Noiz - Seeds of the Living (1999)
The debut cd from German death metallers Noiz, "Seeds Of The Living", hits you upside the head like a brick with a ton of brutal old school death influence. I can honestly say that a lot of death heads are gonna rejoice when they hear this! Musically it is fairly basic and not real technical. The overall production is a bit muddy and the snare drum sounds a bit "boxy", but those are the only low points to be found on this otherwise great grinding death disc. The structure and feel of several songs are very similar to old Mortification only not as tight. There are also a couple of "groove" tracks (such as "Save") that have a style similar to that of Corpse. The "raw" death sound is a great thing that few bands are actually doing anymore. Lyrically this is very evangelistic speaking of Gods love and mercy and dealing with controversial issues like environmental protection (which they boldly state should come second in line to sharing the gospel and love of Christ!) . Overall this is a welcome addition to my collection and it seems to grow on you more with each additional listen. -- Review by Norm