Description

Rare original 1993 picture disc single

The early to mid 90s are looked upon fondly insofar as death metal is concerned, particularly if the locale is situated in Florida, New York, or Sweden. By contrast, the original land of heavy metal otherwise known as the U.K. generally tends to be left by the wayside, despite fielding some very impressive acts during said time period. Sure, most of the best known bands have had a heavier impact on the grindcore/goregrind scene (Napalm Death, Carcass), but apart from Bolt Thrower, death metal tends to leave this region wanting, and it’s not for any lack of quality. Bands such as Cancer and the subject of this review Benediction, put out some solid material that rivals much of the influential material that came out of Sweden at around the same time. While all of Benedictions early 90s offerings are to be cherished as strong examples of how death and thrash metal continued to co-exist within the same bands even as a greater number of bands were going for something more brutal and less rhythmically precise. At the same time the band released their Transcend The Rubicon album in 1993 they also released this special Wrong Side Of The Grave single. The title track is a cover version of The Accused track while the single also featured two re-recorded songs from the debut album Subconscious Terror. This single is pretty much exclusive fodder for old school fans as there is very little in the way of modern brutal or technical elements to speak of. It speaks more to a crowd that doesn’t dismiss albums like Seven Churches and Morbid Visions as being glorified thrash albums and isn’t as into the current wave of flashy or otherwise messy modernity surrounding the sub-genre. Bands like Bolt Thrower, Deicide, Entombed, Dismember and Suffocation may have shaped death metal in the 90s, but bands like Benediction definitely earns more attention for adding to and reaffirming the same ideas that continue to define the style that was deth metal.

Track listing:
1. Wrong Side Of The Grave-The Accused cover
2. Artefacted Irreligion
3. Spit Forth The Dead