Entombed - Left Hand Path (Earrache) 1990
1. Left Hand Path (6:39)
2. Drowned (3:59)
3. Revel in Flesh (3:42)
4. When Life Has Ceased (4:11)
5. Supposed to Rot (2:03)
6. But Life Goes On (2:59)
7. Bitter Loss (4:22)
8. Morbid Devourment (5:25)
9. Abnormally Deceased (2:58)
10. The Truth Beyond (3:25)
11. Carnal Leftovers (2:57)
12. Premature Autopsy (4:26)
Left Hand Path is the debut full-length studio album by Swedish death metal act Entombed and was recorded in the now legendary Sunlight Studio in Stockholm, Sweden with producer Tomas Skogsberg. Entombed formed in 1987 under the name of Nihilist and thus most of the material here is songs that were written as Nihilist. This album is legendary as it was one of the first to gain that guttural, buzz-saw guitar sound by detuning the guitars to B, mixed with a ton of effect pedals and other studio tricks. The album is also known because the album title was taken from Anton LaVey's book "The Satanic Bible".
Despite being heavy, guttural death metal, the music contained on "Left Hand Path" is catchy and memorable and even has some melody. This is not a-typical for Swedish death metal, but on this first album isn't quite as melodic as what would come from this band. The sound is heavily inspired by American death metal pioneers such as Death and Morbid Angel and mixed with the intensity of Napalm Death and Carcass. However, very few of the songs are standouts, apart from the epic title track, which opens the album and is highlighted by an eerie, ambient break. Overall "Left Hand Path" is a 40-minute, relentless, wall of sound! Much like Metallica's "Kill 'Em All" in 1983, it wasn't so much about the production, or the songs themselves, but about that raw, youthful energy, which is also apparent here.
Entombed - Wolverine Blues (Earache) 1993
1. "Eyemaster"
(3:20)
2. "Rotten Soil" (3:23)
3. "Wolverine Blues" (2:13)
4. "Demon" (3:18)
5. "Contempt" (4:31)
6. "Full of Hell" (3:21)
7. "Blood Song" (3:23)
8. "Hollowman" (4:25)
9. "Heaven's Die" (4:13)
10. "Out of Hand" (3:07)
"Wolverine Blues" is one of the best death metal albums. Why? Because instead of just playing as fast as they can, Entombed also know how to use a mid-paced Black Sabbath like grooves, slower musical interludes and good songwriting to create a mood. Of course, they still have the heavily down tuned guitars, the brutal "look how scary we are" lyrics, and the typical Cookie-Monster-on-crack barked out vocals. What helps make this such a strong album is the song structures that seems more rooted in old-school heavy metal like Judas Priest than death metal, making the music more accessible to fans of more traditional styles of metal, like myself.
Oh, and one other thing. I always love when these self-proclaimed philosophers, who say they are not preaching a message, have messages like the one in "Out of Hand." "Jesus Christ, lord of flies, in disguise...it's f****ed to hear one idiot's words, but worse to see others believe it. F***ed up minds in f***ed up times...it's all built on lies, out of hand is this a f***ing joke, out of mind and it makes me f***ing chock, f**k!" Ah, now there are some intelligent lyrics. The idea of the song alone is ignorant, but add to that the fact that he can't even sing two lines without using the same expletive and you've got some real intelligent lyrics. Buy a dictionary! Brilliant music, stupid lyrics!