Crimson [2CD Reissue]

Edge Of Sanity - Crimson [2CD Reissue]

Formed by Dan Swano (vocals), Andreas ''Dread'' Axelsson (bass), Benny Larsson (drums) and Sami Nerberg (guitars) in Finspang, Sweden, in 1989, Edge of Sanity weren't purely death metal at the beginning. Their aggro-oriented thrash had more in common with Pestilence and Voivod than Death and Entombed. The group's rough five-song demo, Euthanasia, had all the usual earmarks-pissed-off teens inspired by rage-filled dark music. The demo was whisked off to various media outlets, and British magazine Kerrang! responded kindly. Inspired by the feedback, Edge of Sanity reconfigured their lineup-Dread moved from bass to guitar, and Anders Lindberg was employed on bass. This would be the Edge of Sanity lineup until Cryptic in 1997 and during a brief reanimation when it was solely Swano on Crimson II in 2003. Back to the follow-up to Euthanasia: the first release to come out of the newly formed five-piece was The Immortal Rehearsals in 1990. Kur-Nu-Gi-A arrived next, also in 1990. Essentially, the band re-recorded The Immortal Rehearsals to form-with the addition of ''Maze of Existence''-the Kur-Nu-Gi-A demo. On the strength of Kur-Nu-Gi-A, Edge of Sanity received a four-option deal from fledgling Swedish label Black Mark Production. The Dead, again in 1990, wasn't a demo per se but a promo for Black Mark's head honcho, Borje ''Boss'' Forsberg. Edge of Sanity's debut album, Nothing But Death Remains, arrived on Black Mark Production in 1991. Competing for attention with Dismember's Like an Everflowing Stream, Unleashed's Where No Life Dwells and Grave's Into the Grave in Sweden, as well as Autopsy's Mental Funeral, Morbid Angel's Blessed Are the Sick and Death's Human in the States, the kids from Ostergotland delivered a spry bruiser. At the behest of Boss, a series of promos led to Unorthodox in 1992. Moored by killer songwriting (''Everlasting'', ''In the Veins / Darker than Black''), an adventurous mindset (''Enigma'', ''When All is Said'') and a more robust production, Unorthodox put the Swedes on the proverbial map. This was their ultimate and, for a brief time, final moment.