Artist: Severe Torture
Country: The Netherlands
Label: Wolfkult Religion
Formats: 12” LP
Year: 2026
When we think about Dutch Death Metal, inevitably the names of Asphyx, Pestilence and Sinister will enter the conversation And understandably so, as they were part of an incredibly active scene in the 90’s that produced records that went all over the world. But most of those bands also peaked in that era and it was up to others to take over the baton. Severe Torture was one of those bands that seamlessly took over, riding the wave of the increasingly popular brutal Death Metal movement of the early 00’s. In particular their debut album ‘Feasting on Blood’ and the subsequent ‘Misanthropic Carnage’ were Death Metal hit machines, and to this day the band still goes strong. In recent years those early albums were re-released on vinyl, but one piece was still missing an LP treatment. And that was something Wolfkult Relgion and the band intended to fix with this demo re-release.
‘Baptized…’ takes us back to 1998, about a year after the band had formed. At this time the early core of guitar player Thijs, bass player Patrick and drummer Seth was already intact, but the band further contained Jelle as an additional guitar player and vocalist Eric de Windt, best known as drummer in Deströyer 666 and vocalist on the Sinister album ‘Aggressive Measures’. What sets this demo apart from many bands is the maturity. While a lot of bands take their demo time to grow as a band, Severe Torture already sounded extremely mature on that first recording. Those same, undeniable influences of Cannibal Corpse and Suffocation that made the debut ‘Feasting of Blood’, well, a feast for Death Metal fans, are already fully crystallised on this demo. The songs are immediately recognisable, and so is the level of musical tightness. It’s impressive just how advanced the band already sounds on this demo, and it’s no wonder that some of these tracks ended up on the debut and already produce one of the band’s absolute classic tracks, ‘Baptized in Virginal Liquid’ .
That professional tightness and excellent skill set also are similarly evident on the second half of this LP. For this we fast forward a year, to September 1999. They present five tracks that were recorded live in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, and were previously released on the band’s 1999 promo. Three of the demo tracks are also represented in the live set, and the rest of the set contains ‘Rest in Flames’ and ‘Pray for Nothing’, the two promo tracks that also would end up on ‘Feasting for Blood’. By now the vocals had been taken over by Dennis, who to this day forms the core of the band together with Patrick and Thijs. For sound recordings from 1999 the sound is excellent and the band is on fire, something that after having witnessed the band live countless of times still is consistent. Simply put, whether it’s on album or live, Severe Torture always delivers, and these tracks are further proof of that.
Severe Torture remains one of the very best Death Metal bands the Netherlands has to offer, and such was already very clear on their first demo. Although it’s just 15 minutes in length, for a first Demo this is simply excellent and on par with the fantastic debut album. So, since this is the first time some of these tracks are available on vinyl, and the added incentive is a great-sounding 1999 live set… what are you waiting for?
