Mantas - Death by Metal
I’m surprised that Ray didn’t want to review this one since he got the original demos in a tape trade with Noah. HA! Just kidding, folks. He isn’t really that old. (We like to have fun here. Here’s my head shot.) All joking aside, I had prepared the obligatory history lesson regarding this reissued treasure, but I’d like to think the readers of Metal Curse don’t really need it. Everyone already knows that Mantas —”Evil” Chuck Schuldiner, Rick Rozz, Kam Lee— was pre-Death, and that Death arguably gave birth to our beloved Death Metal genre, right? Good. Glad to get that out of the way. For those of us not fortunate/ancient enough to possess the original tapes, Relapse has put this retrospective together which includes both the 4-song and 5-song versions of the Death by Metal demo, and the infamous “Rise of Satan” rehearsal, all from 1984. As an archaeological prize, this collection’s value is limitless. As hard as it is to believe, this was considered the most extreme music ever written and recorded at the time, and we shouldn’t forget that. But aside from its time-machine quality and historical importance, these recordings are pretty tough to sit through. It seems unfair and wrong to say this sounds like shit, but this sounds like shit. It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise considering it was recorded 28 years ago at a house in Orlando by three teenagers using the hubcap of a Dodge Aries and tin foil. Given those circumstances, maybe it sounds pretty damn good. Regardless, the only present-day enjoyment this has to offer is of the nostalgic variety. I usually don’t condone owning something you’ll never listen to, but an exception can be made when it comes to fossils as priceless as these.
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