Thirty years ago on this very day the world’s Metal fans would get their first proper introduction to the band Death as the band’s debut album “Scream Bloody Gore” was released on the Combat Records label. The band was formed in 1983 by lead guitarist/vocalist Chuck Schuldiner and four years after their genesis, Schuldiner and drummer Chris Reifert. They were the only musicians doing the recording as Chuck would handle all guitars along with the vocals and while the band Possessed had released a body of work two years prior, “Scream Bloody Gore” is cited as the first true Death Metal Record from a band that was considered the first proper Death Metal band. It’s interesting to realize how both bands were coming up at the same time and had quite a few similar musical principles but when it all comes down to it Death is considered the first in the line of the budding genre. Remember that band’s such as Slayer, Metallica, Anthrax, Testament and Overkill were all deftly delivering the Thrash Metal but thanks to the likes of Venom with their darker topics in songwriting, the ground was open for even more to be done.

In 1987, I was not listening to anything like this at all, and was still trying hard to keep up with the friends who were listening to the Thrash Metal stuff. I was enjoying the new Power Metal stuff that I was learning about from the band Helloween who had also released some tasty melodies with their “Keeper Of The Seven Keys, Part I”. Of course I owed my interest in the Helloween band thanks to the U68 “Power Hour” which is where I recall seeing that tune first. There was nothing like the band Death or even Possessed being showcased on this thing but I digress. It would be many, many years before I would even begin listening to any kind of Death Metal so I’ve embedded the albums official Wikipedia entry for you at the close since it’s not something I can easily speak about in terms of this particular album. The full track list of the original album is listed below. What were some of your favorite tracks and what made them so? I’d love to hear what sold you about the band way back in the day if you were an original listener or what did it for you once you finally got to hear them.
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