Ghost - Bad Obsession

GHOST - Bad Obsession (Thrashing Madness - CD 2014)

“Bad… fuckin kurwa… Obsession”! Damn, I can’t believe this demo is released on CD! How it is even possible hehe!? I am so intrigued, because it was maybe even the FIRST demo cassette, which I have bought in my life! I remember that I bought that tape in my local music store just because it was cheaper than the licensed death metal albums from bigger bands and I didn’t have more money hehe, so even if I didn’t know Ghost before, I decided to buy “Bad Obsession” (originally released by Carnage Records). I simply liked the artwork and more so, these guys had been wearing killer t-shirts of bands like Obituary and Cannibal Corpse, so it must have been good. Hehe! Yeah, over 20 years have passed, but I still remember it like it was yesterday hehe. It’s sad that I don’t have that tape anymore, so the more happy I am that Thrashing Madness released “Bad Obsession” on CD (just as they did it with “The Lost of Mercy” album!). And as always the whole packaging is something truly extra. We get a fat, glossy booklet with a lot of cool stuff in it (including liner notes from band members, scans from the old fanzines with interviews, etc). But most importantly, the CD offers us three demos! Yes! First, there’s “Bad Obsession” and then there are two earlier recordings of Ghost, which I honestly never heard before: “Noc Demona” and “Ghost II”, both from 1989! Isn’t that a fine compilation?

Many years have passed since I had a chance to hear “Bad Obsession” last time. Funny, but I still remember every damn song, every damn riff and vocals part from this demo hehe. You simply don’t forget these things, especially if it was one of the first cassettes you ever bought and listened to it dozens of times. You know, in the early 90’s the number of cassettes I had in my collection was what? 50 maybe? So obviously I was listening to these albums / demos fuckin a lot. It’s not like nowadays, when I have almost 3000 items in the collection and sometimes I listen to an album 4-5 times and then come back to it not sooner but in ten years, hardly knowing and remembering it. What sucks of corpse hehe! But that’s how the present times are… too many bands, too many records. So, yes, I still remember “Bad Obsession” damn well, but I am surprised that nowadays I enjoy listening to this demo so much! I thought I would feel maybe slightly bored, but no! I really love it and have kind of fresh perspective on this demo. For me, it definitely is a fantastic relict of the past, but it has a great feeling, that music is damn good, very brutal, powerful… and these vocals… yeah, this is truly sick shit! “Bad Obsession” is very much influenced by the US death metal school, by bands such as Baphomet, Morpheus Descends, Obituary, Brutality, but it has also a small original touch to it… “Bad Obsession” is a collection of really good songs, such as “Behind the Bars”, “Black Visions”, “Morbid Game”, “Kings of Darkness”. The production is quite unique with not typical guitar sound and vocals, I think, but it’s good, rotten, filthy and heavy as hell. Definitely a worthy recording, so please listen to it!

Now… if you’re familiar with “Bad Obsession” and “The Lost of Mercy”, then both “Noc Demona” and “Ghost II” demos will surely surprise you a lot… because Ghost sounds completely different on these demos! No brutal death metal here, but a total speed / thrash in its most vicious and archaic forms! Yeah, Ghost was closer to such Merciless Death, Dragon, Armagedon (from their 80’s demos!), Thanatos (PL), Manslaughter or very early Vader rather than to Obituary. Riffs are sharp, fast, aggressive as hell and the vocals are typically harsh style of singing, with Polish lyrics. Very typical late 80’s Polish extreme metal, I would say. And maybe Ghost lacked a bit of charisma, but great and solid stuff they did for sure. Both demos are pretty much similar, but I suppose I like “Noc Demona” slightly more, how nice demo it is! Of course you can only imagine how cruel and harsh is the production of it, but it simply has its amazing charm and atmosphere! Great slashing riffing, a lot of aggression, a lot of truly fast, almost chaotic playing… what a feast! Ghost played fast like crazy, truly no mercy, no compromise, just speed / thrash to the maximum! And these infantile, satanic lyrics hehe! Just look at these titles hehe! Yes, it sounds so archaic today, so old, so “from the distant past”… but as already mentioned, it has the unique and unrepeatable charm, so it always brings me a cool feeling, when I play such music. Ghost surely was one of the best Polish bands in the days of old, so I totally recommend you this nice collection of their ancient demos. Very nice addition to everyone’s collection for sure. 

Final rate: 80/100