Auburn Records - 1984
7.5/10
Right at the medium of glam metal's separation from what was simply a sleazier version of our beloved genre of heavy metal, many would begin falling into one camp or another. Cleveland's Black Death capitalized on this factor with a fun play on words just after the NWOBHM movement had exploded, taking obvious influence from it in a way that almost feels too on the nose. Somehow, the borderline try-hard energy results in something more charming than is deserved, realized in the form of only one album simply titled Black Death in 1984. Despite its format, it almost feels like a long form demo of throwing riffs at a wall and hoping they stick.
For starters, the quality of this is as rough and raw as you'd think, covering their otherwise melodic leads with choppy solos and a rumbling overcast that feels like it came out of your high school best friend's basement. Under such a veneer is a variety of different writing tactics, likely only being held together decently because of said rough production. Very quickly will things move from an explosive riff sandwich coated in coarse vocals, to one utilizing falsettos and a slower crawl to bake in a bit more melody. Similarly, we aren't devoid of softer moments that almost reach balladry, only working with the rest because of the production maintaining the same energy.
The other thing that lets Black Death work nicely is how little it takes itself seriously, allowing some tolerance for the fact that the playing is great but the songs aren't. So much ability is showcased for sure, like the drumming expertise on "The Hunger," the bass frenzy and ear for melody on "When Tears Run Red," or the raging kicks behind "The Scream Of The Iron Messiah," that last one being my favorite. Yet, I would struggle to call any of these super coherent or perhaps even complete; again, things feel more like a demo of ideas put onto a disc than a complete thought. They may as well have included the two bonus tracks as the actual album too.
Returning to that factor of how on the nose everything is, I think the differences in approach are so traceable it's almost funny. The aforementioned "When Tears Run Red" may as well be a cover of Iron Maiden's "Remember Tomorrow" with how much it mirrors the chord progressions, bass layout, and vocal style. In the same breath, you'll snag what seems like a Motorhead rip for "Scream Of The Iron Messiah" though perhaps more intricate than what they do, and "Streetwalker" is like if Lemmy sang a song on Def Leppard's On Through The Night (take your pick). All over the place there's obvious nods to Venom, honing in some early black metal vibes, especially in opener "Night Of The Living Death."
With all of this hokiness, Black Death save themselves by the sheer lack of seriousness, the lo-fi cadence, and overly corny subject matter that injects so much charm. Listening to this feels like being nineteen again, jamming metal with some pimple-faced bros accompanied by beers you snuck from your dad's fridge after he left for the night shift. It's unsure if it wants to be NWOBHM, first wave black metal, or sleazy pre-glam, being an easy contender for the made-up term I'll again call "VHS metal." Some quick reading shows a decent cult following, and I'm sure someone's bound to sneer at my critiques, but as for me, it comes down to some fun ammeture listening that isn't great but I still come back to from time to time.
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