We all have our dark and privileged metal secrets we selfishly keep to ourselves, only sharing with a select few close to us. Or alternatively, we incessantly talk up underground gems and spread the gospel to anyone that will listen, as we cherish our slice of underground cred. Into the Obscure aims to right the wrongs and unearth the artists/albums that for whatever unjust reason didn’t get the exposure or credit they sorely deserved the first-time round. Celebrating not just obscurity buried in the deepest corners of the underground but also recognizing overlooked or underappreciated gems that never earned their deserved dues.

Here we go, fully locked and loaded with a long overdue edition of Into the Obscure. Perusing the dusty olde archives for a suitably underappreciated candidate, we landed on a bulldozing death metal gem from crusty Chicago scrappers Cianide and their third LP, 1997’s Death, Doom and Destruction. Sometimes the simple shit does the trick to get the adrenaline pumping and head banging. Cianide strips their surly brand of old school death back to its primitive, bludgeoning, lizard brain channeling essentials. Leaving no room for fanciful musicianship or melodic pleasantries, Cianide crush, kill, destroy through a punishing concoction that does justice to the album’s title.

Cianide’s decayed, belligerent formula is deeply rooted in the olden days of knuckle-dragging American death, while taking big, cleaving cues from the buzzsawing, punkish crunch of the timeless Swedeath scene (early Entombed, Dismember). Toss in the doom-laden, battle-hardened artillery of classic Bolt Thrower, and the end result forms a hell of a recipe for a good old-fashioned blunt force bludgeoning. Packed with eight killer tunes, a plethora of infectious, rib-rattling riffs, and crunchy, pummeling grooves, all done and dusted in a mere half hour, Death, Doom and Destruction is a lean, mean killing machine and wickedly entertaining old school death platter. Showing little interest in techy wankery or warped speed, Cianide prefer beating the listener down with a burly barrage of rough and tumbling mid-paced grooves, violently hooky riffs, and a beefy rhythm section driving the straightforward, though cleverly composed and infectiously written assault. “Rage War” sets a wickedly nasty, Stockholm-infected tone from its opening punky death riffs and energetic gallop. Onwards and upwards, Cianide keep the energy jacked, even at slower, crushing levels, and the tuneage quality is sustained.

Cianide excel in their different, though equally stomping modes, whether doubling down on the crushing sludge meets bolt-throwing death-doom of “Envy and Hatred” and immense closer “(We Are the) Doomed,” or unleashing more up-tempo bruisers via raw, riffy and groove-laden barrages (“The Power to Destroy,” “Deadly Spawn”). Death, Doom and Destruction lives and dies by the power of the mighty riff, and thank fuck, there is an abundance of beastly headbanging gems on display, drawing from different scenes and influences, unified into the signature Cianide formula. Vocally, Death, Doom and Destruction features the no-frills death grunts of bassist Mike Perun, and occasional backing contributions from his bandmates. It’s hardly revolutionary stuff, but the raw delivery and lived-in gruffness serve the material well. Shout-out also to the production job, which satisfyingly combines crisp clarity with serious heft and rough, organic charm.

Cianide are old timey warriors, forming in the late ’80s and maintaining a consistent track record of underappreciated releases across the intervening decades. One of Cianide’s finest offerings, Death, Doom and Destruction is a raw, explosive ’90s relic that packs a mighty wallop and remains remarkably fresh and addictive nearly thirty years since it originally dropped. Aficionados of doom-leaning old school death need to give these grizzled warriors the attention they deserve. Chances are you won’t be disappointed.

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