Justify Your Existence

It's not often that I hear the phrase "unreleased ______" and think, "Oh my GOD, I have to get my hands on that!" More times than not, unreleased anything was unreleased for a reason. The label didn't like it, the band didn't like it, the band was disintegrating at the time of recording and didn't bother to put out what they made... etc. It's especially weird when the unreleased whatever isn't a song or a demo or even an EP, but a whole album. How does a band in the pre-computer, cheapo, digital recording era book a studio, record an entire album, and then not find a way to put it out? I've heard a couple of unreleased albums by bands I love - Num Skull's "Future - Our Terror" was a letdown compared to the terrifying full-throttle thrash on "Ritually Abused," and Morbid Saint's "Destruction System" is most properly viewed as a curious footnote to "Spectrum of Death" rather than a proper follow-up (mainly because of the poor sound quality). Your mileage may vary of course, but I would humbly suggest that your mileage is way off.

Anyway: Chronic Decay is a crazed death/thrash outfit from the heyday of Swedish death metal, best known for a well-liked split with another obscure band (Exanthema), and contributing a solid track to the famous "Projections of a Stained Mind" compilation. Apart from those things they never did anything or went anywhere. Except, oh yeah, they studio-recorded an entire album - this one - and never got it released. Maybe the year had something to do with it; by 1994, thrash metal was truly cooked and death metal was on the wane, and Chronic Decay was a band that never fit into a neat category anyway. Of all their contemporaries, they remind me most of Merciless - both bands sound like they like Slayer, but think "Reign in Blood" was a little on the slow and gentle side. Why couldn't the tempos be MORE extreme? Why couldn't the riffs be as warped and rapid-fire as death metal riffs? Why couldn't Tom Araya just scream his fool head off instead of, y'know, sometimes kind of singing? However, Chronic Decay brings punk influences to the table, making them truly one of a kind. Merciless sounded deathly or blackened, and just pure evil; Chronic Decay, by contrast, sounds more angry (REALLY angry) and abrasive as fuck. Other points of comparison might be the balls-out insanity of classic bands like early Sadus (but less technical), the first Incubus album, and old Sepultura. And if you've nodded happily when reading all of those names, you need to check this out.

For a "lost" album, the sound here is hardly archeological. No cobwebs to blow off - on the contrary, it is very clean-sounding and appropriate to the onslaught of frenetic riffs and screams the band delivers. Everything is easy to hear, with even the bass burbling to the surface here and there. Mastering is great - not overly compressed, and plenty warm. And Me Saco Un Ojo's vinyl packaging is quality all the way. Nothing too fancy really, but it gets the job done. (I only wish they had come up with some better cover artwork - the "angry guy photo in red" look is suitable to the music, but hardly as evocative as the covers for the first two Merciless albums, for example.)

On the whole, if you like thrash that leans hard into death metal and a little bit into hardcore or crust, you need to give this LP a spin. One of the few "lost gems" that truly was a GEM, and not just lost.

As of late, this is one of the most difficult reviews I've had to write. Not because I find the album musically appalling or anything like that, but because I just don't know how to find the words to describe such a blast from the past. The roots of Chronic Decay can be found in the mid 80ies, and Justify your existence was recorded all the way back in 1994, but was never released. That is until the up and coming UK label Me Saco Un Ojo finally unearthed this true gem of old school death metal. To tell you the truth I'm not sure if I've heard more than Chronic Decay's contribution to the "Projections of a Stained Mind" compilation before, I doubt I have. So it was with relatively open eyes and ears I gave it an initial spin on the turntable, but it didn't take long before I was hooked.

The comparison to the early days of Sepultura is inevitable, fact is there are a few moments where I could imagine the old Cavalera days to have spat out some of the riffs that Justify your existence is based upon. It's a fast-paced onslaught, constantly full speed ahead drumming and catchy-as-hell riffing. The riffs are a true joy to hear as they sound so naturally progressed, like the lads didn't even have to try; playing music was the most natural thing in the world. While remaining within the realm of death metal the riffs carry a heavy thrash influence, in particular in the melody department. Fact is, on a few occasions I even thought of the early days of Metallica for some of the melodic guitar lines, like for instance during Murder by degree. The label also makes comparisons to both Dismember and Napalm Death, but it wasn't until a little while ago that I actually got the latter one. Chronic Decay has that certain little extra, spiced by some hardcorepunk, that gives it a punky old school feel similar to the earlier days of the kings of British grindcore.

Throughout the entire album the vocals deliver in aggression, and I mean aggression. The harsh screaming sounds incredibly pissed, and as a fan of the crusties Dischange and Meanwhile it's extra cool to hear the young hoarse voice of Jocke delivering something very different to his later efforts in the crust scene. Not a moment goes by that's not poised with catchiness in the riffing, and with the full-on mangle of the drumming the adrenaline level is at an all-time high. I mean, you can't resist to get drawn in. Just listen to the last moments of Relentless and you'll know what I mean. It's truly compelling, and commands one to mosh. But the lads also show a nack for quite stark atmosphere, as displayed in Silent prayer. And it all works oh-so-well, the entire album does. If you're a fan of the old Scandinavian death metal sound, and aren't afraid of thrash melody and punk attitude, this is a must have!

Originally written for http://www.mylastchapter.net