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    Heaven's Metal #39/Living Sacrifice
    Living Sacrifice — Nonexistent cover

    Living Sacrifice

    Nonexistent

    (1992)

    Reviewed by Spiny Norman

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    Label R.E.X. MusicHeaven's Metal #39January/February 1993
    death metalgrindcorethrash metal

    Totally brutal! One listen to cut #2, the title track, and you know you've got something special here, with lightning fast double rhythms. The leads on top of the rhythms here have that cool wah-wah effect. The lead-off cut, "Enthroned," features a flurry of sound interspersed with some very tasteful acoustic guitar picking. This acoustic touch welds the first two songs together (along with the intro). It's one of the wildest worship tunes ever. The vocals, of course, seem to be nothing more than the last few agonizing screams of a dying vampire--but hey, that's progress, right? You can fly through this disc (of 40 minutes and 25 seconds) and realize that you haven't picked up a single word uttered by D.J. in his guttural death/grindcore vocal style. "Atonement" is probably the standout cut here. It's extremely heavy. It reminds me of Metallica's "wall of crunch" sound. The chorus of "Atonement, atonement" is delivered creatively with D.J. starting the first syllable as one word and "ment" as another. Good stuff... "Haven of Blasphemy" is a roaring song with all the attitude that this subject conjures--lots of judgement (death by guitars, if you will). The drum sound was tuned in well. The snare sounds tight, like a plastic drum; the high-hat is nice 'n' crisp and the kick drums are solid. By segue-ing songs by bumping them up next to each other (like "To Nothing" into "Void of Expression"), this makes them sound like one song with a rest and time change. Many other songs have lots of acoustic intros and outros, which seems to weld this 9-song album together as one suite. The rhythms throughout are very convincing (ie. heavy and catchy enough to send your neck into spontaneous hyperextension). These Mountain Dew drinkers deliver a performance fast enough to consider outlawing caffeine.

    Other coverage for this album

    Dead Zine 2002Reviewed by NecRoSarXThis was the first Living Sacrifice album I ever got. And I'll be forthright- I bought it because of the cover artwork alone. Never heard of them before that fateful day in the local Christian bookstore, didn't know of anyone to give me any type of recommendation. . .the cover was just the coolest I've ever seen of any death metal album, Christian or not. A black-on-black photo of the band…Dead Zine 2002Reviewed by CeebPlease everyone don't get me wrong when I say that I really didn't appreciate this LS album as much as I thought that I would. You see, I've been spoiled with the new album, and have also heard certain songs off this album with the new singer. The exact reason that I don't like this album is one of the keys to why I gave Reborn a perfect ten. The vocalist. There has to be a certain sound…Art for the Ears 1999Reviewed by Marco PovervestIt's not a secret that Living Sacrifice's Reborn was a profitable release for Solid State Records. This must have led to requests for the re-release of older albums. One of LS's older albums is Nonexistent (1992), their second. Their first album was an absolute Slayer rip-off album, not bad though. Nonexistent proved that the band could go their own direction, away from Slayer. This album…The Lighthouse February 1993Reviewed by Brad MatternAre you ready to Die? The brutal new sound of Living Sacrifice is totally mind blowing. The vocals are so hard to understand, D.J. sounds like a monster from hell dying. As the album starts with "Emerge," you wouldn't think this album was so heavy, it starts off with an acoustic intro, like a lot of the other songs. "Haven Of Blasphemy," is a totally killer track. It comes off of their EP Not…Salt #14Reviewed by UnknownAh yes. The second helping of molten metal by our neighbors from Little Rock, Arkansas. I've been super anxious for this disc to come out. And my hopes were multiplied in hearing that this one is so brutal some major "secular" labels are looking to sign this deserving band. Upon listening, the only thing to squelch my excitement was that it seemed each song sounded too much alike. Though this is…

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    1991Living Sacrifice2000The Hammering Process1997Reborn1990No Yielding to Ungodly2005In Memoriam1994Inhabit

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