Death SS
Black Mass

The Death SS, one of the most important Italian metal bands (along with Necrodeath and Sadist), were formed in Pesaro in 1977 and are among the oldest Italian metal bands. 'Black Mass', the group's second album, was released in 1989 with the following lineup:

Steve Sylvester - VOCALS

Kevin Reynolds - GUITAR

Kurt Templar - GUITAR

Marc Habey - BASS

Boris Hunter - DRUMS

Black Mass opens with "Kings of Evil", which starts with a beautiful guitar arpeggio, very similar to songs like 'Fade to Black' by Metallica. Then, thanks to the drumming, the song turns into speed metal and Sylvester's voice appears, very similar to Cronos’ from Venom (personal judgment). In my opinion, "Kings of Evil" is one of the best songs on the album.

"Horrible Eyes" starts with a music box that creates a horror movie atmosphere, with "evil" little voices. "Horrible Eyes" is a song full of pathos, with fantastic riffs and splendid drumming that accompanies us to the end of the song, which concludes as it started with a "malefic" music box.

"Cursed Mama" opens with an organ that transports us to an atmosphere reminiscent of Transylvania, then interrupted by super-fast riffs that bring the song to the brink of thrash.

"Buried Alive" opens with the sound of footsteps and a beating heart, joined by the acoustic guitar, then interrupted by Reynold’s splendid riff and Habey's pulsating bass.

"Welcome To My Hell" opens with sounds that almost remind one of a horror movie, interrupted by the calm sound of the drums and acoustic guitar, creating a bit of light amidst so much darkness. "Welcome to My Hell" is the calmest song on the album; it’s almost like a wall that divides it.

"Devil's Rage" opens with the noise of a battle. After a slightly subdued start, it kicks off, and the super-fast solo accompanies us to the end...

"In the Darkness" opens with moans with a background of strings and Sylvester's calm voice, accompanied by the piano, promptly interrupted by very slow riffs. The song is influenced by Metallica's thrash from 'Ride The Lightning', following its pattern.

"Black Mass" is the best song on the album, and just for the title track, this album would be a must-have. It opens with notes from an organ, followed by a spoken part accompanied by infernal noises. Then everything becomes silent, and the verse in Latin begins, accompanied by female laments where it seems like witnessing a sabbath; then the word "Amen" shouted interrupts this "malefic" calm. After other noises that seem like those of devils rising to hell, the drums and diabolic riffs start the song (after a 6-minute intro on about 8 minutes of song). The finale ends with the noise of a tape with a small part of a recorded mass and some diabolic laughter (à la 'Master of Puppets').

"The Mandrake Root", the song closest to thrash on the album, opens with fantastic riffs, followed by Sylvester's screams, whose voice here resembles Dave Mustaine's greatly (personal judgment), concluding this magnificent album.

In 1997, Lucifer Rising Records added some bonus tracks. The first, "Kings of Evil" (extended remix), is a song I would compare to 'Fade To Black' (personal judgment). "Getbsemane" is a very calm song, interrupted only by some riffs. "Murders Angels" (Live) opens with the acoustic guitar, almost a ballad, then interrupted by riffs that take the song to 1000. The poor production of this track does not do justice to this beautiful song. The last track, "Vampire" (Live 1989), has terrible production quality, and the song is ruined by the muffled sound.

TRACKLIST:

1. KINGS OF EVIL 3:59
2. HORRIBLE EYES 5:17
3. CURSED MAMA 5:04
4. BURIED ALIVE 4:02
5. WELCOME TO MY HELL 6:00
6. DEVIL'S RAGE 3:56
7. IN THE DARKNESS 5:00
8. BLACK MASS 8:17
9. THE MANDRAKE ROOT 3:22

BONUS TRACK:

1. KINGS OF EVIL (Extended Remix) 4:32
2. GETBSEMANE 5:50
3. MURDER ANGELS (Live) 5:34
4. VAMPIRE (Live 1989) 6:36

I ask for a little understanding from the DeBaseriani, given that you have had very little in the reviews I've done... I only started doing reviews this week, not a year ago....