UMUR
"Of First and Last Things" is a compilation release by UK, Leeds (West Yorkshire) based death metal/crust act Black Mass. The compilation was released in January 2013 at a "Name Your Price" tag on the band´s Bandcamp profile. "Of First and Last Things" features everything previously written and released by the band in re-recorded versions. So all material from the "Basement Demo (2010)", the "Darkest Season Vol.1 (2010)" split, the "Black Mass EP (2010)" and the "Black Mass / Host (2012)" split are included on "Of First and Last Things".
Black Mass play a filthy, lo-fi produced, murky, and brutal death metal style with crust and grindcore leanings. The sound production is noisy, muddy and distorted. It basically sounds like it was recorded live in someone´s basement rehearsal room. When my car stereo can´t handle it (and it can´t), you know it´s filthy as hell...
...while that may scare off some people, the lo-fi sound quality actually suits the equally filthy and brutal music well. Think of how a more raw version of an act like Black Breath with nods toward Autopsy would sound and you are half way there. The music is played with great conviction and pretty good skills too. While the music might appear simple upon initial listen, repeated listens reveal that the band vary pace quite often and that they master both doomy riffs and high speed tremolo picking equally well as well as heavy slow beats and blast beats. The songwriting is on a good level too and the tracks are generally catchy. It´s not like you are able to hum along to them or anything like that, but they make quite an impact while they are playing.
To my ears "Of First and Last Things" is a great release representing the more raw, filthy and lo-fi part of the death metal genre. The crust element brings aggression to the sound which provides it with another dimension and ultimately makes "Of First and Last Things" a more varied listen. At 21:42 minutes distributed over 8 tracks, "Of First and Last Things" is a pretty short release, but it sure is one hell of a ride while it lasts. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.