Scream Bloody Gore

Scream Bloody Gore is the first album released by Death in 1987. This album bears little resemblance to the far more technical works of the band. Chuck Schuldiner plays bass, wrote all the songs on the album and provides vocals in addition to guitar for the album. John Hand is noted on the cover as playing ‘rhythm’, though this was incorrect and Hand was only in the band for a short period and was not on the recording. This is also the only Death album to feature drummer Chris Reifert, who had joined for the Mutilation demo.

Scream Bloody Gore was actually recorded twice, with the second, Los Angeles-based session being released as the album by label Combat Records (later Relativity). It was first recorded in Florida, although only the rhythm guitar and drum tracks were recorded. The label were unsatisfied after hearing the initial mix, Schuldiner and Reifert recorded in California with Randy Burns as producer. Once returning to Florida, the first session was released as a promotional tape, and was eventually bootlegged. Legion of Doom was a longtime staple of Death’s rehearsals and live shows, and was indeed the first song written, reaching back to when they were known as Mantas.

This album is also hailed by fans and critics as arguably the first death metal album, as it replaced the large amount of thrash influence early bands such as Possessed had, with outright ‘brutality’.