Asphyx
The Rack

Wikipedia: In 1990 the fame of Asphyx was so well-established that for a concert in Hardenberg, Paradise Lost was chosen as the opening band.

"The Rack" dated 1991 is the debut album of Asphyx, a Dutch death metal band active since 1987. The band consists of guitarist Eric Daniels, drummer Bob Bagchus, and new arrival ex-Pestilence Martin Van Drunen on vocals and bass. The album was produced on a very small budget at the group’s precise request, in order to achieve the rawest and most primal sound possible, so keep in mind that the production "flaws" you hear are perfectly intentional. 

As already mentioned, the musical proposal of these young Dutch is a straightforward, no-frills old-school death metal, characterized by hard, powerful, and dirty sounds. What makes this band unique is the ability to mix these elements with slower and more diabolical doom-style arrangements.

The album opens with the introductory and chaotic "The Quest for Absurdity", then makes way for "Vermin", a very fast and abrasive track with Van Drunen's vocals spewing all his hate, garnished with slower and more paced interludes that make room for excellent guitar work. It continues with "Diabolical Existence", a slower track with dark and macabre doom nature tones, with sudden accelerations that hit like a speeding truck. In the same vein follows Evocation.

The band steps on the accelerator again with "Wasteland of Terror", characterized by a sudden slowdown about halfway through the song, then closes once more in the fiercest fury. Before we even notice, we are on the sixth track of the platter, "The Sickening Dwell", an oppressive song endowed with stratospheric riffs, a true masterpiece, a condensation of melody, heaviness, and speed. With the instrumental and disturbing "Ode to a Nameless Grave" we can catch a bit of breath, but don't get too comfortable!, as with "Pages in Blood", also characterized by slow and suffocating riffs, broken by rapid accelerations, the band brings us back immediately into the depths of hell.

The task of closing the album falls to "The Rack", one of the peaks reached by Asphyx, a very long track (a whole 9 minutes), bordering on progressive, we can define it as a summary of everything said in this album so far.

The three Dutch are the creators of an impeccable and chilling performance, in this work you can find all the rot, filth, and perversion that is possible to hear in music. Van Drunen's voice will terrify you throughout the listening experience, one of the sickest and most perverse growls in the history of death metal.

To those who do not yet know these guys, I highly recommend retrieving this album and letting yourself be carried away by all its tritones.