Over the course of more than a decade and seven increasingly accomplished albums, Chuck Schuldiner, the architect behind the ubiquitous Death, became a bona fide heavy metal icon. Now widely recognized as the father of death metal (if a single candidate must be chosen, his resumé is about as good as it gets), Schuldiner's singular drive and... [+] Read More

Over the course of more than a decade and seven increasingly accomplished albums, Chuck Schuldiner, the architect behind the ubiquitous Death, became a bona fide heavy metal icon. Now widely recognized as the father of death metal (if a single candidate must be chosen, his resumé is about as good as it gets), Schuldiner's singular drive and ruthless creative vision guaranteed that Death retain a pole position at the forefront of the style's development. Indeed, while the savagely raw aggression contained in Death's first three albums proved crucial to spearheading the first generation of death, and subsequently grindcore bands, the astounding musicianship and increasingly sophisticated songwriting found on their later-day efforts may have influenced even more groups exploring the limits of extreme metal's progressive outposts. By all accounts a force to be reckoned with on-stage, Death also logged more frequent-flier miles than perhaps any other band of their extreme metal ilk, undertaking numerous far-reaching tours despite suffering from continuous and acrimonious turnover within their ranks. Throughout this long journey and drastic evolutionary curve, Chuck Schuldiner was the only constant, the effective mastermind behind Death's continually groundbreaking career, and his near-canonization at the time of his untimely passing only confirmed his unequaled stature at the top of rock's most uncompromising style.

The story of Death begins in Florida, around 1983, when vocalist/guitarist Chuck Schuldiner formed a band named Mantas with guitarist Rick Rozz and drummer Kam Lee. Although they'd yet to finish High School, the eager teens quickly set about trying to replicate the most excessive heavy metal sounds imaginable, which they often heard on tapes obtained via the bustling underground tape-trading circuit existent at the time. Many of these hailed from the U.K., where bands like Iron Maiden, Angel Witch, and Venom were riding high on the New Wave of British Heavy Metal; others arrived from the West Coast, where young bands like Metallica, Slayer, and Exodus were redefining the genre by injecting it with unprecedented doses of speed and energy, thus giving birth to thrash metal. All of these developments converged to spark the young Floridian's excitement, and the newly rechristened Death spent the next few years refining their chops through endless, arduous rehearsals and sporadic live performances. Their hard work and perseverance finally paid off when a three-song demo tape called Mutilation began drawing rave reviews in the metal underground, soon convincing Bay Area-based thrash specialists Combat Records to sign the group.

Leaving his bandmates behind (they would form a band called Massacre in his absence), Schuldiner relocated to San Francisco and teamed up with drummer Chris Reifert (later of Autopsy infamy) to record Death's now legendary Scream Bloody Gore LP. Released in 1987, the album is considered death metal's first archetypal document. Possessed's proto-death classic Seven Churches may have predated it by almost two years, but the fact of the matter is that both were concurrent works from a demo perspective, and while Seven Churches represented something of a unplanned transition between thrash and death metal, Scream Bloody Gore clearly defined the new offshoot's true essence for the first time. Boiled down to the most basic terms, this transition simply entailed propelling thrash metal's sheer speed and ferocious execution into further inaccessibility with the addition of gore-obsessed lyrics delivered via often indecipherably growled vocals. Needless to say, this unprecedented level of sonic hatred went down a storm with thousands upon thousands of angry teenagers across the world.

Having set his metallic dreams (or nightmares, as it were) into motion, Schuldiner returned to Florida, where he reunited with his old chum Rick Rozz and drafted bassist Terry Butler and drummer Bill Andrews to integrate Death's first touring lineup. Between ever-increasing touring commitments, they were soon ensconced in Tampa's soon-to-be famed Morrisound Studios with soon-to-be premier death metal producer Scott Burns (a lot of "firsts" in this story) and working on 1988's Leprosy follow-up, which reprised much of the debut's successful tricks, but was somewhat marred by Rozz's subpar technical skills. He was soon unceremoniously ejected for his shortcomings (the first victim of a Spinal Tap-like game of musical chairs) and replaced by the far more gifted James Murphy, who would barely last a year himself before embarking on a journeyman existence that would take him to Obituary, Testament, and beyond, but nevertheless contributed stellar fretwork to 1990's transitional Spiritual Healing. This album found Death beginning to relinquish some of the unrelenting velocity, mindless ferocity, and often trite blood-and-gore lyrics which characterized death metal's infancy (grindcore's fast-rising legions, led by Napalm Death and Carcass, would take it from here) and diving headlong into its understandably experimental pubescent phase. In practice, this meant introducing slower rhythms, complex dynamic tempo changes, insidious melodies, and more enlightened, if no less dark and cynical subject matter that commented on society's ills and injustices.

All of these exciting developments would come to greater fruition on 1991's pivotal Human LP, but given the various organizational problems and unsatisfactory performances that had plagued the Spiritual Healing tour, it's a wonder Death survived long enough to record it. In his obsessive quest for perfection and constant evolution, Schuldiner had once again pushed his bandmembers as far as their musical abilities could take them, mandating that an entirely new group of players be cast to enact the next chapter in his grand scheme. Sure enough, the sessions for Human convened a supra-technical ensemble for the ages, namely guitarist Paul Masvidal and drummer Sean Reinert of unsigned death/fusion sensations Cynic, and fretless bass wonder Steve DiGiorgio, who was borrowed from Sadus for recording purposes only. This release, along with the even more commercially successful Arise by Brazilians Sepultura, helped ensure that 1991 should go down as the absolute apex of death metal's world domination. At least in its original form, as hordes of gifted new upstarts such as the aforementioned Cynic and the death/jazz experimentalists Atheist, to name but a few, were even then undertaking to rewrite the rule book and challenge elder statesmen like Death for genre supremacy.

Not to be outdone, Schuldiner simply upped the ante, repeatedly reinventing his band time and time again, even as he refused to compromise its brutal core values one iota. As proof, both 1993's Individual Thought Patterns and 1995's Symbolic introduced staggering advancements into the group's sound. The first exploded with the brilliant fretwork of ex-King Diamond guitarist Andy LaRocque, whose six-string duels with Schuldiner rank among the most exciting of Death's long career; while the second benefited from the dense harmonies contributed by the less flashy, but equally effective Bobby Koelble, resulting in Death's most consistently melodic album ever. And perhaps best of all for extreme metal fans, former Dark Angel behemoth Gene Hoglan lent his inimitable percussive talents to both LPs, forging an unlikely pairing with Chuck that remains the stuff of death metal dreams to this day. Not surprisingly, this trio of albums continue to vie for fans and critics' hearts as Death's greatest achievements -- how ironic then that Schuldiner himself was beginning to grow tired of his life's work.

But come 1996, Death's chief architect was hungry for a creative outlet with which to express his more mainstream heavy metal songwriting, and citing his own voice as too limited for what he had in mind, Schuldiner shocked the heavy metal community by disbanding Death and announcing his plans for an entirely new band, to be named Control Denied. But the new project took longer than expected to get off the ground, so Schuldiner decided to backtrack and record one final album under the Death franchise, resulting in 1998's quite stellar The Sound of Perseverance. As was to be expected, he was once again backed up by an entirely new band, this time consisting of relative unknowns like guitarist Shannon Hamm, bassist Scott Clendenin, and drummer Richard Christy. Following this release, Schuldiner finally felt ready to move forward with the Control Denied concept in earnest, and the new quintet (featuring many of Chuck's old accomplices and a full-time lead vocalist in Tim Aymar) unleashed their The Fragile Art of Existence debut in the fall of 1999. Everything seemed to be going according to plan, but then tragic fate intervened.

Schuldiner was diagnosed with a malignant brain-stem tumor and immediately underwent emergency surgery in early 2000 to remove it. All musical plans were brought to a standstill as Chuck fought for his life amid ever-mounting medical bills (like most professional musicians, he had no health insurance), only a small portion of which were alleviated by the heavy metal community's outpouring of support by way of numerous benefit concerts. Over the ensuing two years, the true state of his health was often mired in mystery, and even though he was occasionally rumored to be on the path to recovery, all hopes were ultimately and cruelly dashed on December 13, 2001, when Chuck finally succumbed to cancer at the age of 33. Like any headstrong leader, Schuldiner's tyrannical monopoly over Death's brilliant career is forever guaranteed to evoke adverse opinions about his character, ranging from the resentful accusations of disgruntled former employees, to the words of loving praise of willing collaborators. It hardly matters, since whichever reputation people eventually choose to believe in, Schuldiner's recorded legacy will forever remain inextricably linked, synonymous even, with the death metal genre. ~ Ed Rivadavia, All Music Guide [-] Hide

The fathers of grindcore, Napalm Death pushed the envelope of metal to new extremes of ear-splitting intensity, rejecting all notions of melody, subtlety, and good taste to forge a brand of sonic assault almost frightening in its merciless brutality. Formed in Ipswich, England, in 1982, the group trafficked in the usual heavy metal fare for the... [+] Read More

The fathers of grindcore, Napalm Death pushed the envelope of metal to new extremes of ear-splitting intensity, rejecting all notions of melody, subtlety, and good taste to forge a brand of sonic assault almost frightening in its merciless brutality. Formed in Ipswich, England, in 1982, the group trafficked in the usual heavy metal fare for the first few years of its existence, but by the middle of the decade they began to expand their horizons by incorporating elements of hardcore and thrash into the mix; ultimately, Napalm Death's sonic experiments evolved into a blistering mutation of metal which they dubbed grindcore, a kind of extremist noise attack characterized by incredibly brief song lengths, demonic vocals, and eye-opening sociopolitical lyrical commentary.


Building their reputation on a series of incendiary radio sessions and live dates, Napalm Death set about recording their debut LP, Scum, issued in 1987 on their own Earache label. A series of lineup changes during production resulted in the record's two sides each containing almost completely different rosters: while the first half featured guitarist Justin Broadrick and vocalist/bassist Nick Bullen, the flip side presented new vocalist Lee Dorrian, guitarist Bill Steer, and bassist Jim Whitely; only drummer Mick Harris played on every track. While largely ignored by the mainstream media, Scum proved hugely influential throughout the global metal community; among Napalm Death's most public supporters was BBC Radio One DJ John Peel, who repeatedly played the track "You Suffer" before inviting the group to record a legendary September 1987 Peel Session introducing new bassist Shane Embury.


With 1988's From Enslavement to Obliteration, the band grew even more extreme, issuing some 54 total tracks, many of them clocking in at just a few seconds in length. (The compilation Grind Crusher offered perhaps the ultimate distillation of the aesthetic by including a bonus split single from Napalm Death and the Electro Hippies with each side lasting just one second; the shortest single ever.) More roster shifts followed, as Dorrian exited to form Cathedral and Steer jumped ship to found Carcass; with vocalist Mark "Barney" Greenway (formerly of Benediction) and guitarists Jesse Pintado (ex-Terrorizer) and Mitch Harris (ex-Righteous Pigs), Napalm Death resurfaced with 1990's Harmony Corruption, a nod toward more conventional song structures and a less punishing sound. Apparently unhappy with the results, the group followed later that year with the Mass-Appeal Madness EP, a return to all-out grindcore fury.


Mick Harris, the only remaining member from the unit's earliest lineups, exited Napalm Death in 1992 to mount an acclaimed ambient dub project named Scorn; he was replaced by drummer Danny Herrera for Utopia Banished, followed by a single covering the Dead Kennedys' Nazi Punks **** Off." With 1994's Fear, Emptiness, Despair, Napalm Death earned some of the best critical notices of their career, and to the shock of many even found themselves in the Top Ten of the U.S. pop albums chart by virtue of their appearance on the soundtrack to the motion picture Mortal Kombat. The Greed Killing mini-album appeared in 1995 as a teaser for the following year's relatively accessible full-length Diatribes. Greenway was subsequently fired in November 1996 and replaced by Phil Vane of Extreme Noise Terror; however, after recording a split EP with Coalesce, the band reconsidered, and Greenway re-joined in time for the 1997 album Inside the Torn Apart. Next was 1998's live release Bootlegged in Japan, trailed early the next year by the well-received Words From the Exit Wound, which proved to be their final album for Earache. 2000 saw the release of the covers EP Leaders Not Followers in mid-summer. Napalm Death returned to its early grindcore roots to a degree with its next full-length, Enemy of the Music Business, which was issued in early 2001. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide [-] Hide

One of Britain's most consistent and enduring death metal bands, Birmingham's Bolt Thrower has weathered the best and worst of times in the extreme genre's history without ever giving in to commercial temptations, or hardly even altering its sound. The fact that they were unusually blessed with a steady lineup throughout much of their career no... [+] Read More

One of Britain's most consistent and enduring death metal bands, Birmingham's Bolt Thrower has weathered the best and worst of times in the extreme genre's history without ever giving in to commercial temptations, or hardly even altering its sound. The fact that they were unusually blessed with a steady lineup throughout much of their career no doubt contributed to this stability, and though they were rarely bestowed wild praise for their efforts, with most of their competitors or contemporaries either adopting other styles or long retired, Bolt Thrower has gradually established itself as one of the best death metal bands ever to emerge from England.

Guitarist Gavin Ward and drummer Andy Whale formed Bolt Thrower in heavy metal's original birthing ground, the industrial city of Birmingham, England, in 1986. Taking their name from a character in one of their favorite role-playing games, Warhammer Fantasy Battle, the duo soon drafted vocalist Alan West, guitarist Barry Thompson, and bassist Jo Bench (one of the first female musicians to take part in an extreme metal group of any sort). True to form given their name, Bolt Thrower would dedicate their whole career to analyzing and dissecting all aspects of human warfare -- its history, its weapons, etc. -- and they quickly took to the road in order to perfect a brutalizing musical onslaught worthy of backing up such morbid subject matter. Despite their material's general inaccessibility, legendary BBC Radio1 DJ John Peel became an early supporter, hosting the group for various early sessions (subsequently released in 1991 with the expected Peel Sessions title) and helping to bolster their profile on their way to securing a deal with the Vinyl Solutions label. Around this time, West was replaced by the band's van driver, one Karl Willetts, who soon proved himself a more than capable successor and served as the final necessary cog in the Bolt Thrower war machine. Released in 1988 with little success, their poorly produced and somewhat tentative debut album, In Battle There Is No Law, lacked the focused ferocity yet to come, but already delved deeply into their lyrical obsessions with anything warlike.

The following year, Bolt Thrower became one of the first acts to sign with on-the-rise extreme metal powerhouse Earache Records (also the home of grindcore experts Napalm Death) and 1989's Realm of Chaos fittingly saw them partnering with Games Workshop, the company responsible for the Warhammer game which had inspired their name. Boasting lyrics directly inspired by the game and featuring custom artwork provided by GWS, Realm of Chaos was a far more confident effort, and despite experiencing continued problems on the production end of things, it was clear that the band was slowly finding its identity. Bolt Thrower then joined the now-infamous Grindcrusher tour, also featuring Napalm Death, Carcass, and Morbid Angel, across the U.K., before starting work on what would become their most definitive album, 1991's Warmaster. This time, producer Colin Richardson helped the band achieve the taught, precision-filled intensity they'd been looking for all along, and the resulting LP has since come to represent Bolt Thrower's signature sound: Willetts' deeply guttural growl combined with Ward and Thompson's nearly impenetrable wall of dense guitar riffs, set to the requisite double kick drums; but interestingly, these didn't always resort to all-out speed, but rather maintained a measured, pounding pace, which was somehow even more powerful for it. Their sonic paradigm now in place, Bolt Thrower kept themselves extremely busy for the next few years, touring incessantly across the U.K. and Europe with the likes of Unleashed and Cemetary, while recording strong follow-ups like 1992's The IVth Crusade and 1994's For Victory, each of which achieved only slightly inferior results and maintained the group's gradual shift toward slower, doomier styles.

Bolt Thrower's longtime stability was coming to an end, however, as vocalist Willetts and drummer Whale threw in their lot around this time, wishing to get off the road and pursue a more normal lifestyle. For their part, the remaining bandmembers were becoming increasingly protective of their art, and, convinced they weren't getting the best promotional support, parted company with Earache and signed to Metal Blade. Meanwhile, replacement musicians came and went as the group prepared new material, and repeated delays over artwork kept postponing the release of their sixth official album. By the time 1998's Mercenary finally arrived, original singer Willetts had been persuaded to return long enough to record his parts and new drummer Alex Thomas was sitting on the hot-stool; but by then, most fans had given Bolt Thrower up for dead and moved onto new bands to idolize. Perhaps reflecting the turmoil within, the record was also hardly one of their most stellar outings, and it was neatly overshadowed by former label Earache's Who Dares Wins collection of the same year. Dutch vocalist Martin VanDrunen was brought in for touring purposes, but further lineup changes preceded the recording of 2001's semi-comeback Honour Valour Pride, by which time Bolt Thrower's core lineup of Thompson, Ward, and Bench was complemented by drummer Martin Kearns and ex-Benediction singer Dave Ingram. Ingram left soon after the record's release, prompting the return of original vocalist Karl Willets. Those Once Loyal, Bolt Thrower's eighth studio album, was relased on Metal Blade in November, 2005. ~ Ed Rivadavia, All Music Guide [-] Hide

England's Carcass assisted in a revival of the death metal genre while introducing the new grindcore style. ~ John Book, All Music Guide

England's Carcass assisted in a revival of the death metal genre while introducing the new grindcore style. ~ John Book, All Music Guide [-] Hide

New York City grindcore primitives Brutal Truth formed in 1990, originally comprising singer Kevin Sharp, guitarist Brent "Gurn" McCarthy, bassist Dan Lilker, and drummer Scott Lewis. Signing to the Earache label, the group released its debut album, Extreme Conditions Demand Extreme Responses, in 1992; drummer Rich Hoak replaced Lewis to record... [+] Read More

New York City grindcore primitives Brutal Truth formed in 1990, originally comprising singer Kevin Sharp, guitarist Brent "Gurn" McCarthy, bassist Dan Lilker, and drummer Scott Lewis. Signing to the Earache label, the group released its debut album, Extreme Conditions Demand Extreme Responses, in 1992; drummer Rich Hoak replaced Lewis to record the follow-up, 1994's Need to Control. Upon signing to Relapse, Brutal Truth resurfaced two years later with Kill Trend Suicide; Sounds of the Animal Kingdom followed in 1997, while 1999's Goodbye Cruel World compiled two discs of live material and rarities. September 2000 saw the release of For Drug Crazed Grindfreaks Only! Live at Noctum Studios. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Napalm Death's second full effort, From Enslavement to Obliteration in ways put the seal on what the band had done, with most of its members going off to pursue their own individual efforts soon thereafter, and as such is the perfect complement to Scum, showing the quartet both straining at the bit and honing its original approach to a T. Like... [+] Read More

Napalm Death's second full effort, From Enslavement to Obliteration in ways put the seal on what the band had done, with most of its members going off to pursue their own individual efforts soon thereafter, and as such is the perfect complement to Scum, showing the quartet both straining at the bit and honing its original approach to a T. Like Scum, it starts on a more deliberate pace, with "Evolved as One" hitting a slow, careful trudge -- everything is quite discernible, even Lee Dorrian's sore-throat roar style of singing -- which is all the better to build up the listener for whatever happens next. That combination of just enough variety with nuclear-strength ultimate velocity feedback, clatter, and barking once again does the trick; if it wasn't quite as thrillingly new as before, it's still unquestionably grand, making this album the Leave Home to the original's Ramones, if one likes. The song titles once again make it clear that fluffy bunnies aren't the band's subject du jour: "Unchallenged Hate," "Mentally Murdered," "Retreat to Nowhere," "Make Way!" There's a little bit of wry humor starting to surface at points, though -- thus "Cock-Rock Alienation," which somehow manages to be a critique of the modern music business' interest in sheep-like consumers even while blurring along in the expected fashion. Those moments where the band finds a more straightforward thrash-stomp once again show that the quartet could nail that when they desired, but as always it's when the group completely goes beyond the conventions that things just completely hit a new hit. Crazy high point: the four-second solo on "Uncertainty Blurs the Vision," which compacts a feedback shriek of ecstasy into the smallest possible space. [Early CD versions of the album included Scum and other extra tracks, though the two are now usually found separately.] ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide [-] Hide

If Reek of Putrefaction was one series of brusque, quick, and brute explosions after another, Symphonies of Sickness, as its title indicated, is something of a complex step up. None of the power is lost at all, but thanks to a combination of crisper recording and a desire on the part of the band to stretch things out a bit more -- three- to... [+] Read More

If Reek of Putrefaction was one series of brusque, quick, and brute explosions after another, Symphonies of Sickness, as its title indicated, is something of a complex step up. None of the power is lost at all, but thanks to a combination of crisper recording and a desire on the part of the band to stretch things out a bit more -- three- to five-minute-long songs and so forth -- Carcass here play with their enjoyably ugly sound just enough. Thus, hearing a brief stab of synth strings and an actual sense of space in the opening title track might not be too much, but it's still quite a lot in context. But once the vocal growls and a quick, solid riff heralds another hyperspeed section of musical and vocal delivery, Carcass as they were initially known and loved reappear in full effect. Nothing too much changes beyond the slightest of touches throughout Symphonies, but one notable difference is that the lyrics actually sometimes come through, if only just. One of the best bits comes in the middle of "Empathological Necroticism" -- in the middle of detailing another hard day at the office with crushed limbs and general evisceration, the working stiff hero of the piece admits, "Life is hard as a mortuary technician." Given that the guy's problems have to deal with such things as pulped cerebellums mucking up his slab and the problems of rigor mortis, it's hard to disagree with the sentiment. An all-time Carcass highlight comes with the perfectly disgusting second number, "Exhume to Consume," which gives an all-new insight into the joys of grave-robbing and, shall we say, feasting on preserved meat. Then again, ignore the lyric sheet and just go nuts with some of the deepest male vocals ever recorded and overall feedback doom crunch. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide [-] Hide

The title alone. Anyone taking the lyrical content here even slightly seriously -- and that includes the bandmembers -- clearly needs to be taken away by the nice men in the white jackets. Thoughtfully, complete lyrics are provided -- thus, a verse from "Vomited Anal Tract": "Your vagus implodes, as nausea strikes/Savaging your body in terminal... [+] Read More

The title alone. Anyone taking the lyrical content here even slightly seriously -- and that includes the bandmembers -- clearly needs to be taken away by the nice men in the white jackets. Thoughtfully, complete lyrics are provided -- thus, a verse from "Vomited Anal Tract": "Your vagus implodes, as nausea strikes/Savaging your body in terminal retch/Violent spasms and decaying enzymes/Engulf your throat as you belch." That this or anything else on the album is completely impossible to understand otherwise is part of the insane fun, of course, which is why Carcass is both one of the best and funniest bands around. Musically everything is basically just one step away from Napalm Death's early sound, if even that far, but there's something just that much more engagingly nutty about what Carcass do. It might be the way that Bill Steer's guitar solos sound like they're turning themselves inside out every time he plays one (with blood dripping from exposed musculature and so forth, no doubt). Alternately, it might be how Ken Owen matches early Mick Harris for sheer frazzle with drums played so fast everything sounds more like a wash of static than anything else. Whatever it is, Reek of Putrefaction consists of songs so immediate and there that trying to analyze them in depth is practically impossible -- you accept it and let yourself go from the start or you never ever want to hear anything like it again. There are occasional moments of calm -- "Genital Grinder," which starts things off, begins with a low bass rumble and a great, chunky riff, a smart way to draw folks in before the final slaughter. Top everything off with the barked, whined, and yelped vocals of the threesome in full unintelligible glory, and Reek succeeds thoroughly and completely at what it does. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide [-] Hide

A seminal album that helped establish the death metal subgenre, Scream Bloody Gore may be slightly musically amateurish next to Death's subsequent albums, but it trades polish for savage, gut-wrenching force and speed. Building on the blueprint of Slayer's Reign in Blood, the lyrics match the disturbing, stomach-churning qualities of the music,... [+] Read More

A seminal album that helped establish the death metal subgenre, Scream Bloody Gore may be slightly musically amateurish next to Death's subsequent albums, but it trades polish for savage, gut-wrenching force and speed. Building on the blueprint of Slayer's Reign in Blood, the lyrics match the disturbing, stomach-churning qualities of the music, and Chuck Schuldiner's vocals do their best to live up to the album's title. A necessary item for anyone interested in the genesis of death metal. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Although it never appealed to mainstream rock audiences, Bolt Thrower wasn't quite as extreme as some of the other bands on England's metal-oriented Earache label (which signed a distribution deal with Combat in the early '90s). Compare Warmaster to Carcass' very hardcore Symphonies of Sickness, and you'll see that this blistering death metal... [+] Read More

Although it never appealed to mainstream rock audiences, Bolt Thrower wasn't quite as extreme as some of the other bands on England's metal-oriented Earache label (which signed a distribution deal with Combat in the early '90s). Compare Warmaster to Carcass' very hardcore Symphonies of Sickness, and you'll see that this blistering death metal release is a bit more accessible. Lead singer Karl Willetts favors the type of choked, grunting vocals that underground grindcore bands were known for, but unlike such bands, Bolt Thrower isn't always heard at breakneck speed. Bolt Thrower often slows down the tempo, making the morbid lyrics to "The Shreds of Sanity," "Destructive Infinity," and "Profane Creation" easier to understand. Despite Bolt Thrower's limitations, this is a CD that seasoned thrash fans will find invigorating. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide [-] Hide