SLAUGHTER (Poland) - Into The Darkness (12" LP on Gold Vinyl)

Unearthed from the depths of Poland’s extreme metal underground, Into the Darkness by Slaughter finally resurfaces thanks to Thrashing Madness Productions. This long-lost relic captures the raw aggression of late '80s thrash and death metal, exuding a primal intensity that embodies the DIY spirit of the era. While its original demo format was plagued by the lo-fi quality typical of underground tape-trading days, this reissue offers a fresh chance to experience the fury in a more listenable form—without losing the unfiltered chaos that made it special.

Beneath the gritty production lies a relentless onslaught of riff-driven carnage, with standout tracks like "Bestial Death Metal" and "Czas Apokalipsy" delivering a feral, unhinged energy. The primitive sound only adds to the rawness, evoking the early days of bands like Vader, Betrayer, and Armagedon. The aggressive vocals, courtesy of Piotr Kuziola (aka Berial, later of Betrayer), inject a venomous edge, amplifying the sheer force of the material. Slaughter’s ability to craft sinister, neck-snapping thrash riffs while channeling the unrefined extremity of early death metal makes Into the Darkness a hidden gem of Poland’s metal past.

Though some may balk at the inclusion of humor-infused tracks like "Pankraction Mania" and "Gargamel’s Scream", the core of this release remains a brutal slab of no-frills metal mayhem. Slaughter may have been short-lived, but their sole demo stands as a testament to Poland’s thriving underground scene of the late '80s and early '90s. For fans of crude, unpolished, and ferociously intense death/thrash, Into the Darkness is a must-hear time capsule of aggression.