Scream Bloody Gore - Overview

Overview

Scream Bloody Gore was actually recorded twice, with the second, Los Angeles-based session being released as the album by label Combat Records (later Relativity). It was first recorded in Florida, although only the rhythm guitar and drum tracks were recorded. The track-listing consisted of Torn to Pieces, Legion of Doom, Scream Bloody Gore, Sacrificial Cunt (later shortened to Sacrificial because the label asked the band to do so, possibly because “they didn’t want to get P.M.R.C. on their case”), Mutilation, Land of No Return, and Baptized in Blood. The label were unsatisfied after hearing the initial mix, so Schuldiner and Reifert re-recorded the album in California with Randy Burns as producer. Once returning to Florida, the first session was released as a promotional tape, and was eventually bootlegged. Legion of Doom was a longtime staple of Death’s rehearsals and live shows, and was indeed the first song written, reaching back to when they were known as Mantas.

Despite the many songs written during Death’s demo days, only half of them were re-recorded for the album, the rest being new compositions. Infernal Death and Baptized in Blood originally appeared on the Infernal Death demo. Zombie Ritual, Mutilation and Land of No Return originally appeared on the Mutilation demo, and Evil Dead and Beyond the Unholy Grave were originally on Death By Metal. Beyond the Unholy Grave and Land of No Return were also cut from the album, though were included on the re-release, with the live audio tracks taken from the Ultimate Revenge II video.

Certain songs on the album were inspired by horror movies. For example, Regurgitated Guts was inspired by the film City of the Living Dead a.k.a. The Gates of Hell, Beyond the Unholy Grave was influenced by the movie The Beyond, and Zombie Ritual was inspired by Zombie, all of which were films directed by Italian director Lucio Fulci.