Search - Ludichrist :: Immaculate Deception

Criminally Underrated Crossover Album

Ernesto Catalan Valdez | Guadalajara, Jalisco Mexico | 08/14/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"IMMACULATE DECEPTION was LUDICHRIST's debut album. It was released in 1986, a landmark year for underground metal and crossover music (the fusion of punk and metal). SLAYER, METALLICA, MEGADETH, AGNOSTIC FRONT, DARK ANGEL, SODOM, KREATOR, DESTRUCTION, OVERKILL et al, released some of the most influential albums ever, and LUDICHRIST was no exception, but their part in history books is limited at best. IMMACULATE DECEPTION featured a really well produced sound, clear enough but at the same time with enough savage fury to make even SLAYER take a run for their money. The lyrics are satyrical, cynical and anti-government, which was pretty much THE norm with all hardcore punk bands and even some thrash metal bands as well. The band was not afraid to strut their musical prowess on numbers such as "Legal Murder","young, white & well behaved", "Fire At The Firehouse" and the irreverent "Green Eggs And Ham" which features probably THE first ever Hardcore/Metal/Rap crossover and pulling it off in a very convincing and likeable way. This is light years before the so-called, "Nu Metal" or "Rap Metal" stylings that dominated the airwaves in the late 90's and early 2000. For all of you speed freaks out there, this album also contains some unbelievably fast numbers...in fact, most of this album is played at blazing speeds! (Think CRYPTIC SLAUGHTER with a sense of humor, good production and better musicians!)Albatross did a great drumming job here and Glenn Cummings guitar hero licks set LUDICHRIST far and apart from most of their hardcore metal peers. It's hard to pin point any good numbers because the entire album is REALLY good!

Finally, I'd like to comment on the actual pressing of this album. This is definitely a fly-by-night kind of "remastering" work. On several tracks you can actually hear "record scratch", which leads me to believe that this is a very well done Vinyl to digital transfer. In other words, this is NOT a transfer from the original tapes. COMBAT has done the same on other so-called "remastered re issues". If it's done so cheap, why is this album so DAMN expensive?!?! It's really a shame such a colossal album as this one is not given a fair digital treatment when so much "garbage" is floating out there. Sure, the sound is good enough, and it sure beats the tedious job of doing the transfer yourself (if you own the album and have the gear to do this stuff), but we'll have to wait for some better re issue, because this album deserves one!

"

Ludichri$t

jk | New York | 03/27/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Totally killer. I've owned this album since it's original debut, ('86?) and just listened to it again today. A talented mix of blues, jazz and rap all put together in a unbeatable hardcore package. Good stuff."

Totally avant garde!

jk | 06/13/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album it's one of the first (if not the first) in actually incorporate rap to real metal, playing a real avant garde rap, crossover, hardcore music. "Immaculate Deception" it's undoubtely a jewel to all those who wants to find the roots of the new styles (limp bizkit, biohazard, RATM)."