Altered Beast - "Demo"

Altered Beast - Morbid Collection & Computer Generated Bullshit (Self-released 2006)

Altered Beast - Demo / Self-released

Yes, a demo. Yes, they still exist. Yes, they're awesome.

Way back before the Internet, self-made tapes were the release of choice for bands that couldn't afford a 7" or later, CDs. A number of these tapes are still quite collectable, and a number of bands still stick to the release-a-demo-before-you-actually-release-something mindset. Unfortunately, only a strong few are sticking to the cassette-tape format, and one of the few faults I can find with Chicago-area Altered Beast's demo that it's begging to be released on a cassette instead of a CD, but what are you gonna' do? Formed as a side project by the drummer and vocalist (Aaron and Josh, respectively) of local grindcore band Tower of Rome, Altered Beast is to powerviolence and grindcore what House of 1000 Corpses is to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: pure, serious tribute created not with the intention of a nudge and a wink, but with the idea of carrying the goddamn torch for those who miss the old days. The 12 songs on this demo only add up to about six-and-a-half minutes of music total (that's not a typing error), but what a six minutes they are.

Grounded in the style of powerviolence-superstars Spazz, as well as lesser-known bands like Crossed Out, Despise You, and Lack of Interest, Altered Beast do the dual-vocalist thing (one screamy, one more throaty), the no-bass-guitar-on-the-recording thing (though the bassist from Tower of Rome now seems to be part of the live show), and the now-I'm-thrashing-now-I'm-blasting-now-I'm-breaking-it-down song-structure thing with glorious results.

The topics of the songs are true to typical '90s-hardcore themes: songs about friends ("Jay Who Corrupts"), beer ("Cold Style"), slasher flicks ("Voorhees Rage"), and people they don't like ("Sick Mosh Brah"), Altered Beast are clearly having fun, but it's obvious that these topics are near and dear to their hearts, otherwise they'd just find something else to write about.

Though the music may have not taken the longest time to write (as the longest track clocks in at 1:33 . . . also the only song over one minute), the lyrics very clearly had time spent on them. Either that, or Aaron and Josh are just lyrical geniuses, because lines like "Habitual line stepper / wrongful shit talker / turn your ass / into a shallow-grave inhabiter" are just brilliant, even if the "habitual line stepper" part was stolen from Chappelle's Show, and "inhabiter" doesn’t sound like a real word (it is, though), you not only know exactly what they're talking about, but it's fucking funny in the process. Clearly, someone's unnecessarily talking shit, and they're going to pay sooner rather than later.

Next up on the praise list for this amazing release is the packaging. A CD-R housed in a paper sleeve (which itself is a mini-poster), the disc also comes packaged with a bigger, fold-out poster, a button, and the whole thing is kept together in a sandwich bag. Brilliant. The liner notes are sure to remind us that everything was recorded in one take ("fuck ups intact"), and there's also a photocopied picture of Aaron with Gunnar Hansen, AKA the original Leatherface.

OK . . . so this demo is technically almost a year old at this point, but Altered Beast has been much more active lately with the hibernation of Tower of Rome, and this demo finally landed in my hands after a refusal to just have the songs emailed to me. Clearly, with the packaging, this is well-worth seeking out and will only run you a cool $3 (well-hidden cash only) to the address below. Just fucking go, already!

Altered Beast
c/o Aaron Gutierrez
15601 Orchid Drive
South Holland, IL 60473