Insanity - From the Grave

The sticker on From the Grave says, “Classic Underground Death Metal as Covered by Napalm Death on ‘Leaders Not Followers II’!” This may not seem like much to hang a hat on, but Napalm Death does a fierce, downtuned version of “Fire Death Fate,” which it heard on an ’85 demo via the tape-trading circuit.

Morbid Lust
Fire Death Fate (’85 demo)
Fire Death Fate (Napalm Death cover)

That three-song demo leads off this compilation, which also includes the Death after Death full-length. German label M.B.R. originally released it in 1994, but Insanity redid the album in 1997 with new vocal and guitar tracks. The compilation closes with 8-track demos with likewise patchwork recording histories.

To further complicate matters, 2004’s Ultimate Death compilation contained most of these demos, and the ’85 demos also appeared on a 7″ that came with Snakepit magazine #15. However, From the Grave seems to be the most comprehensive collection of this material, and it comes with a band history and liner notes by Napalm Death’s Barney Greenway and Exhumed’s Matt Harvey.

The latter evidently put this out on his Parasitic Twin label in 2005. However, the publicity for it seems fairly fresh, and Decibel recently reviewed it, so maybe it’s been reissued, or gotten new distribution?

Record nerd info aside, Insanity never got the recognition its demo seemed to portend. With ripping riffs and howling vocals, the band might have become death metal legends alongside Death and Possessed. But vocalist/guitarist Joe DeZuniga passed away 20 years ago today, and the band never recovered momentum. However, Dave Gorsuch, whose vocals appear on every non-’85 demo track here, has kept Insanity going; evidently a new full-length is in the works.

With copious photos and liner notes, From the Grave is a worthwhile slice of death metal history. You can get it at Black Lung Productions.