PHANTASM from Milwaukee are one of the pioneers of early American Death Metal, since they started their activity in 1988. They’ve always had a special place in the list of my faves both for their raw style and the band name inspired by Don Coscarelli’s horror / sci-fi masterpiece from 1979. Here we have a reissue of their 1992 Demo entitled “The Abominable” and originally self-released by the band. This new version has been released by the Ukranian label The Devil’s Elixirs and contains the original tracklist of six songs for almost 40 minutes of primitive and obscure Death Metal. The Devil’s Elixirs did a great job in terms of packaging with a deluxe digipak edition (16 pages booklet including lyrics and some killer gory black and white artworks) plus a 12’’ vinyl version. The cover artwork is the same as the original one from 1992 and has a killer lovecraftian vibe, pretty reminiscent of the poster used in 1986 for the promotion of Stuart Gordon’s movie “From Beyond”. Musically, PHANTASM play a rotten and putrid form of Death Metal that alternates brutal and aggressive accelerations with heavy mid-tempos and some suffocative slow parts. The drumming is very dynamic with d-beats, proto-blasts and many sick rollings. The guitars have a raw, downtuned and minimalistic approach if we talk about the sound, whereas the riffs are pretty articulated and creative, especially in the fast sections. This obscure and sick style fits perfectly with the horror / gore image of the concept. The vocals are morbid and schizophrenic with a touch of Punk / Hardcore intensity mixed up with some thrashy screamings and the typical American Death Metal growling from the early ‘90s. “The Abominable” is a mandatory addition in your collection, if you’re a fan of old school primordial Death Metal. A band that would have deserved more recognition, but that unfortunately have been forgotten in the underground limbo for many years with other cult names such as ROTTREVORE, DR. SHRINKER, early NECROPHAGIA, EXMORTIS, FATAL, PHLEGM, GOREAPHOBIA etc. For more information please visit www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063662262307 or www.facebook.com/thedevilselixirsrecords