Hellhammer - Apocalyptic Raids 1990 A.D.

Noise International WK45499. 1990

Back in my tape trading days (yes kids, it wasn't all mp3 and download ratios back then - padded envelopes, postage stamps and a shit load of flyers falling out of packages), this was one of the most requested recordings. Well, the original '84 demo anyway.

In its fuzzy 15th-generation tape-to-tape copy form it had a certain mystique about it. It sounded evil, as if Satan himself had shat it onto the tape and smeared his ass up and down it like a dog with worms.

Fast forward a few years and we have a nice, clean copy, and some of the magic dies along with the stench of Beelzebub's turd and iron-oxide mixture.

It's badly recorded (probably not their fault really), weakly produced (the bass drum sounds like someone blinking slightly too hard), and they can't really play their instruments. That said, I'll always have a soft spot for this, especially the poptastic catchiness of Horus/Aggressor.