Old School Death Metal is, oftentimes, magical. The music on offer is nearly always so good that it transcends poor sound quality and lack of (serious) musical technicality. Many early Death Metal records still stand up today because of how good the music and the mood on them are. AVULSED, hailing from Madrid, is one such band. They have steadily put out several great examples of Old School Death since their inception in 1991. Their first EP, "Carnivoracity", is one of the best examples of the way this type of music should sound; it's fast, low-fi, and above all, it sounds as gross and gory as the subject matters in their lyrics. To celebrate it's twentieth anniversary, the band have re-released this three song record, along with a bevy of fantastic bonus live tracks, which encompasses their best material from their twenty plus years as an outfit. It's clear to see why the band was so eager to get it reissued.

The opening title track is a long affair, clocking in at nearly nine minutes. On this particular track, perhaps the best thing on offer is the vocals. Although the music is also second to none, Dave Rotten's vocal styling is the centerpiece of this masterpiece. Unlike many modern vocalists, who resort to grunting and growling unconvincingly, Dave's singing seriously sounds like death, and is on the verge of out of control (in a good way of course). "Cradle of Bones" and "Demonic Possession (PENTAGRAM)" are more of the same; good quality, brutal and intense 90's Death Metal. The bonus features, which make up for three quarters of the music on this release, is a great addition to this reissue, and helps to illustrate that this band have been busy in the interim since its initial release. A look back at the band's back catalogue in a live setting will no doubt be a treat for their die hard fans.

This is a really solid release, although I don't think that putting live renditions of the songs already on the EP were entirely necessary when some of the bands other songs could have been featured. This band has, as I've said, been busy in the meantime, releasing their latest album, "Ritual Zombi" about a year ago. Although their sound has altered drastically in those twenty years, it's nice to look back over it, if not for the sake of nostalgia, then for comparison with their most recent offerings.<