Massacre
From Beyond

The story of this American Death Metal band is inevitably linked to Chuck Schuldiner's Death, more specifically to the album "Leprosy" from 1988. If we take Chuck out of that record and insert his old friend Kam Lee as the vocalist, we get the line-up of Massacre's debut album "From Beyond" from 1991.
To be honest, they had already recorded an album with Joe Cangelosi (Whiplash) on drums, but it was never released due to various label issues.

What type of Death Metal does "From Beyond" contain? Well, remove the two more complex tracks from "Leprosy" (the title track and "Pull The Plug"), eliminate Chuck's voice, half growl and half roar, take away his melodic solos, and add an excellent production by Colin Richardson/Scott Burns, and voilà, Massacre's debut album takes shape with nine tracks.
No one can fault Massacre for playing Death's music since the trio Lee-Schuldiner-Rozz had collaborated together in the pre-Death demos; therefore, a fan of "Leprosy" who did not like the Techno-Death turn could dive into this "From Beyond".
The highlight of the album, besides the production, are the very fast songs, with a drummer, Bill Andrews, who is not a monster like Reinert but uses the pedals well without ever overdoing it and without launching into complex parts (on "Spiritual Healing" he cited Robb Reiner of Anvil as his influence).
Another important quality is Kam Lee's growl (author of all the lyrics), like a bear grinding its teeth with saliva dripping from its gums and screaming like a madman on the first track "Dawn Of Eternity".
Bass player Terry Butler is always in the background, but recently admitted that he played bass more for fun than anything else at that time (good for him). And here comes guitarist-songwriter Rick Rozz, author of the sonic wall of every song, inventor of similar solos that make the guitar scream like a flock of gossiping village women stopped in the middle of the road, chattering about others' business.
Well done Rozz for crafting this carnival scene in my mind.

To understand the themes dealt with in the songs, just look at the CD booklet: you see a huge red membrane tunnel where humans, women, and children screaming are imprisoned. A fair of horrors created by the aliens on the cover.
So, we find all speed pieces like the title-track or "Biohazard" that offer jolting rhythmic patterns and solos with screaming guitar, the major of which is on the opener "Dawn Of Eternity". In "Chambers Of Ages", there is an intro with a funeral procession atmosphere and the start of Rozz's wall of sound, accompanied by Andrews' rolls.
Other ideas are the calmer piece "Defeat Remains" with Kam using a more narrative and less anxious voice, or the old Mantas piece "Corpse Grinder" entirely composed by Rozz. Not much, but Thanatos seem to disagree, having covered it for "Angelic Encounters".
The reissue I have contains the entire 1992 E.P. "Inhuman Condition", which features four tracks, including the Venom cover "Warhead" with guest Cronos.
In the other three tracks, the production is less refined (produced by Massacre themselves) compared to "From Beyond" even if powerful; but what's surprising is Kam Lee's voice, if possible even deeper than usual: see "Inhuman Condition" and "Plains Of Insanity". The other band members are at their usual level, no point in asking for more, with Andrews executing some double bass tricks in the fast sections. However, there's quite a solo on "Provoked Accurser", but I doubt it's by Rozz, oh well!

After the release of the E.P., Massacre disbanded only to resurface in 1996 with the album "Promises", which I have never heard. A band respected by all, which produced a classic Death Metal album. Kam Lee is cited as an influence by Barney of Napalm Death in the acknowledgments of "Harmony Corruption". A listen is deserved by this "From Beyond", even two.