Left To Die Initium Mortis Review

Left To Die

Initium Mortis

Relapse Records

2026

Man, I don't know if I wanna open this can of worms. I feel it needs to be said, however. Kam Lee and his vocals/contributions are a very important part of the Mantas/Death lineage and legacy. His own band, Massacre, are Floridian death metal royalty. Why he was not included here, I honestly don't know, but I do feel he should have been in some capacity. That's all there is to it. Solely my opinion, and in no way trying to be divisive, but I had to speak my peace. Now, with that out of the way, we can dive deep into Left To Die's debut, Initium Mortis.

For those unfamiliar, Left To Die have been tearing up the road for a few years now with a carefully curated lineup of players (some former members, some not) celebrating the all-encompassing music of genre pioneers Death. The band features Death alumni Rick Rozz and Terry Butler joining forces with gore metal pioneer Matt Harvey and Gruesome drummer Gus Rios. This new album is meant to serve as an homage to the brutal beginnings of Death and to further cement founding member Chuck Schuldiner's place as the undisputed godfather of death metal.

Initium Mortis is unique in that it is a re-imagining of some of Mantas/Death's earliest demo tracks. After combing through countless old recordings, the quartet settled on 10 songs that made the most sense for a cohesive full-length. Some songs from those earliest days, such as "Skill to Kill" and "Back From the Dead" (which Chuck and Autopsy's Chris Reifert began recording for Scream Bloody Gore but never completed), were not included, but what you get are 10 songs that, as Harvey explains, "I look at Initium Mortis as a kind of 'alternate-universe' version of the Scream Bloody Gore track list."

To hear these earliest songs with full (yet fully old-school and analog-inspired by way of modern clarity) production is most definitely a treat. This stuff absolutely sounds like choice cuts from the Scream Bloody Gore and Leprosy eras. Rozz is still adamantly abusing his whammy bar amongst the simplistic, jarring tempo shifts, and Butler's meat-and-potatoes bass lines, and the chugging, tremolo-picked dismal and creepy madness from Harvey behind Rios, providing a tightly played double-kick-laden backdrop. Opener "Legion of Doom" presents a mid-tempo march with a killer main riff before slipping into a fast downbeat section that is a Death trademark, with some tasty leads. "Archangel" is one of the more chaotic tracks, with razor-sharp guitar work, shifting time changes, and speedy ferocity. "Power of Darkness" is thrash if played by Death. That's the only way I can describe it. But don't think Big Four or NY, think Germany. "Zombie" opens with a creepy minor arpeggiated clean guitar before diving headlong into a very Possessed-inspired neckbreaker, and I was glad to hear this especially, as Schuldiner always cited them as an influence. The cool thing here, too, is that this one is entirely instrumental. It's a nice tip of the hat to Death having instrumentals on their albums. "Witch of Hell" is an all-out burner with a nice evil midsection breakdown.

Continuing on, "Rise of Satan" has that patented, oddly harmonized moving riff that Schuldiner seemed to have invented, followed by more nitro-fueled pacing and an almost power metal-esque lead break. "Summoned To Die" begins with Butler and Rios playing a single-note bass and drum intro before the maelstrom of riffs and D-beat tempos annihilate us within 2 minutes and 24 seconds. "Mantas" is another obviously thrash-inspired tune played through the filter of Florida death metal. Dare I say it, but aside from the dueling guitars in the solo section, it has an almost hardcore punk feel. In fact, all of these tunes could say that, as none of them break three and a half minutes. These ARE the demo days of Death, after all. The lengthy, more prog-minded stuff was still a few years away. "Slaughterhouse" is more of the same, with four-on-the-floor urgency, pummeling tremolo picking replete with Rozz being determined to snap his whammy bar clean off. "Death By Metal" closes things out with a catchy snarled chorus and proto-thrash/death histrionics, with Harvey channeling the best Evil Chuck vocals aside from the man himself throughout. In a running time just shy of 26 minutes, Left To Die have breathed new life and, thankfully, discernible audio into the earliest days of the genre's best band ever.

As a long-time Death fan, it's cool to hear these songs get a modern release, enabling fans old and new to hear them, some for the first time. Initium Mortis is a faithful recreation of the living monstrosity of a shadow that Chuck Schuldiner left when he passed. As much as I wish the cast of characters included some that deserve to be here, you aren't going to hear a better iteration of Death this year, if ever. Crank the headphones, grab your chalice, and enjoy this time capsule, with or without coming down with leprosy.... Death by metal indeed.

~TB

RIYL - Death & Mantas