Another new, but still old release from Areadeath – these guys are very active at the moment! This time, they bring us a double-CD containing the complete legacy of Chicago’s NATAS, who were raging through the extreme Metal and Hardcore underground at the end of the 1980s. NATAS released two demo tapes (both are featued here), did a mini-album and contributed to a compilation. The last recordings were put out by the infamous Wild Rags label, after the band changed its name to NOT US. Of course, this stuff is featured here, too, along with a never released demo recording. In 1993 they officially broke up, mainman Scott Natas (who also was in a very old incarnation of MASTER) continued in a band called SNAKE DANCE and the chapter NATAS seemed to be closed and forgotten until Areadeath dug up their bones. In the times NATAS were active, I never got in touch with their stuff, although I tried to check out every extreme band way back then. Listening to NATAS now makes me think I haven’t missed a thing. Most of the stuff sounds like it is missing direction, wavering between Thrash Metal, very early Death Metal and Hardcore without deciding for a straight way. Lyrically, the trio was more Hardcore oriented, but only the last recordings (the up-to-now unreleased 1989 demo and the compilation recordings) also went into this direction musically without really killing. Instead, sometimes the sing-along chorusses sound very unfitting and they did even record silly shit like ‘Froggy’. The older stuff reminds me of powerless MASTER with an old school crossover vibe, especially on the "Think What You Want" EP. Maybe I would like "Deathcore 1985-1993" more if I heard it way back then, but in 2012 it sounds only like an anachronism put on CD to me. There is another Wild Rags band which comes to my mind here: BLOODCUM, who also were not too bad when I heard them in 1987, but just failed to pass the test of time. Anyway, I won’t go here without a few warm words: the whole re-release is done with love and feeling for historic recordings – the old stuff was restored best as possible without destroying the authencity. If you’re interested to get one of the 1000 copies, be quick and check: http://adp.areadeath.net