UMUR
"Constrictus Mortum" is the first demo recording by US death metal act D.V.C. (Darth Vader's Church). The demo was independently released in early 1989. D.V.C. formed in 1988 in Tallahassee, Florida and were active until 1993 when they disbanded after releasing this demo and two full-length studio albums. Three out of the four members would ressurface under the Mortitron monicker and release a 1997 demo before disappearing again.
I´ve been trying to dig up information about D.V.C. other than the usual trivia, but I´ve failed to find anything further than the information in the beginning of my review, so D.V.C. are something as unusual as a late 80s/early 90s death metal act from Florida, who weren´t very prolific during their initial run and who very few people have ever heard about.
...and that´s actually a real shame, because judging by the qualiy of the material on this demo and particularly the performances, D.V.C. had something to offer. Early Morbid Angel and Nocturnus minus the keyboards are obvious influences (with an added healthy dose of brutal late 80s thrash metal). The raw and unpolished demo production values drown out some of the screaming chromatic guitars leads which seem to appear from nowhere, and unfortunately also often the raw shouting/semi-growling vocals. Total sonic chaos, but it´s all very well performed and quite raw and intense, and when you can make out what´s happening it´s obvious that these guys had both the playing skills and the songwriting brains to produce something worthwhile. A 2.5 - 3 star (55%) rating is warranted.