Acid Bath -
Demos : 1993- 1996 (2005) It was kind of awkward for me to hear different versions of all of these songs after being familiar with them for so long. Some songs are different yet listen-able, such as "Dr. Seuss Is Dead" and "What Color Is Death" The stuff that leans towards death metal isn't too bad, just under-produced. Some people might prefer that sort of raw sound. I don't like it as much with this type of music. There are bits and pieces of songs that I like a lot. The raw screaming at the end of "Jezebel" is a great example of that. I don't know if it would have worked out so well in the later version of it. "Scream of The Butterfly" sounds really bad on this CD, the tempo is sped up and it just sounds weak. The album version is so much more powerful. I'm so glad they changed it and made it into a masterpiece. The demos of "Venus Blue", "Bleed Me An Ocean", and "Graveflower" are the best tracks on the disc. This is most likely because they were recorded after the first album and the band had to have grown and were probably more comfortable in a studio. These tracks are slightly different from the album versions, but they hold up really well. It's nice to hear the differences, some lines will be screamed instead of sung. Different effects are used in various spots. The artwork looks pretty good, there are no lyrics, just a flyer collage in the booklet. The song titles and credits are all typed in a font that's painful to read. The recording quality is pretty good. Sometimes you don't know what to expect when something is labeled "demo". Even though most of my favorite songs are on this CD, I can't recommend this to anyone who isn't already a fan of Acid Bath. As a fan it's interesting to hear how much they improved on the songs when it came time to put them on an album. These versions are good, but the albums are great. If you haven't heard Acid Bath, go out and buy "When The Kite String Pops" and "Pagan Terrorism Tactics". After a year or two you might appreciate this CD.
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3.5 out of 5 skulls