Back in 1992, a young Ollie Jones (guitar, bass, backing vocals) and Sean Smith (vocals, guitar) formed EMBALMER whilst in high school. Together, the duo recorded one demo, simply self-titled, that also listed a Simon Wilson that “doesn’t drum for us.” That they programmed the drums on their sole recording lends Embalmer a strange, crusty charm, one nearly concurrent with the rising black metal wave in Europe than the exploding death metal movement of the time – especially in their native England, with the likes of Napalm Death and Carcass hitting their creative and commercial peaks. Despite the presence of that drum-programming, EMBALMER’s songwriting remains relatively linear, and their balance between blasting and chugging fit the times to a T…but the muffled, mildly distorted vocals put this in outsider territory (same for swirling instrumental closer “Kulled”). Alas, this demo would be the only recorded appearance of Smith, and Jones would soon go on to form DESECRATON…and the rest is indeed history.