Deelspeed
Ludicrous Speed
Reviewed by Doug Van Pelt
There is a big difference in a demo tape and a custom tape that a band independently releases. "Demo" is short for demonstration, which explains its purpose: to showcase what a song sounds like. It's often used by a band to give its producer an idea of the songs the band wishes to record. Demos also act as an audition tape for an unsigned band to present itself to a record company, giving them an idea of the potential of a band's music. A custom tape is basically an album package that an unsigned band records to sell at its concerts or through the mail. Many bands combine the two basic uses into one tape, so they can "recoup," or make back the money they spent on the recording process, while they shop the tape to record companies. This tape should ideally be categorized as a demo, because the sonics of this recording aren't up to a level that I could feel good about recommending to a record-buying public. There's some decent speed metal song ideas presented here, and you've got edifying lyrics. The sound quality actually has a little more fidelity than about 30% of all the tapes that are sent to HM, but it's still muffled enough to warrant a warning. Wanna hear some decent song ideas (like the speed metal version of "O Come All Ye Faithful") or a good sermon (there's a "Message From Dave" at the end of the tape), then check this out. If you're looking for a professional album, look elsewhere. Deelspeed has made the decision easy, though. You can send a blank 90-minute tape, which will be dubbed for you, or you can send $5 and they'll buy a tape and dub it for you. Send to: 2074 Crompond Road, Yorktown Heights NY 10598.