Although rarely heard of outside their homeland, Italy's Necrodeath have been around since 1984, when thrash metal heroes like Slayer and Kreator inspired vocalist Ingo, guitarist Claudio, bassist Paolo, and drummer Peso to perpetrate some of their own sonic mayhem. After receiving glowing reviews for their four-track demo, The Shining Pentagram, the band proceeded to record two now hard-to-find LPs (these being 1987's Into the Macabre and 1989's Fragments of Insanity) that blended old-school speed metal and thrash with the newly popular black metal style pioneered by Venom and Bathory. Unfortunately, record company and business-related problems drove Necrodeath into hibernation for over a decade before Claudio and Peso reconvened the band with new members Flegias (vocals) and John (bass). Italy's own Scarlet Records snapped them up and, after reissuing both of their 1980s albums on CD for the first time, also released a triplet of follow-ups in Mater of all Evil (2001), Black as Pitch (2002) and Ton(e)s of Hate (2003). All of these showed a more eclectic blend of influences while modernizing the band's post-thrash sound to attend to new-millennium trends. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia