First we were treated to the awesome Mantas compilation, and now this. Long out of print and virtually forgotten about the world over, Svart Records is kind enough to deliver the lost demo collection of Abhorrence, one of the pioneer death metal bands of Finland. Comprised of guys who eventually left to play in Amorphis (Tomi Koivusaari and Jussi Ahlroth) and Impaled Nazarene (Mika Arnkil), the mark left by Abhorrence was a significant one, if not globally recognized or appreciated.

Comprised of the demos Vulgar Necrolatry, Macabre Masquerade and Abhorrence, Completely Vulgar is the perfect way to introduce new fans to an ancient band and allow those who have the dusty old cassettes to enjoy them with today’s technology. The overall sound of Completely Vulgar is not exactly the best, but then again this is a collection of old demos so that is to be expected. Still, the rawness and hunger from a bunch of kids creating a unique brand of death metal circa 1990 goes a long way and many of the songs have such energy that the rather lousy production is cast aside.

The album is being marketed as something that was Amorphis before they were Amorphis, but the truth is that there aren’t a ton of Amorphis references, save for the original version of “Vulgar Necrolatry.” With that said, though, there are some Privilege of Evil and The Karelian Isthmus overtones in terms of sound and delivery. Anybody expecting to hear some sort of Tales of the Thousand Lakes­-styled demos will be sorely mistaken.

Collections of old demos like this are some of the most enjoyable albums to listen to and it’s much more accessible and proper to create and distribute something like Completely Vulgar rather than just adding some of the demo tracks on reissues of older records. And when a band like Abhorrence never ever released anything official as a full length, listening to Completely Vulgar is much more of a treat considering how far some of the members of this Finnish band have come in twenty-plus years.

Along with Nihilist and Nirvana 2002, Abhorrence is one of those great vintage Scandinavian death metal bands who closed up shop well before they achieved any sort of real success, disbanding to form other successful acts in the process. Anybody who fancies himself a metal collector or one who is a metal history buff, Completely Vulgar is an essential purchase. It also doesn’t hurt that many of the tracks on the collection are absolute, primitive monsters that stand the test of time.

[Visit the band's website]

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