CoC : Dissection - The Past Is Alive (Early Mischief) : Review

Dissection - _The Past Is Alive (Early Mischief)_
(Necropolis, 1997)
by: Drew Snow (6.5 out of 10)

Knowing that most re-released "demos on CD" albums are nothing too special, I received _The Past is Alive_ with restrained enthusiasm. Sure, it's the "new" Dissection, but how much listening value do all of these official demo releases really have? The answer is not a whole hell of a lot. Although the material on _TPIA _ has marginally better production than other demos (though still nothing great), the fact remains that you've heard practically all of this material before, and in the way the band meant for you to hear it. Why listen to a demo version of the awesome "In the Cold Winds of Nowhere" from 1992 with tinny production and rough playing, when you can hear the spectacular version on the timeless _The Somberlain_ in all of its glory? Probably the only material on _TPIA_ that no one's ever heard before are the two songs courtesy of the pre-Dissection band so cleverly named Satanized, but the sound on these tracks is just absolutely pathetic, rendering them virtually unlistenable anyway. Of course, that's not to say that the album is particularly -bad-. The majority of the material -is- of pretty good quality, but, once again, when you've got the option of throwing on two such epic discs as _The Somberlain_ and _Storm of the Light's Bane_, _The Past Is Alive_ just doesn't cut it. Nostalgia trip or not, I'll take final, polished versions of songs I already know any day.

(article published 17/11/1997)

CHATS
12/13/1995	A Bromley	Dissection: Dissecting and Devouring the Details With Dissection

ALBUMS
5/15/2006	J Smit	6	Dissection - Reinkaos
8/28/2003	Q Kalis	8	Dissection - Live Legacy
11/8/1995	A Bromley	6	Dissection - Storm Of The Light's Bane

GIGS
4/18/1996	N Bassett	Morbid Angel / At the Gates / Dissection / Sadistic Intent	Morbid Angel / At the Gates / Dissection / Sadistic Intent