Thou Shall Choose

I can only say that this record is "so bad it's good," and thus would be an awesome record to own if you're just getting into death metal, you're under the age of 15, and the year is 1993. If none of these apply to you, then you might get a chuckle out of this thing simply because it's so over-the-top, and it will bring you back to a time when you, too, wanted to be in a death metal band. Not recommended for anyone other than early-nineties death metal enthusiasts.

The production on this album is awful, but this also is its saving grace. The vocals are insanely high in the mix, and are absolutely drenched in some sort of gurgly effects processor. This guy's voice sounds like the ghouls in the "Evil Dead" movies, only a lot more processed and artificial. The result, however, is cute and lovable. If it is true that the worst metal bands are the unremarkable bands, then Excruciating Pain would not fall into that category because the insanity of the album's production makes it stand out in your CD collection like a severed thumb, or like a decapitated giraffe. The songwriting is fairly run-of-the-mill, interesting only because of this band's odd production preferences. The lyrics are all about, like, going to Hell and stuff, pretty typical of early-nineties death metal. The lyric booklet has these little black-and-white demon icons that look like they were copied out of one of Gary Gygax's early texts from the 1970s.

There are two other reasons why you might find this CD an entertaining addition to your collection: the hilarious cover art that smacks of some high school student doodling on the inside cover of his chemistry textbook, and the dedication. The dedication reads: "This album is dedicated to all the motherfuckers who said we couldn't do it. Even though it is a small label, look at us and look at you." Indeed.

A nifty little nick-nack for those who love 1990s death metal and/or those who get a kick out of unique and unusual CDs.