". The album as a whole speeds up towards the end, with the short, speedy, insane sounding "Angels of Blasphemy". The album could be longer, but with songs this good, the length is a minor gripe. There are also two covers; a cover of Celtic Frost's "Dethroned Emperor" and Venom's "Countess Bathory".

This album stands apart from other death metal albums. There's more of an emphasis on atmosphere and groovy, thrashier riffs, whereas their most recent albums seem to focus on speed for speed's sake. So if you're curious to the beginnings of Vital Remains, I recommend this album.