"For Initium Mortis we wanted Death fans who had never heard these demo songs to hear them with good production," says Harvey. "Most of these early demos were poor quality, often recorded on a boom box, so by the time someone got a demo through tape trading it was almost inaudible!
We think these tracks are a good representation of the birth of Mantas/Death. This is ground zero - where it all started: three 15 year-old kids creating Death Metal history, and even within these choice cuts from the demo days you can hear the evolution of the music."
"Left To Die went from a thought to doing a full US tour in about 3 months! Pretty remarkable if you ask me," says Butler. "We wanted to play the early material for the fans that weren't able to see the first albums in a live setting. There are many young fans at our shows that are hearing the foundation that DEATH stands on to this day live for the first time! With Matt channeling the best Chuck Schuldiner out there and Gus playing the material perfectly and respectfully we hit the road and haven't looked back."
Ultimately, LEFT TO DIE celebrates a seminal band and the camaraderie of the genre's most extreme corner of music. "First off I would like to thank Gus, Matt and Terry for making Left To Die happen. It's been an honor and pleasure working with them for the past few years and beyond," says Rozz. "It's really cool to be able to hear these tunes from 1984 properly! Old-school Death fans are going to dig this release. Cheers & Peace."
