"A cynical ploy by Cleopatra (the label) to make money off the 45 Grave legacy. Maybe 2 or 3 tracks at most that are listenable, but the rest is horrible. There's something wrong in the universe when people can easily order this off Amazon but cannot find 45 Grave's unbelievably excellent "Autopsy" collection anywhere."
More Shameless Cleopatra Unnecessariness...
boeanthropist | Cambridge, MA | 05/26/2000
(3 out of 5 stars)
""Black Cross" and "Wax" get beaten to a perverse lather here in ways that the original 45 never even hinted at, and "F*#!ked By the Devil" is a shamelessly stupid/wonderful novelty song with Dinah wailing away like she really had been schtupped by Old Nick himself, but the rest is pure lo-fi poot along the lines of that myriad of barely-listenable Gun Club, Germs, etc. boots which have been flooding the marketplace since even before their leaders' untimely demises. Seems the alumni of late 70s/early 80s L.A. punk have put more craft into financing their mortgages than even the Boston scene can boast... which is entirely in keeping with the capitalist society they were once in such virulent opposition to (not unlike the natural businessmen their hippy forefathers have so often proved to be) -- only don't let it be YOU who is the sucker in the equation. If you dig 45 Grave, go find used copies of "Autopsy" and the "Phantoms" 12-incher with the unspeakably strange "La Tomba" on the B-side -- you'll be much, much happier."
Poor sound quality; NOT endorsed by 45 Grave
No1Crush | Alberta, Canada | 06/06/2008
(1 out of 5 stars)
"45 Grave has nothing to do with this release; and in 2008 it's been repackaged as "The Devil's Possession"by Cleopatra Records, the once-cool but now joke label of goth/industrial/punk subculture. In fact, Dinah Cancer recently posted this blog from her Myspace page on June 6, 2008: (myspace,com/dinahcancer)
"A number of you have been writing about the Devil's Posessions.
No, that is not the new album.
That is the debasement tapes on vinyl.
I don't list the debasement tapes on my page because I never agreed to it.
nor do I like it. Anything that I stand behind is listed on my website or here.
I like to put out quaility stuff.
And not waste your time."
The sound varies from low demo-tape quality to really poor live bootleg - like it was recorded outside of the club during one of their gigs. Unless you're an absolute completist, it's not an essential release at all."
45 Grave - Debasement Tapes
Sean Kennedy | Richmond, VA | 01/17/2000
(1 out of 5 stars)
"This has to be the only bad album put out with 45 Grave's name attached to it. Compiled as an afterthought (post break-up), the disc has very little to offer if you're not a die-hard fan/colletor. The early demos are interesting at best. The live material is recorded poorly, and the in-between song banter is suprisingly pedestrian for such a seasoned band. The "experimental" songs are simply random sounds recorded in someone's garage before 45 Grave really came into their own. I still love the band itself, but this disc (DEBASEMENT TAPES) is not a decent representation of them. You'll be better off if you can find a copy of SLEEP IN SAFETY."