Generous posthumous best-of by Arkansas extreme metal royalty Living Sacrifice summarizes a lengthy career. Beyond giving an influential veteran act a grand, if visually understated, farewell, it goes on to prove another point often lost within the breakdown of subgenres. That is, the sonic continuity from one niche of extremity to another flows with no enormous chasms. At least within LS’s sonic breadth. Though they morphed from initial thrash and death metal explorations, later, more structurally experimental work still sounds of a piece with what they recorded as teens. From three strong new pieces recorded in early ’05, tracks run chronologically backwards, giving a devolutional history of the last 15 years of sophisticatedly edgy headbanging. Only live and cassette-era tracks would have made In Memoriam more complete.
Ratings – Doug Van Pelt 4/5, Jamie Lee Rake 4/5
Similar sounding releases
2003ZaoLegendary
2001As I Lay DyingBeneath the Encasing Of Ashes
2005UnearthOur Days of Eulogy
2002Acoustic TormentSchwarzwald
1997Screams of ChaosGenetic War
2001MortificationThe Silver Cord Is SeveredMore from Living Sacrifice
1992Nonexistent
1991Living Sacrifice
1994Inhabit
2002Conceived In Fire
1993Metamorphosis
2000The Hammering Process
