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INSANITY
Death After Death (Reissue)

Hells Headbangers (2013)
Rating: 8.5/10

Originally released in 1994, Death After Death is the debut platter from Californian thrashers Insanity. Not to be confused with goodness knows how many other bands of the same moniker, this San Francisco four-piece most certainly live up to their name. Death After Death is eight tracks of blistering techno-thrash that will literally have you gluing your ears back into place after the molestation of the closing title track has faded.

This cult opus was originally released on the now defunct M.B.R. label but now it’s been given a welcome reissue I’m hoping that for those of you who missed this gem first time round will now finally be able to get your mucky paws on it.

Fans of technical thrash will find much to dribble over here; think of Possessed, Atheist, Sadus, Slayer, Morbid Angel and early Death all thrown into a blender and then you might have some idea of the sheer velocity of this record.

Insanity are fronted by Dave Gorusch, whose vocal style is reminiscent of Chuck Schuldiner circa Scream Bloody Gore (1987) with a hint of a more primitive David Vincent (Morbid Angel), coupled with a sprig of Possessed’s Jeff Becerra. Musically it’s a pretty frenetic experience, boasting the subtlety of being dragged through a forest of barbed wire and then fed to a bunch of blood-thirsty piranha.

This really is one of those rare records that has so much bite that to appreciate it you must give it several spins, although one can’t help be molested by its speed first time round. In fact, the only time the band do break out of flesh-ripping mode is on the opening acoustics of ‘Attack Of Archangels’, which for all of 60 seconds leads you into a full sense of security before you are hounded and then slaughtered by the frantic drum attack of Prakash Sharma and the malicious guitars of Gorusch and Matt Janko.

And the pace never lets up, although acoustic instrumental ‘In Memory’ (no doubt written in tribute to original vocalist Joel DeZuniga who passed away in 1987) softens the mood, until we’re lambasted by the scathing riffs of ‘Possession’ and the deathly speed metal fury of ‘Blood For Blood’. Think Exodus, Dark Angel, early Whiplash, and just about any old school thrash and death-tinged speed metal band chucked in the mix, and it’s hard to believe this album emerged in the grunge-infested 90s when this sort of metal had been so rapidly derided for being stale.

It’s hard to pick out a favourite track, but the moody beginnings of ‘Morbid Lust’ send shivers down the spine just like those old thrash records of the 80s, and the riffs are so clean and cutting that you feel something akin to sitting on a rollercoaster that is out of control such is the impact of this racy platter. Again, I can’t get Possessed, Death, Morbid Angel et al out of my head in the vocal stakes.

It’s great to see Dave Gorusch still at the helm, although hard to believe that over its lifespan Insanity has had more than 15 members, and stranger still to note that they formed in 1985 but took almost a decade to release this minor classic. I’d recommend this forgotten gem to anyone who is metal thrashing mad.

Neil Arnold

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