For The Whole World To See

…For the Whole World to See, recorded in 1974, requires more ballpark adjustments than your average reissue.

For one, most bands today fusing breakneck punk with arena rock bombast do so under a massive cloak of irony, and are commonly shunned (c.f. Electric Six). Making matters worse, Death espouses earnest political views while walking that tightrope.

Luckily though, there’s enough stylistic diversity and ahead‐of‐time knick‐knacks on the album to prove Death more than just fanboys fawning over Kick Out the Jams and Raw Power.

Leaning heavily on pregnant pauses and choppy two‐note melodies, opener “Keep on Knocking” confirms the rock+punk arithmetic of the band’s mission statement. The other six tracks don’t play out so predictably. “Let the World Turn” starts out in a Pink Floyd‐style haze of reverberated guitars and detached vocals before igniting into a frenzied speed punk chorus.

The ho‐hum AOR verses of “You’re a Prisoner” collide with a doomsday refrain straight out of an Ozzy Osbourne nightmare, while “Freakin Out” stands the test of time as the band’s most innovative song here, anticipating the jittery pop punk that’d soon arrive from the UK.