DARK AVENGER — Death Metal (review)

DARK AVENGER — Death Metal album cover Split · 1984 · Heavy Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3/5 ·
UMUR
"Death Metal" is a 4way-split release featuring German artists Running Wild, Helloween, Dark Avenger, and Swiss group Hellhammer. The split was released in October 1984 through Noise Records. None of the band´s have had their breakthrough at this point, and all material on the split are demo recordings. Each artist are featured with two tracks.

"Death Metal" opens with the two tracks by Running Wild, which are culled from their 1984 "Demo 4". They are fairly well played but not particularly interesting heavy metal/speed metal tracks. Hellhammer is up next, and their two tracks are culled from the March 1984 recording sessions which ended up becoming the "Apocalyptic Raids" EP. The two tracks featured on this split, are however leftover tracks from the recording sessions, which originally didn´t make it unto "Apocalyptic Raids". Stylistically Hellhammer played a primitive and raw blackened speed metal style, which subsequently influenced a lot of extreme metal artists. They are arguably the most raw and extreme band on the split.

The Dark Avenger tracks are epic heavy/speed metal tracks, which are well performed, well written, and relatively well produced. As far as I know the two tracks are exclusive to this release. Dark Avenger only released a 1985 demo in addition to the material featured here and then folded. The two Helloween tracks are culled from their June 1984 "Death Metal Demo". Helloween play a more powerful, sharp, and hard edged version of the speed metal style Dark Avenger introduced on the tracks before these ones. The Helloween tracks are also well produced.

Although Hellhammer stick out a bit with their more savage sounding music style "Death Metal" is a pretty good quality split release, featuring some decent quality demo material (in some cases pretty good quality) and some of these bands would of course go on to future greatness. It´s only Dark Avenger who has more or less disappeared from metal history other than their contributions to this split. A 3 star (60%) rating is deserved.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Hin helga kvöl Atmospheric Sludge Metal
SÓLSTAFIR
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Cycles of Suffering Black Metal
BURIAL OATH
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Suns of Perdition - Chapter IV: To Shadow Zion Black Metal
PANZERFAUST
Buy this album from MMA partners
Facilis Descensus Averno Death Metal
SAEVUS FINIS
Buy this album from MMA partners
Merciless Crossover Thrash
BODY COUNT
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

DAWN OF REVENGE - Sanctuary [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Farewell [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Curtain of Death - [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Vengeance [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - I Need You [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed