Crematory - Denial

CREMATORY - Denial (NECROHARMONIC - CD 2008)

Here’s Crematory - everyone's favourite German pop-metal band! And their obscure demos! Hold on, of course this isn't that band, here is Crematory from Sweden, the only band under this name, which deserves attention. They were formed in Stockholm in 1989 and gained a well-deserved cult status with three great demos and even better "Denial" EP. They were all collected on this CD, released by Necroharmonic Productions (there's also LP version, which I never managed to get). And let me tell you, this compilation is so much a must to have. Be careful though, you need to avoid the first press of it, as it sounds terrible and deserves only to be thrown through the window. But the second pressing has much better sound quality and this is what you need to get. 

Compilation begins with "Denial"... For me, it is one of the best recordings from the old Swedish death metal scene, I can easily put it aside to "Crawl", "Gardens of Grief", "Incantation" or "Time Shall Tell" - they are all equally amazing. But "Denial" is probably the most vicious and aggressive of them all, at least together with "Incantation". Riffs here are just supreme, almost grinding fast, what reminds me Abhorrence a little. But Crematory fantastically combined such utterly brutal and grinding heaviness with a bit of melody, just like they did in "Into Celephais" for instance. The effect is pure gold, for me. The production is so classic for the Swedish death metal scene, but for me "Denial" is one of the most noteworthy releases of the golden era. 

From "Denial" we go straight to the demos and first comes the earliest effort "The Exordium" demo (1990). Oh, it sounds really raw, but on this second CD pressing this demo was properly mastered, and the result is just great. You could already hear that even at such early stage, Crematory had some killer, twisted riffs and the pounding bass added nice heaviness to their music. There's always something incredible about such demos, especially that they were recorded by damn kids, when the whole death metal scene was so young and fresh. So... even if this music sounds a bit messy and definitely has that quite primitive feel, it still kicks ass. Interestingly, "Chunks of Flesh" from this demo was also re-recorded for "Denial" EP, and it definitely deserved it, as some riffs in it are just amazing. I only don’t like one song from this demo, "Requiem of the Dead", as it is just a mess of riffs. 

Next demos, "Wrath from the Unknown" and "Netherworlds of the Mind" were released in 1991 and 1992. "Wrath from the Unknown" showed a better form of Crematory. Especially production wise this demo was an improvement from "The Exordium", even though it was recorded at the same Studio Grottan. Stylistically it is kind of between Carnage and Abhorrence... Maybe also Afflicted (Convulsion), although less melodic. But the music remained brutal, twisted and dark, while vocals sounded even more demonic and repulsive. Damn, they even used keyboards in "Wrath from the Unknown", what is always something that deepens the obscure atmosphere in a good way. It is fantastic demo and along with “Denial”, “Wrath...” is the best effort from Crematory. On the other hand, "Netherworlds of the Mind" is a weaker demo. I don’t like some of the songs or riffs they did here, as they sound much less brutal and dark from the earlier stuff, it’s kind of more mellow, thrashy and groovy sometimes, even if there are still some fast, blasting parts as well. The production is also not so harsh anymore - the booklet for this compilation says: “recorded in November 1992 in the worst studio unleashed upon mankind”. Haha! Even if it is not entirely true, because I’ve heard worse sounding demos, you could hear that some of that power and savagery of earlier recordings was gone here. And I am afraid that sometimes it sounds a bit dull to me, surely not as impressive as “Denial” or “Wrath...”. I even like "The Exordium" more than "Netherworlds...” demo. 

All in all, this is a nice compilation. Sure, the sound quality is not always the best (but better than on the first press CD, anyway!), some of this stuff may sound terribly raw and primitive to some listeners... but damn, this is an important band for the old Swedish death metal band and at least “Denial” is a material everyone needs to know. 

Verdict: 80/100