01. Legion Of Doom [Death cover]
02. Archangel [Death cover]
03. Power Of Darkness [Death cover]
04. Zombie [Death cover]
05. Witch Of Hell [Death cover]
06. Rise Of Satan [Death cover]
07. Summoned To Die [Death cover]
08. Mantas [Death cover]
09. Slaughterhouse [Death cover]
10. Death By Metal [Death cover]

Everyone loves you when you're Death.

Ever since the untimely passing of Chuck Schuldiner, there have been several bands trying to lay claim to being the premier torchbearers of the sound and vision Schuldiner developed all those years ago, be it ex-members he once played with or musicians who grew up listening to albums like Leprosy and Symbolic to the point that their own subsequent work has Schuldiner's influence running deep through it.

Such is the vast legacy and influence of Schuldiner that it can be hard to keep up with countless musical offspring he spawned, in addition to the occasional release from the vaults of Death itself (unfortunately, usually in a low quality live recording form). Well, now to add further confusion to the mix, we have Left To Die, a band formed of ex-members of Death joining forces with members of Gruesome, one of those bands that would have Death running through their veins if they took an ancestry test. While the configuration may be confusing, the band's goal is simple: take several tracks culled from demos during Death's early days and re-record them so they get the presentation and production they warrant. Whether this feels cheap or disingenuous is up to you; one thing for certain is that this certainly beats another live recording pulled from the ether. Indeed, how much you will enjoy this will largely be dictated by your feelings toward three looming spectres hanging over this project; namely, how much of a Death purist you are, what era of Death you most prefer, and whether you feel this is a legitimate project or a cynical cash grab.

Even if you feel this is a cynical move, I would advise still giving Left To Die a fair hearing, as some of the contents of this album will get your blood pumping. The opener, "Legion Of Doom", highlights that while the motives may not be to your liking, at least when the music does the talking, you can easily drown out those thoughts. When the album hits its stride on tracks like "Summoned To Die" and "Slaughterhouse", you come to appreciate even more the talent and skill early Death had amongst their ranks, given these were tracks that didn't make the cut for Scream Bloody Gore.

Left To Die are faithful to the source material, to the point that Matt Harvey's vocals are effectively tracing Schuldiner's, with the tracks giving a modern gloss to the original source material. While the old-school lo-fi charm is traded in for a modern, somewhat sterile sound, it is a trade-off that the band makes work on Initium Mortis. Given the pedigree of those in the band, it is not unsurprising that they nail the source material and click, to the point that I'd be interested to know what they would be like doing original material.

There is a ceiling on Initium Mortis, one largely dictated by the album's conception: it is composed of demos from 40 years ago effectively culled with material not deemed worthy of inclusion (for various different reasons) on an album proper the first time around. While this is largely due to the glut of high-quality material the band had to choose from around this era (to the point you can imagine the frustration the band must have faced deciding what got picked and what got omitted), some tracks like "Witch Of Hell" were left on the cutting room floor for a reason.
As stated earlier, if you are a fan of Death's more expansive and progressive work, this will likely not appeal to you as much, as it is very much rooted in the band's early, nascent death metal sound.

Initium Mortis is an interesting listen, one that casual fans of Death will appreciate along with the die-hard (or would that be death-hard?) Death fans. While there are issues surrounding the concept of the album, when the music is on you are treated to a good chunk of old-school death metal that is given a face-lift production-wise. While it won't blow your mind, it will occupy your mind and keep you entertained for some time to come.