Classic album series: Death - Scream Bloody Gore
As the gruesome baby of Chuck Schuldiner's psychotic shredding and guttural yells, Scream Bloody Gore marks the point that trash became death. With suitably dark song titles like 'Regurgitated Guts', 'Baptized In Blood' and 'Infernal Death', it not only created death metal, but defined it for years to come. Sure, speedy guitars and gritty screams about blood and zombies may seem commonplace in death metal today, but seldom did any of Death's imitators truly encapsulate the unholy assault that Scream Bloody Gore delivered.
Death metal has progressed to a more brutal and less simplistic place since the 1987 release, but historical significance aside, Scream Bloody Gore has aged well and still holds the sort of kick-you-in-the-teeth riffage that would be admirable today. Subsequent Death releases are undoubtedly more dynamic and less amateurish, but with a gut-wrenching attack that birthed death metal, Scream Bloody Gore is an essential album for any death metal fan.
