Ohio’s GUTTED are getting a breath of revival with Repulsive Echo Records reissue of their self-titled album from 1997. 25 years later the album is finally getting a CD reissue and also a facelift with some bonus tracks in the form of the demos “Disease” (1993) and “Into The Gates Of Insanity” (1991). This old school Death Metal band had a relatively short run, lasting about 8 years before calling it a day. Repulsive Echo has been reissuing the band’s albums for a while now and rejuvenating the music, let’s dive right into this reissue. Alright before we get started let’s discuss the band’s musical style. They don’t play the 1000 bpm type Death Metal, no these guys play that old cchool Death Metal that just catches your ear with its focus on aggressiveness instead of hypersonic speed. Things get kicked off with ‘Suffer In Exile’, crunchy guitars, thundering drums, the bass is not drowned out, and the vocals are on point. The keyboards on ‘In Sickness And In Hell’ was nicely introduced in the intro with its midnight fog ambiance. The band sends a salute to VENOM via covering the band’s ‘Manitou’ song and doing it justice. A headbanger’s delight for sure, especially with the advancements in musical production since the original was recorded. The “Disease” demo is up next with 4 brutal tracks. Solid production, the material sounds great, kind of reminds me of “Crossing The Styx” – era SINISTER. The stand out tracks for me here are ‘Nailed To The Cross’ and ‘Chopped Up At The Altar’ with its catchy bass. The 5-track “Into The Gates Of Insanity” demo is the band’s first demo and you can tell from the production. Its still fun to listen to, but it’s not as crisp as the “Disease” demo. A lot of the demo material would appear on the band’s debut album “Bleed For Us To Live”. It is good to see this album getting a second chance on CD and hopefully bringing a new generation of appreciation for the elder statesmen of Death Metal such as GUTTED. Shout out to Repulsive Echo Records for paying homage to this short lived bulldozer of a band. The demo songs were a nice touch to add. Well worth checking out especially if you like old school Death Metal. For all additional information please visit: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100027689846739, www.facebook.com/repulsiveecho