EXTRACTION FROM MORTALITY

"Extraction from Mortality" is the debut full-length studio album by US thrash metal act Believer. As the band name may suggest the band´s lyrics revolve around theological and philosophical questions from a Christian point of view. The album was released through R.E.X. Records in 1989 and mainly distributed through christian bookstores. Roadrunner Records would however pick up on the band and release their next two albums "Sanity Obscure (1990)" and "Dimensions (1993)" to a secular audience while R.E.X. Records would still concentrate on mainly reaching a christian audience. "Extraction from Mortality" was re-released in 2001 by Millenium Eight Records featuring two bonus tracks.

Stylistically the music on "Extraction from Mortality" is technically well played thrash metal and a band like Coroner comes to mind more than once as well as the "Extreme Aggression (1989)" and "Coma of Souls (1990)" albums by Kreator. Bands like Demolition Hammer, Invocator and Sadus could also be mentioned a references. I know some refered to Believer as death/thrash back in the 90s so that might be a valid description although I personally think this is more thrash than death.

The tracks are predominantly fast-paced but the band play mid-paced sections too. The vocals are aggressive, raw, and raspy. Note the use of riot gang backing vocals on tracks like "D.O.S. (Desolation of Sodom)" and "Not Even One". A feature that is very much of the 80s but rather charming if you ask me. "Not Even One" is actually one of the highlights on the album but I´d also mention the really fast-paced "Blemished Sacrifices", which at it´s most frantic reminds me of Sadus, as a standout track. The melodic guitar solos deserve a mention too. They are generally very skillfully played and often work as a melodic counterpoint to an otherwise predominantly fiercely aggressive soundscape. "Stress" which closes the album is a bit of an odd song out on "Extraction from Mortality" as it´s more of a crossover sounding track with ska sections. It doesn´t really fit in that well with the rest of the material but it´s not terrible either.

The musicianship are overall on a high level and the sound production is really strong for the time. It reminds me a bit of the sound on "Extreme Aggression (1989)" by Kreator. So all in all "Extraction from Mortality" is a strong debut album by Believer and fans of brutal and technically well played thrash metal are hereby recommended to check out the album. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.