Believer were a US Christian thrash metal band that existed from 1987 till about 1994. Extraction From Mortality is the band's debut album, originally released in 1989 on the Christian label R.E.X. Music, now being reissued and remastered by Poland's Metal Mind Productions. If you've never checked out Believer before, you are missing quite a treat, as this four-piece combined the ferocity of the 80's Bay Area thrash scene with the brutal technicality of early Death or Obituary. On first listen, without even glancing at the lyrics, you'd be hard pressed to believe that this is a Christian band, but they certainly were, and went even heavier into that domain on subsequent releases. Musically speaking, there's some amazing stuff going on here, layers of whiplash guitar riffs and blinding solos flying all over the mix on songs like "Vile Hypocrisy", "Unity", and the slightly progressive "Shadow of Death". There's also more grinding, straightforward numbers, like "Tormented" and "Not Even One", but no matter what the style, the songs are melodic and catchy, despite their brutal nature. Guitarist/vocalist Kurt Bachman sounds very similar to the late Chuck Schuldiner from Death, his gruff vocals fitting in well alongside the pounding drum barrage and tight riff-o-rama. The band's classical leanings, which would appear in greater detail on future albums, show up on the epic title track, as gorgeous strings and soaring melodies do battle with crushing technical extreme metal.
Metal Mind's remaster job is very good here, and you get a nice little digipack offering with a booklet containing an essay and full lyrics. Sadly, there's no bonus material, but the good thing is this long forgotten classic is now once again readily available.
Track Listing
1. "Unity" (6:39)
2. "Vile Hypocrisy" (5:35)
3. "D.O.S. (Desolation of Sodom)" (4:19)
4. "Tormented" (3:50)
5. "Shadow of Death" (4:17)
6. "Blemished Sacrifices" (3:54)
7. "Not Even One" (3:33)
8. "Extraction from Mortality" (6:01)
9. "Stress" (3:01)
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