Skeletal Remains - Desolate Isolation (2021)

Desolate Isolation is a compact little fan package released through Century Media for completists to own the 2011 Skeletal Remains demo of the same name, remastered, with some bonus content. I have to admit that, having the Beyond the Flesh full-length already gives me all the original music from the demo, but I was attracted to the cover of "Chronic Infection" by Pestilence, that also happens to be one of my favorite tunes from the Dutchmen, and one of my favorite death metal tunes in general. Further disclosure: if you've grabbed the 2021 reissue of Beyond the Flesh, then all of this demo stuff is already included, INCLUDING the cover. So what does that really leave here? Some live tunes, a couple bonus tracks, and an additional cover of Asphyx's "Evocation" taken from a compilation.

The three demo remaster tracks do sound fun and chunky, a little denser than what I've listened to of the original release, and the Pestilence cover doesn't quite match the original for me, but it plays it fairly close, and you get that same amazing sense of groove and almost 'rappy' vocals in the verses, which sound so over the top, unforgettable from van Drunen and that is what Chris Monroy is also aping here. But the bridge, the drumming and some of the little details throw me off. That said, it's proof that this band has excellent taste, although if you've heard their full-length albums and noted the influences then this will offer you no surprise. The Asphyx cover fares pretty well too, and here he gets a little closer to van Drunen, though the mix offered on this one doesn't really compare to any of their original albums. Considering that the live tracks are taken from pretty early off in their career, I do think they sound excellent, drawn from a Tokyo performance and sounding almost studio quality; I'd have been mighty impressed if I were there to make the comparison directly.

Otherwise, the two 'rare tracks' are pretty solid, with "Crippled Sanity" which has another of those meatier tributes to early Death that were so prevalent on the first two records. "Planetary Genocide" was released as a single around the time of Devouring Mortality and fits more with the content of that album, and that is to say that's pretty much peak Skeletal Remains in my opinion. Old school and evil with some Death, Obituary, Pestilence and Asphyx vibes, but also just clinical and modern enough to parallel the Californians' transition into what they've come today. So, in summary, Desolate Isolation is going to have more value if you don't already have the reissued debut CD without half the content, and its core is limited to stuff that already exists on another full-length to begin with, but it's by no means a bad product and the extras are at least enjoyable or well recorded in the case of the live offerings.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10]

https://www.facebook.com/SkeletalRemainsDeathMetal