UMUR
"Demo Tapes 1990 - 1991" is a compilation release by Finnish death metal act Anathema. The compilation was released through Dark Blasphemies Records in September 2015. Anathema formed in 1989 under the Funeration monicker and recorded two demo tracks in December 1990 under thta monicker before changing their name to Anathema. The two Funeration tracks have remained unreleased until now, as they have been included on "Demo Tapes 1990 - 1991", along with the material from Anathemas two 1991 demos "Promo 1991" and "Demo II".
The two Funeration tracks are early versions of the two "Demo II" tracks "Perdition" and "First Symptoms of Rotting", so while the compilation features eight tracks and a total playing time of 32:42 minutes (and features all recorded material by Funeration/Anathema), there are actually only 6 original compisitions on the compilation.
"Demo Tapes 1990 - 1991" opens with the two tracks from the "Promo 1991", which featur the best sounding audio quality of the tracks featured on the compilation. The tracklist continues with the four tracks from the May 1991 "Demo II", and Anathema have opted for a darker, murkier, and even more gloomy and morbid old school death metal style on that release. The growling vocals have a juicy phlegmatic quality to them that´s pretty vile. "Demo Tapes 1990 - 1991" closes with the two Funeration tracks, which not surprisingly feature a very raw sounding production job, but otherwise actually sound pretty great.
"Demo Tapes 1990 - 1991" is for fans of the most murky, morbid, and gloomy sounding part of the old school Finnish death metal scene, and the material in this album is a great example of why that particular scene had a lot to offer. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.