UMUR
"Nearer from Death" is the third demo recording by French death/thrash metal act Massacra. The demo was independently released in January 1989. It´s the successor to the February 1988 "Final Holocaust" demo. There has been one lineup change since the preceding demo as guitarist/vocalist Frederick Laurent Duval has joined Massacra, making the band a quartet on "Nearer from Death". Duval was a founding member of Massacra and played drums on the July 1987 "Legion of Torture" demo, but was out of the band while Massacra recorded the "Final Holocaust" demo. Massacra formed in 1986 and released three demos before being signed for the release of their debut full-length studio album "Final Holocaust" (March 1990, Shark Records).
Stylistically Massacra continue playing the brutal and ultra aggressive thrash metal style of the preceding demos but with even more nods towards death metal. This was a time when many artists were in a transition phase from being thrash metal acts to playing full-on death metal, or in some cases perform a death/thrash metal hybrid style, which is subsequently more or less the direction Massacra went in. The three tracks on the 17:05 minutes long demo are all extremely aggressive and fast-paced death/thrash metal deliverd by a tight playing band and featuring some very raw snarling/screaming vocals. The screaming chromatic guitar solos provide the music with a nice chaotic touch.
The sound production is the least raw and most clear sounding Massacra had up until then, but personally I appreciate the more raw and savage sounding production on the preceding demo to this one. Upon conclusion "Nearer from Death" is another good quality demo recording from Massacra and it finally got them signed to Shark Records for the release of their debut album. The band had hoped to be picked up by one of the bigger American or English labels, but as that didn´t materialize they signed with the smaller Shark Records. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.