UMUR
"Back from the Dead" is the first demo released by Death, after Chuck Schuldiner moved from Florida to California and assembled a new lineup for his project. Enter drummer Eric Brecht (formerly of D.R.I.) and bassist Erik Meade.
"Back from the Dead" features 8 tracks (one is a short intro) and a total playing time of 21:09 minutes. Some tracks had appeared on earlier demo releases, but were re-recorded with the new lineup. Only "Baptized in Blood" and "Mutilation" would be re-recorded and included on Death´s debut full-length studio album "Scream Bloody Gore" (May 1987, Combat Records). The sound quality is a bit murky and lo-fi, but it´s still audible that the band are well playing (Brecht is a skilled and fast playing drummer). Schuldiner has a raw growling vocal style, but also performs high pitched hysterical screaming. The latter sounds a little immature and doesn´t really fit the music that well.
I´m not sure if this is a rehearsal demo or if it was recorded on a 4-track recorder, but my guess would be the former, as this sounds really rough and unpolished. Some of the earlier Death demos have a superior sound quality to this one. A 2.5 star (50%) rating is warranted.