In 1988, the English "Britcore" (as it was then known) scene, was in full force, and U.K. label Earache Records, issued two releases in particular, that would pretty much take the sound to its outermost extremes, not to mention, absolute "speed limits." The LPs in question were CARCASS's "Reek of Putrefaction," and SORE THROAT's "Disgrace to the Corpse of Sid." (I mean, is it even POSSIBLE for a human to drum any faster than Ken Owen did on "Reek...," or Hammy, on "Sid"? Really, where else could anybody possibly go after THAT?!)With this "grind" or "noise" genre, having reached its logical conclusion, and exhausted itself out at this point, one group in particular, was perhaps the first of the British acts, to "turn back the clock" a bit, if you will, and, as opposed to the light-speed wall of blasting drums and one-second song lengths characteristic of the "noisecore" scene, sought, essentially, to go more "back to basics."The outfit I refer to is Telford, England's CANCER, consisting of Carl Stokes-drums, John Walker-vocals and guitars, and Ian Buchanan-bass. They recorded their debut full-length, and the album being reviewed, "To the Gory End," at the tail end of 1989, exactly 30 years ago this year, no less. It was here on this magnum vinyl opus, that Cancer introduced the world to its razor-sharp and lethal take on old school death metal. Emphasis on the "OLD SCHOOL," that is, because at a mere nine tracks in 35 minutes, more mid-paced song structures overall, and an eerie, horror movie-inspired theme throughout, this was more in line with, say, DEATH's "Scream Bloody Gore" (1986), than any of the micro-detonations of noise that had been prominent in the at-the-time more-recent grindcore movement. And, speaking of the previously-mentioned Carcass, while they excelled at more clinical, "medical terminology"-based gore lyrics, not to mention real-life "autopsy collages" for their album sleeves, if anything, Cancer's "To the Gory End," is more like the perfect audio equivalent, of a cheap, "B"-grade '80s slasher flick VHS. Just witness its low-grade, "Friday the 13th"-inspired imagery as seen in the unfortunate 'machete-through-the-head' victim that adorns the cover illustration, and lyrics like, "Visions of their deaths/Bloody bodies lie/See the wounds on the flesh/It's you who's next to die" -- "Blood Bath," and you know that these guys were quite literally "going for the jugular" on this one, in a hacking, blood-spurting sort of way, that is. And sound-wise, there is quite a violent and ominous atmosphere achieved throughout, in the surgically precise, battering ram of pounding drums courtesy of Stokes, the slashing, distorted bass of Buchanan, and, the icing on the cake, being John Walker's demented, one-of-a-kind vocal delivery, which seamlessly alternates between a cutting, higher-pitched death-rasp, and a more chilling, bloody and sadistic, lower growl. The production is truly "punk-rock" as well, with a subtle background of static-y feedback-type noise always discernible in the mix, and, according to the liner notes, the tracks themselves were all recorded in the studio in one or two takes tops, and nothing more. Every single song here is sick, catchy, and timeless as well, with no filler present. Maybe it's the inspiration these guys cite, in the record's thank-list, that they get from "Lowenbrau, Beck's & all strong beers." In any case, it's undeniable that this album was mega-influential to the development of the British scene, and served, directly or indirectly, as perhaps the earliest precursor and progenitor to other, later U.K. old school death metal LPs that would follow, including, but not limited to, BENEDICTION's "the Grand Leveller" (1991), IMPALER's "Charnel Deity," and NECROSANCT's "Incarnate" (the latter two both from 1992).At the time of this writing, Cancer's "To the Gory End" also remains, undoubtedly, one of THE absolute "rarest of the rare," and most sought-after, early death metal releases of them all, it being nearly impossible to come by, in any format. (I've seen the original Vinyl Solution pressing, for instance, go online for somewhere in the neighborhood of $150, on more than one occasion.) The version that I am reviewing, and was lucky enough to secure a copy of a few years ago, is the 2014 reissue on Germany's Cyclone Empire label, and it is truly choice indeed, with a detailed retrospective on the material here written by the band members themselves, vintage archive photos, full lyrics (in all their original, GORY glory), and two bonus tracks from the group's 1989 demo. This Cyclone Empire version too, is unsurprisingly by now very much "out-of-print" as well, and yet I can personally attest, that "To the Gory End," in ANY format you can find it in, is a worthy addition to any serious death metal fan's CD or record collection. Buy or "DIE-DIE"!