Resurrected from the Grave: Demo Collection

Personnel: Jocke Svensson (vocals).
Although Entrails made their full-length debut in 2010 with Tales from the Morgue, the band's origins go all the way back to the 1990s, when they began work on an idea that eventually fizzled out. In 2008, Entrails mastermind Jimmy Lundqvist decided that, rather than allow that material to simply collect dust, he would re-record those early demos on his own with Jocke Svensson on vocals. The results were two demos, Reborn and Human Decay, both of which were self-released as a run of 50 homemade CD-Rs. Now, with the help of Metal Blade, these demos get a long-awaited official release on Resurrected from the Grave: Demo Collection, which gathers both albums onto one disc to create a gnarled mass of grimy death metal. Although the songs here are ostensibly demos, they feel fully fleshed-out, making it clear that Lundqvist kept thinking about these songs long after Entrails initially broke up. The recording quality is a bit brittle at times, but it actually works with the songs, adding a layer of dirt and sludge that makes it feel as though these tracks have recently climbed out of a shallow grave. Although these sorts of demo collections are usually reserved for superfans, Resurrected from the Grave is an album of old-school death metal that's solid enough that fans of the genre won't find a lack of fandom a barrier to entry. For anyone already hip to the Swedish band's dark and destructive sound, this collection has the long-lost albums you've been looking for. ~ Gregory Heaney