Alternative Tentacles reissues a collection of early demos from Voivod, an off-kilter-sounding Canadian thrash metal band. Their sound in this early stage is equal parts Venom, Hellhammer, and a desire to beat your ass, but with a schizoid and talented musicianship to take them up a notch. Similar to the bay area’s Exodus in just how shockingly aggressive they were for the time, Voivod have always managed to sound “futuristic” even at their most primitive. This contains early versions of songs that would later end up on their first two albums*--a must hear for even casual fans.
No FCCs detected. RIYL early Slayer, Destruction, Mercyful Fate, Annihilator
*KZSU has a copy of "War and Pain", their debut, and I highly recommend it

((((1)))) Wicked badass punk-rawk speed, dark thrash riffs, brief pentatonic shredding, very clearly recorded in a basement.
((((((2))))) SIIICK!!! Starts slow and lumbering, but quickly picks up speed with a chugging moshpit frenzy riff from hell; guitar solos will melt your face off.
((((3)))) relentlessly rippin’ thrash at the speed of Motorhead, vaguely reeks of early Exodus
((((4)))) perfect music for the clandestine fight club you host in your basement (oops, I forgot the first rule…)
(((((5))))) chaotic, lots of toms and cymbal smashing, riffs that never really pick up speed but manage to sound gnarly anyway—a headbangin’ good time all the same. FUCKING SICK GUITAR SOLO
(6) Aptly named “Incantation” NOT A METAL SONG, just guitar feedback and creepy spoken/growled words, segues quite nicely into…
((((7)))) creepy, menacing, eerie and mid-paced at first, jumps into action halfway through
(((((((8))))))) BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF SOMEONE TO THIS SONG NOW
((((((9))))) raw n’ dirty rocknroll / post-NWOBHM proto-thrash perfection—significantly slower than the version on Rrrrrooooaaarrr, but still really badass
(((((10))))) It’s the end of the world according to Voivod. Menacing doom riffs give way to that slow chugging thrash that heralds the apocalypse (like the slow parts in Kill ‘Em All)
((((11)))) galloping hardcore punk nastiness with some searing guitar solos
((((((12)))))) I would not mind getting arrested for getting into a bar fight if this song was playing
(((((((13))))))) MERCYFUL FATE COVER!! A must-hear for fans of either band
(((((14))))) Venom cover, awesome
(((((((15))))))) hell, I wouldn’t mind if you punched me in the face while this song was playing