Review by Chris Pratl on May 2, 2018.

Chicago legends Cianide have a long and lasting lineage attached to them. Around these Midwestern parts, these guys are far past local legends; they pretty much help define what our city manages to employ in terms of quality metal. When the tagline “Metal Never Bends” is uttered in many a metal show or social gathering of like-minded folk, you can attribute that to the legend that is Cianide. If you are unfamiliar with their back catalog, I strongly urge you to rectify this yesterday – you won't be sorry.

Yes, I'm a fan for many, many years, but I also would never espouse the virtues of any band I didn't feel worthy of such adoration and praise. From the beginning with 1992's The Dying Truth up through the present day, there is nary a blemish on such a storied career. I won't sit here and go through the band's history; I encourage and implore you all to do that if you enjoy quality death metal with doom influences devoid of inane 'bells and whistles' and gimmicks posing as nuance. These guys are, in short, as real a deal as it gets.

So, death metal in its wonderfully chaotic live setting isn't your thing you say? I may submit for your consideration the limited, albeit worthy offering of a live soundboard cassette (yep, they still exist!) of the band's show at Reggie's Rock House here in Chicago on July 21, 2017 simply titled Reggie's Chicago – July 21, 2017 on Headsplit Records. You are (mis)treated to 12 tracks of homegrown death/doom, the likes of which can't be matched around these parts. If you have never had the sick pleasure of witnessing this band live (or even hearing their studio efforts), you are not only missing out, you are wasting precious time. In the nearly 50-minutes of stage time herein, you hear a solid, unrelenting foray into the cellars of Sabbath-like death metal from whence many a 'doomy' dirge has been disseminated. This trio manages to create a definitive wall of sound that can't possibly be denied. What you will find here on this live offering is a full-set of fast-to-slower, gut-squeezing death with vocals that don't follow the typical blueprint; the gruff vocal is a throaty persistence that both utilizes the tone to near perfection and enunciates well so that the gamut of degradation and scorn can be taken in accordingly.

While there is a small amount of production-polish associated with bringing this live show to a logical release standard, the intensity and brutality of tracks like “Desecration Storm” or “Death Dealer” are still felt in the core of your stomach. Further, the 'polish' doesn't take away from the music itself: a solid mesh of airy thickness and clarity, something very tough to capture on a death metal live release without subtracting or adding too much of one or another. Everything here is what you might expect to see and hear when you see Cianide live: a galloping jaunt through an air of Chicago metal in its purest, unadulterated form. There isn't any need for technical perfection or overly-anal attention to minuscule detail; the band never puts out a half-assed product, which is why their catalog is as solid and respected as it is. This little live addition, limited or not, is just another notch in the aged, brilliant bullet belt.

I cannot state just how important a band like Cianide was and is to my personal metal education growing up on the now-plague-like streets of Chicago; they provided a strong soundtrack to my youth that has managed to carry over into my middle-age, most likely ending up in my damaged memory bank when I take my last breaths on this cursed plane. Yes, the local connection is a worthy notation for someone in my position, but I could write novels listing the bands from these streets that are long forgotten to time. Cianide comes around once a lifetime; they are as important to us here as Incantation is to Johnstown or Possessed to San Francisco. The local pride is strong, of course, but the music is exemplary and resonating – no amount of personal geography can embellish that point.

Rating: 9 out of 10          

Review by Jack on June 1, 2002.

Sacred Steel kick open “Slaughter Prophecy” with the short intro track, ‘The Immortal Curse’ which follows on to some of the weirdest and wackiest combination of power and death metal I have laid ever my ears upon. The opening song ‘Slaughter Prophecy’, starts off with some slow to mid tempo guitar riffing before the pounding of the skins breaks in... "alright, this is pretty good," I begin to think. That pounding drumming soon warps the slow to mid-tempo guitars into blinding and shredding guitar numbers. "This is starting to get damn good... we could be onto a winner here!" I exclaim in pure excitement. Harsh and unforgiving death metal vocals soon raise the bar another notch; "this could definitely be a strong 8+/10 mark," my adrenaline levels are starting to rise, then terror strikes...

After the furious roars from the Sacred Steel vocalist start erupting from my speakers, what can only be described as the highest adolescent boy wail possible rips through my sound system, interrupting my short lived bliss. In pure shock, I throw a brick at my stereo. Stuff that, I need to calm down. That was some truly awful garbage.

It is just plain unforgiving as to what Sacred Steel did to ‘Slaughter Prophecy’; the song had absolutely everything going for it, but when the power metal whines reared their ugly little heads, I was almost ready to relegate “Slaughter Prophecy” to coaster status.

After picking my stereo up from the local electronics bloke, I very gingerly pop “Slaughter Prophecy” back into the CD player and brace myself. Summoning all my restraint, I sit there and absorb the full 45 minutes of Sacred Steel.

Jumping forward a few hours, I can honestly say that “Slaughter Prophecy” is not quite as awful as I thought it would be. In fact it is just marginally better. If you dig the power metal clichés of ‘Raise the Metal Fist’ and ‘Let the Witches Burn’, then you are truly a metal crusader and will probably find more redeeming features than I did on “Slaughter Prophecy”.

Bottom Line: This crap is just too much for me. Why on earth would you use rubbishy teenage angst whining, when you have such an untapped resource is death metal vocals? Only for the true power metal warriors out there!

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 6
Atmosphere: 5
Production: 7
Originality: 5
Overall: 5

Rating: 5.6 out of 10

Review by Jack on June 1, 2002.

Sacred Steel kick open “Slaughter Prophecy” with the short intro track, ‘The Immortal Curse’ which follows on to some of the weirdest and wackiest combination of power and death metal I have laid ever my ears upon. The opening song ‘Slaughter Prophecy’, starts off with some slow to mid tempo guitar riffing before the pounding of the skins breaks in... "alright, this is pretty good," I begin to think. That pounding drumming soon warps the slow to mid-tempo guitars into blinding and shredding guitar numbers. "This is starting to get damn good... we could be onto a winner here!" I exclaim in pure excitement. Harsh and unforgiving death metal vocals soon raise the bar another notch; "this could definitely be a strong 8+/10 mark," my adrenaline levels are starting to rise, then terror strikes...

After the furious roars from the Sacred Steel vocalist start erupting from my speakers, what can only be described as the highest adolescent boy wail possible rips through my sound system, interrupting my short lived bliss. In pure shock, I throw a brick at my stereo. Stuff that, I need to calm down. That was some truly awful garbage.

It is just plain unforgiving as to what Sacred Steel did to ‘Slaughter Prophecy’; the song had absolutely everything going for it, but when the power metal whines reared their ugly little heads, I was almost ready to relegate “Slaughter Prophecy” to coaster status.

After picking my stereo up from the local electronics bloke, I very gingerly pop “Slaughter Prophecy” back into the CD player and brace myself. Summoning all my restraint, I sit there and absorb the full 45 minutes of Sacred Steel.

Jumping forward a few hours, I can honestly say that “Slaughter Prophecy” is not quite as awful as I thought it would be. In fact it is just marginally better. If you dig the power metal clichés of ‘Raise the Metal Fist’ and ‘Let the Witches Burn’, then you are truly a metal crusader and will probably find more redeeming features than I did on “Slaughter Prophecy”.

Bottom Line: This crap is just too much for me. Why on earth would you use rubbishy teenage angst whining, when you have such an untapped resource is death metal vocals? Only for the true power metal warriors out there!

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 6
Atmosphere: 5
Production: 7
Originality: 5
Overall: 5

Rating: 5.6 out of 10

Review by Jack on June 1, 2002.

Sacred Steel kick open “Slaughter Prophecy” with the short intro track, ‘The Immortal Curse’ which follows on to some of the weirdest and wackiest combination of power and death metal I have laid ever my ears upon. The opening song ‘Slaughter Prophecy’, starts off with some slow to mid tempo guitar riffing before the pounding of the skins breaks in... "alright, this is pretty good," I begin to think. That pounding drumming soon warps the slow to mid-tempo guitars into blinding and shredding guitar numbers. "This is starting to get damn good... we could be onto a winner here!" I exclaim in pure excitement. Harsh and unforgiving death metal vocals soon raise the bar another notch; "this could definitely be a strong 8+/10 mark," my adrenaline levels are starting to rise, then terror strikes...

After the furious roars from the Sacred Steel vocalist start erupting from my speakers, what can only be described as the highest adolescent boy wail possible rips through my sound system, interrupting my short lived bliss. In pure shock, I throw a brick at my stereo. Stuff that, I need to calm down. That was some truly awful garbage.

It is just plain unforgiving as to what Sacred Steel did to ‘Slaughter Prophecy’; the song had absolutely everything going for it, but when the power metal whines reared their ugly little heads, I was almost ready to relegate “Slaughter Prophecy” to coaster status.

After picking my stereo up from the local electronics bloke, I very gingerly pop “Slaughter Prophecy” back into the CD player and brace myself. Summoning all my restraint, I sit there and absorb the full 45 minutes of Sacred Steel.

Jumping forward a few hours, I can honestly say that “Slaughter Prophecy” is not quite as awful as I thought it would be. In fact it is just marginally better. If you dig the power metal clichés of ‘Raise the Metal Fist’ and ‘Let the Witches Burn’, then you are truly a metal crusader and will probably find more redeeming features than I did on “Slaughter Prophecy”.

Bottom Line: This crap is just too much for me. Why on earth would you use rubbishy teenage angst whining, when you have such an untapped resource is death metal vocals? Only for the true power metal warriors out there!

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 6
Atmosphere: 5
Production: 7
Originality: 5
Overall: 5

Rating: 5.6 out of 10

Review by Alex on December 28, 2018.

This is one that took me a while to adjust to, but upon giving the time to sit and absorb the scaling and pounding trample of Corpsessed’s second outing titled Impetus of Death, I was made aware of how good they are. Musically the band excels at delivering a stabilized performance that beats down on the guitar riffs with boulder-esque power chords, double bass and bellowing vocals. I think Corpsessed achieved a special height with Impetus of Death, though I have yet to hear what came before this, Impetus of Death sounds like a force of its own making.

Clocking in at 47 minutes, Corpsessed reveals that they are not afraid to diverge unto other paths with a sanguine stride each time they do so. 47 minutes is more than enough time to make a bland dragged-out record, as we have seen with many bands; however, if you have a clear vision of where you would like the band to be by the end of the recording and are able to build a climax going into each track then it is more likely that you will be successful with the finalized output. With riffs that act as an extension of the monstrous sounding vocals, bass and drums, the grip is fastened on the listener with the assurance of sustained replay urges. And with each new session, the job of scrutinizing the release transforms into a head-banging, indulgent stretch. If that’s the case at any period of time, then the record you are listening to is a success. 

From the title track to “Paroxysmal”, “Forlorn Burial” and the mammoth stomping “Starless Event Horizon” you're greeted in one of the most austere manners imaginable. Death/doom and thrash metal rotate the attack whilst pelting out riffs that accolade the fierce assault of the emphatic vocals, bass and drum quarrels. The devotion towards death metal radiates brightly through the recording to be heard on here. Though the mix is at times a bit tough on the ears (especially if wearing headphones), you cannot disregard the fact Impetus of Death carries with it an addiction that builds as time progresses; and with that happening you don’t even recognize the minuscule flaws when they appear. Example, “Starless Event Horizon” is a 10 minute track that offers an intense stir of death/doom, it's not perfect as some parts could have been played with a bit more consideration, however, as you approach the 3 minute mark and hit that tremolo guitar lead, it begins to make sense structure-wise. By taking a less memorable opening and adding a peak via introducing a catchy lead you somehow recreate the song by giving it a stronger highlight. “Starless Event Horizon” is an excellent conclusion to a record which connects each link, thereby creating an anchored representation of the final product. 

Interbreeding with the metaphysical:

• “Impetus of the Dead”
• “Paroxysmal”
• “Forlorn Burial”
• “Starless Event Horizon”

Rating: 8.4 out of 10