Finnish death metal 7" box set series to be released via Svart Records - Part I with Abhorrence, Disgrace & Messiah Paratroops out in April

This is part of the story of the birth of early Finnish death metal. The late ’80s and early ’90s were a time when underground extreme metal flourished, and the main centrifugal force that got bands known globally was tape trading. Influences spread like a disease, and young, emerging death metal groups were eager to be more brutal than the next. Lack of money meant that studios couldn’t be booked for weeks, so the first logical release for starting bands was usually a self-released demo tape or a seven-inch vinyl, where they could squeeze in two to four tracks.

Even though we are talking about Finnish death metal here, the American record label Seraphic Decay, run by Steve O’Bannon, plays an important role in this story. It was the label that originally released the first 7” records for three Finnish bands: Disgrace's Debts of God (1990), Abhorrence's Abhorrence (1990) — the band that later morphed into Amorphis — and Messiah Paratroops' The Past (1992).

In the years that followed, death metal evolved into many different subgenres, but here we have three legendary releases rooted in the core of darkness and brutality from the formative years, none of which clock in at over 14 minutes. True gems — rotten little nuggets —for you to enjoy again and again.