It is not a coincidence that most of the bands that I considered as the most important in carrying the flag of death metal back in the late 80's are still here with us today. Bolt Thrower were quite recently reborn from their ashes and Napalm Death have proven to be quite consistent and trustworthy by releasing year after year albums of unique character and passion.

There were some bands, though, whose short life and limited discography did not allow them to become well known and obtain the status that they truly deserved in the conscience of the fans that support this extreme metal genre. One of these bands were definitely the Buffalo-based quartet Baphomet, whose only studio album "The Dead Shall Inherit" is finally being re-released by Peaceville records.

The reason why I probably "sound" so exited is not only because I am happy to see that a record that I grew up listening to will finally become available to a whole new generation of death metal fans, but also because it was really damn hard to find this release on CD in the past. Let's see now why "The Dead Shall Inherit" is one of these albums that I believe should be added to your CD collection.

Listening to the album for the first time, one could easily fall into the trap of thinking that this is simply a collection of ten tracks whose riffs and melodies were borrowed from some of the greatest extreme bands of the late 80's/early 90's such as Napalm Death, Bolt Thrower, Cannibal Corpse and Sepultura. Well, the truth is that Baphomet have indeed been influenced by most of these great bands, but they had a unique ability of integrating them into their music and create songs with pretty simple structure, yet blessed with smart changes in their rhythmical patterns that make them both easy to listen to and interesting at the same time.

From the opening track "The Suffering", whose horror-sounding intro is typical of the late 80's era (see Cannibal Corpse), to the fast paced dynamites such as "Torn Soul" and "Vile Reminiscence", Baphomet are proven to be quite a tight group of musicians, with well arranged compositions in their suitcases and a clear musical vision. The proof that the successful combination between heavy/groovy sounding rhythmical riffs (Bolt Thrower) and smart breaks that are based on fast riffing (Napalm Death) is evident in songs like "Through Deviant Eyes", "Valley of the Dead" and "Boiled in Blood" which easily stand out from the remaining seven compositions on the album.

It is really amazing how an album that was released fourteen years ago not only manages to sound as fresh an interesting as it did back then, but is also capable of competing with many releases which move in a similar vain. I don't think that I should try too hard to convince you of buying this CD - a couple of spins on your player are the most suitable argument that I can think of! A huge thanks to Peaceville records for re-releasing this really good album!

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Review by John Stefanis