Horror Creatures

This is a collection of Shub Niggurath's material before they would put out a full length; with live material, a re-mastered demo and two EPs to boast. While they maintained a death metal focus throughout the first few years, they displayed characteristics of other extreme metal genres as well.

'Horror Creatures' is back in 1990 when Shub Niggurath played a chunky form of death metal and had some aspects of grind. This demo is awash with bass, distortion, and shows a disgusting attitude towards their initial start with extreme metal. If you've heard the production on later material like 'The Kinglike Celebration,' you might not be prepared for what's in store here. This has one of those hazy, spawned-in-a-sewer production jobs that makes the music come alive with a feeling of unwashable filthiness and impending doom. The guitars have a deep, bassy sound with fuzz hanging off it like a peach began to spoil and rot. The drums came out with some cool sounding double bass and toms, the kind that sounds like someone is aggressively pounding a doormat against a wall. The music has a few slower moments likened to death-doom and also another side that plays out as having grind tendencies. This forms an atmosphere of darker death metal, with vocals overtop with auditorium-size reverb, growling with deep, sloppy menace.

Another year, another release, although Shub Niggurath released a two track EP this time around in 1991, and this time the production changed, though the music is still in a similar mind-set to the last. The 'Unknown Adorer' EP sounds like it has a tighter frame work among the musicians. I think this was due to the production job on the 'Horror Creatures' demo causing frequencies to go haywire, this way and that, essentially disrupting the musicians. Yet, 'Unknown Adorer' has more of a uniform sound, but on the other hand, it is kind of mudded sounding, with each instrument having loads of bass and a cavernous effect from all of the reverb on top. This doesn't have as many slower parts compared to the last, but a speed that can peak to undistinguishable blasts. This creates a melded sound of hidden, meshed notes. Then there are some medium breaks that show off some crunching palm mutes and deeper snarling growls. Unfortunately, 'Unknown Adorer' is a little more predictable compared to 'Horror Creatures' and doesn't have as many outbursts. It still maintains a darker atmosphere due to the layer of dirt on top of the instruments and some commendable death metal within.

'Blasphemies of Nether World' is Shub Niggurath's three track EP from 1992, and shows some more surprises compared to the last EP from the previous year. The songs 'Legions from the Absu' and 'Subhuman Immortality' would also appear on their later full length 'The Kinglike Celebration,' albeit with some differences with production and vocal presentation. This sort of mixes the explosive grind-like parts of the 'Horror Creatures' demo with the darker death metal moments of the 'Unknown Adorer' EP. The vocals are gruff and growled and the music shows some more change-ups compared to the last. Which creates more versatility behind the drum throne; such as abrupt blasts and various fills. The guitars are heard with more clarity compared to the last EP as well, but still with a thick slab of bass applied. When solos come up the sound seems to drop, without a backing guitar, and only bass and drums appear, yet they don't seem to carry the background until the rhythms guitar jumps back in. Although, out of all of their early material this has the most even and centered production.

The last portion of this CD has six tracks of a live recording from 1993. My impression from the sound is that it probably came from a video camera microphone. It is far away from being level sounding, or ran through a mixing board for that matter. But these type of compilations aren't complete without some kind of obscure recording for the fans. I think it is ultimately a chance to catch them live from a recording unheard, but repeat listens can be challenging. It is more like a one-off moment, since there are no visuals to go with the sound. This includes all of the songs above, along with a track called, 'The Truth,' which is in the same vain as the other songs as well.

The compilation 'Horror Creatures,' titled after their first demo, displays material from their early days. Nearly all of it is here, down to the grisly bone. And is a great way to catch the band in their energetic beginning. I think the best material here is the 'Horror Creatures' demo and the 'Blasphemies of Nether World' EP, with the 'Unknown Adorer' falling somewhere just short of surprises in comparison and is more straight-forward. And the last material giving a chance to hear the band play these same tracks live. Overall, this might not be as clear or defined in production compared to the full-lengths 'Evilness & Darkness Prevails' or 'The Kinglike Celebration,' but I still think it has some worthy material from the early period of '90s death metal.