Back in August, Relapse Records surprise-dropped an EP from Pennsylvanian death metal degenerates Outer Heaven. As the title suggests, In Tribute… is the band’s homage to their favorite extreme pioneers. The five tracks drip with offerings of blood and sweat, but t’s not nearly as primitive as Matthew Stikker’s cover art implies. Outer Heaven opts for tracks by Repulsion, Morbid Angel, Pig Destroyer, Mortician, and Death in this collection. Ahead of the EP’s vinyl release on October 8th, the band members explain why these songs represent the band’s bloody roots.
Read thoughts from Outer Heaven on each unholy offering below.
Mortician – “Drowned in Your Blood”
“What can be said about Mortician that hasn’t already been said a thousand times? Absolute legends of the Relapse roster and death metal in general whose influence can not be overstated. We had played “Drowned in Your Blood” live a few times and it’s always a ton of fun to play. So when Relapse approached us to do something to commemorate their 30th anniversary it was a pretty obvious choice.” – Zak Carter (guitars)
Repulsion – “Maggots in Your Coffin”
“My personal favorite Relapse band; it’s hard for me to name many bands who have had as much of an influence on me as Repulsion. On our first visit to the Relapse office I remember walking into an office and seeing a shelf that had a CD of every Relapse release and immediately picking up the OG copy of Horrified they had and just staring at it. When we were picking the songs for the EP I was having a hard time choosing between “Maggots in Your Coffin” and “Radiation Sickness” and “Black Breath” and every other song on Horrified. But we narrowed it down to what I think is the perfect representation of the Repulsion sound. If there’s a riff in an Outer Heaven song that makes you think, “Damn this riff sounds like Repulsion”: yes it does and it’s 100% intentional.” – Zak Carter (guitars)
Death – “Secret Face”
“Chuck Schuldiner. That’s really all that needs to be said about this cover. It’s my favorite Death song on my favorite Death album. Along with Trey [Azagthoth of Morbid Angel], I’ve been worshiping Chuck and his way of playing those snaky, catchy riffs since that first listen of Human. I have an 84’ Stealth that I play when some death worship is necessary.” – Jon Kunz (guitars)
Pig Destroyer – “Junkyard God”
“I bought Prowler in the Yard when I was 13 and on summer vacation in ocean city NJ. Shore Things record shop had all the sick shit that I wanted from the Relapse distro, but barely saw back home at the mall. Scott Hull is a riff master and a huge influence on the way I approach songwriting. He’s one of my favorite guitarists and the reason why I got into 7 strings/low tuning.” – Jon Kunz (guitars)
Morbid Angel – “World of Shit”
“Morbid Angel has been a foundational element of this band and we do not hide that. Every single release has impacted our approach to music. Covenant’s influence on us is especially prime and our love for that record is powerful. Personally, it’s a record that I will put on and play along to in order to become better because it is so challenging. Naturally that love would extend to us covering one of our favorite tracks on the album, “World of Shit.” That song is engineered with a menacing ambience I cannot fully break down and that’s due to Trey. Our cover contains an attempt at that, while also incorporating synthesizer in extremely light fashion such as will be present on our next full-length album, where you’ll hear even MORE explicit Morbid Angel influence.” – Paul Chrismer (drums)
Order Outer Heaven’s In Tribute… from Relapse Records HERE
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