Rad Jackson

This CD collects everything ever recorded by Ohio trio Hemdale, including their split CDs with Exhumed (1995), Exit-13 (1996), and Disgust (1997), as well as their 14-song demo from 1994. Hemdale specialized in raw, grinding, gory death metal, delivering it with drunken aggression and a sarcastic, tasteless sense of humor. They didn't strive to be the world's most technical or complex band, but the relative simplicity of their music is compensated for by the band's energetic, spirited performances and the sheer sound of their recordings—a mess of sludgy guitars, blasting drums, growling and shrieking dual vocals, and some of the nastiest fuzz-bass since Repulsion's Horrified. It's also worth noting that, while there are oddly no guitar solos anywhere on this record, the rhythm guitar playing is especially good and violent. Highlights here include "Demented Surgical Incest" (one of four songs that appears twice on here) and "Curse the Gods," a Destruction cover that shows how unstoppable this band could have been with slightly better songwriting. Liner notes, lyrics, or some more recording info would've been nice for this reissue, but this is still a very well put together retrospective of an underrated band.