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Insanity > Death After Death > Reviews
Insanity - Death After Death

Execution of the senses - 88%

colin040, February 15th, 2022

There are a variety of death metal bands that formed during the genre’s early stage, but started to release albums way later and in this case, we’re talking about California’s Insanity. Partially written in the 80’s, it’s best to think of Death After Death as an example of early death metal that harkens back to a time when the genre was still connected to the extremities of thrash metal.

Thanks to a ravaging amount of thundering thrashing, the listening experience feels close to that of Possessed and the bands that were influenced by them and while Insanity never reaches the bombastic territory of Morbid Angel, the band were clearly living up to their name. However, it should also be noted that by 1993, Insanity’s features were by no means ‘’in’’. The vocals sound closer to Martin van Drunen circa Malleus Maleficarum than Consuming Impulse; it’s a hoarse shout that you don’t come across often, but it works excellent for this kind of style and likewise, the drummer creates the right amount of havoc without relying on any blastbeats (which, of course, were nothing unusual in the early 90’s). That said, the band has no problem stacking a crazy amount of riffs together and while the amount of variation between the shorter assaults is somewhat limited, I certainly don’t mind. ‘’Attack of Archangels’’ makes a fine opener of rapid-fire thrash/death metal mania that almost sounds like a logical successor to Possessed’s most frantic moments in terms of intensity. The lightning fast cuts like ‘’Fire Death Fate’’ and ‘’Blood for Blood’’ even resemble Sadus’ Illusions with their eccentric riffs that explode into oblivion and if you could only recall the choruses of these songs, I don’t blame you. You could tell that Insanity occasionally went for the ‘’riffs now, survive later’’ approach but as a fan of this kind of no-nonsense thrash/death metal with a razor sharp edge to it, I’m certainly fine with that.

Insanity also aren’t afraid to take some risks either with expanded song structures either and thus, you end up with occasional longer songs that are full of surprises, even if the results are mixed. ‘’Rotting Decay’’ spends more time evoking gnarly passages that you might expect from some ‘’proper’’ death metal bands, even if it’s structurally a bit of a head scratcher. Instead of a chain reaction of riffs that the shorter songs summon, you end up with an overlong cut of far less inspiring riffs played mostly at ineffective speed. ‘’Possessed’’ recalls the band operating on a ‘’riffs first, songs later’’ approach that’s also a disadvantage. While not awful by any means, you end up with a variety of riffs that fly into several directions without purpose and while I’m tempted to claim that Insanity were no good at writing longer songs, ‘’Morbid Lust’’ proves that they actually could. This clinical riff maze almost recalls a fusion between Pestilence’s Malleus Maleficarum and Atheist’s Piece of Time. You’ve got the cleverly composed riff-approach of the former and the free-spirited attitude of the latter - it’s a combination that I’m very fond of and best of all, things actually go somewhere without causing any distractions whatsoever.

One might wonder if Insanity were better off, had only they released an album some years prior, but as it stands, Death After Death falls in the cult classic category that death metal fans shouldn’t hesitate to go after. Forget about the generic song titles, the piss-poor artwork and certainly don’t be alarmed by two so-so songs…we’re talking about a forgotten gem of death metal right here.

This review was originally written for antichristmagazine.com

Threshold thrashing death - 75%

autothrall, May 17th, 2013

Perhaps it was the artistic exodus from metal that plagued the middle of the 90s, or perhaps it was the bland band moniker (there must be at least a dozen other Insanities), or perhaps even that San Francisco's Insanity was playing such a heavily 80s hybrid of thrash and death metal in a time when brutality, technicality, gore soaked and misogynist lyrics were emerging as the preeminent factors in the field. Even if all three factors contributed to this record's obscurity, I think it would be hard to argue that Death After Death deserved better than it got, and in today's heavily nostalgic underground climate, this Hell's Headbangers vinyl reissue is definitely likely to stab the attention spans of those who were previously ignorant of its existence.

Of course, just how 'death metal' this album is/was will vary by perspective. Treacherously little of the morbid tremolo-styled riffs or crushing palm-muted grooves one would expect. Personally I find it to be a more hyperactive mesh of speed and thrash metal with some more-aggressive-than-normal vocals had they been on an 80s record; almost as if you cranked up the celerity of Possessed, welded in some wild licks that wouldn't have been out of question for Dave Mustaine to perform in his prime, and perhaps a hint of other psycho blitzers like Whiplash, (early) Exodus and Dark Angel for good measure. Splatter speed. Morbid Saint and Ripping Corpse might also be decent reference points, but for my money, both of them had transitioned further over into the death spectrum. The drums of Bud Mills, though, could definitely be counted among the Hoglans and Lombardos in their impact on more extreme metal later. But regardless of its precise classification, Death After Death is the sort of invigorated, energizing affair that occasionally eschews rhyme and reason for a crash bang wallop of accelerated abuse that might damn well appeal to thrash/speed purists, proto-death mavens, or even those crossover fans who like a more metallic centrism to the material. It's not incredibly memorable, but it very much puts me back into that mid to late 80s mood (rather than the 90s in which it was dropped).

Calculated, spastic street riffing dominates pieces like "Attack of Archangels", "Morbid Lust", and "Blood for Blood" (coincidentally my favorites here), but the band sounds cruel and raw even when slowing to a mid-paced neck straining sequence. The leads are lunacy given flesh, flashy and spurious but not so gratingly atonal and caustic as, say, Slayer. The drums are definitely capable of sustaining a double bass rampage, and the kicks and snappy snares definitely distinguish themselves in the mix. Bass playing here is pretty busy too, but subjugated by the rhythm guitars, unfortunately pretty standard for thrash of the late 80s/early 90s. What I'm most impressed with are the surgical sounding lead/melody lines embedded into riffs like the one at the minute mark in "Possession", or leading off "Rotting Decay", which coincidentally also has some of the best bass guitar progressions on the record. Interestingly enough composed that I think Insanity lives up to their (rather generic) name, and might have had a more visible career in technical thrash ala later Nasty Savage had they only arrived with this full-length a few years earlier (they were still doing demos for much of the 80s).

I should also say that the vocals here are quite primal and abusive, occasionally with a little growl to the sustained notes, but otherwise like a mix of Don Doty, Nasty Ronnie and Jeff Becerra. Over the top and murderous barking which often sounds like a one-man gang shout. They really don't have much by way of a memorable chorus anywhere, but most of the tunes are at least as exhilarating as a night at the zoo when a predator becomes uncaged and starts mutilating the guests. Insanity also tries its hand at acoustic passages ("In Memory") and exhibit some classical picking/training; feels thinly produced, and a little out of place and disjointed with the metal intensity, but hinting at broader musical tastes. In the end, while I wasn't entirely in love with the album, there are at least 5-6 tunes on Death After Death which are pedal to the metal, balls out ballistic exercises worth pursuing. A marginal cult classic status is deserved, and with the vastly improved cover artwork for the new gatefold vinyl, it might be time for collectors or fanatics for any of the other bands I name-checked in this review to end their negligence and give Insanity a listen. Unless they/you already HAVE, in which case have another golden star.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

Blood for Blood! - 90%

MakeMySandwich, August 31st, 2011

This is how death metal should be played. Even though the entire album was written more than five years before its release date, the compositions destroyed almost everything that was being pumped out of the Floridian death metal scene. Even Death’s Scream Bloody Gore comes off second best in terms of thrashy catchiness and it rivals Morbid Angel’s Altar’s of Madness for flat out brutality. The clean guitar sections, although not essential to the album as a whole, are a nice touch as well.

Shit really gets into gear a minute into the first track Attack of Archangels, and what a pace it sets. The alternate riffs in between the verses show a distinct Possessed influence which not surprising considering they have a bit of history together. In fact, the best way to describe this music to someone who hasn’t heard Insanity before would be a faster, more technical Possessed, but with less heavy metal influence, beginning their transition towards modern death metal song writing. Fire Death Fate, Blood for Blood and Attack of Archangels are my favourite tracks for raw speed and energy, while Possession is a complete beast. Seriously, the way Possession switches up from epic guitar interplay into those stomping verses is un-fucking-real and a mandatory listen. For a band that prides itself on crazy speed, they know how to create some masterful mid paced and slower moments. When you combine this knack for riff crafting with their talent for flashy soloing and tasteful drum fills, not much can go wrong.

And not much does go wrong. The only low point of whole release is the production. Sharma’s blasting comes off too soft in certain moments and the drums needed more compression. The guitars were thin and you could actually hear tape hiss on the interlude ‘In Memory’. But it appears that Dave was aware of all this, so he rerecorded parts and remixed it all nicely. His new deep vocal approach also fit this heavier sound quite well.

Since the history of Insanity has been covered previously (view it in full here http://www.blacklungproductions.com/insanity/ibio.html) I won’t go into it. What boggles the mind though is how this band has managed to stay firmly lodged in the underground scene considering the musical brilliance they have at their disposal. This is definitely a band that should be mentioned in the same breath as other innovators such as Possessed, Morbid Angel, Master, Repulsion and the like. Their music is even relatively easy to gain hold of, being sold by guitarist Dave Gorusch’s Black Lung Productions! So if you haven’t already got this, go buy it. Go now.

A whirlwind of 80s death metal - 90%

Dark_Mewtwo1, August 2nd, 2008

Insanity gets forgotten amid all the great names in death metal. This band has run into various hardships, including the passing of dynamic vocalist Joel DeZuniga, and more recently, the great Bud Mills. Death After Death took a real long time to be recorded and released, and thus their time had come and gone. Fortunately, what this is, is a classic 80s death metal album, like a Back to the Future moment.

The first thing you will notice about this is the style. The thrash metal influence is not only there, it's embraced by the band. The guitar tone and vocals sound like it would fit into a Vio-Lence-type thrash record. However, these guys manipulated into a really twisted, spastic style unlike many of their contemporaries. Cuts like Morbid Lust and Possession feature abrupt shifts in tempo, with some real inventive drum patterns. Even though Bud did not drum in this album, he left his mark on the material. The riffs snake around the fantastic drum work to create a real strange sound, Insanity is the perfect band name for this style of music.

These guys hold your attention quite well, but unfortunately, that's where this album falters. It's a short album, a little over 30 minutes. It leaves you wanting more. The vocals aren't the greatest, but, similar to Atheist and Vio-Lence, they fit this band's music. These are minor complaints, because Insanity delivers the total package here. In another world, these guys would have hit it big, but at least here they gave us a helluva an album to enjoy.