Insanity
From the Grave

December 2006
Released: 2005, Parasitic Twin
Rating: 4.0/5
Reviewer: Luxi Lahtinen

Underground tape traders... Attention! All of you underground maniacs, or at least majority of you still remember these Frisco-deathrashers Insanity, correct? And you became impressed by all that aggression, speed and fury there was involved with their sound, right? These legendary Bay Area deathrashing fellows´ last collection, titled FROM THE GRAVE, which was churned out last year in 2005 through Parasitic Twin, contains the band´s 3-song live rehearsal demo from 1985, their DEATH AFTER DEATH album (originally released by M.B.R. Records back in 1994) for which the vocals were redone in 1997 – and even 5 songs off the band´s re-mastered 8-track demo that got its additional recording as late as in 2005, last year. Additionally, the liner notes have been co-written no others than two true underground metal warriors - namely Barney from Napalm Death and Matt Harvey from Exhumed/Dekapitator, telling basically the history of Insanity very professionally and lively, how they were musically and how Insanity impressed them back in the day by their fierce, technical Death/Thrash Metal. Barney even descibes how Shane was jumping up and down in the studio when they did their cover of "Fire Death Fate" for LEADERS NOT FOLLOWERS VOL. 2., so it could rightfully be stated that Insanity´s impact on the underground metal scene has been somewhat undeniable.



But yeah, musically Barney hit the nail into the head by describing Insanity as a band that made stupendously technical deathrashing metal when the most of the bands of that time, were discovering the third chord. The Insanity -camp, was, if not the most technical, Death/Thrash outfit of the mid ´80s, then surely one of those bands of that time that surely knew how to play with an over-to-top technique mixed with a relentless speed and aggression - and without loosing a control even for a short moment. A song like “Night of the Dead” off the band´s 8-track recorder, sounds like a mixture of Fallen Christ and Morbid Saint, so hopefully that comparison could give you some sort of an idea how Insanity sounded like musically. Otherwise, all the songs are churned out with such a whirlwind of aggression that a listener cannot feel anything but a true admiration toward them. The band´s value as a truly impressive Death/Thrash band of its own time, was unquestionable. Insanity never really hit it big unlike a few other bands (Possessed, Morbid Angel, etc.) that we were causing nearly hysterical sonic mayhemic destruction back in the ´80s period of underground metal scene, and even gaining a pretty decent following for themselves. It just too bad we cannot go back in time and change some unfortunate happenings on that fatal day on 16th of May 1987 because Insanity should have deserved a longer lifespan than they actually got eventually. Rest well in peace Joe DeZuniga.