Extremity Retained: Notes from the Death Metal Underground

by Jason Netherton

Extremity Retained: Notes From the Death Metal Underground is an exhaustive 480 page contribution to the oral history of death metal music and culture. The outcome of three years of research and over 100 interviews, Extremity Retained is intended to capture the experience and ethos of the international death metal scene from its origins in the late 1980s, through the successive incarnations and evolutions that made it the subcultural force it is today. Comprised entirely of first-hand stories, anecdotes and memories, the book reflects on such diverse areas as the early fanzine and tape trading culture, regional 'scene' reports, death metal performance and technique, the recording process, as well as life on tour, all in an effort to identify the vitality and unity that gives the underground its enduring spirit. Ultimately, the idea is to explore the scene through the voices of those who helped create it, in order to understand better how the death metal underground 'worked' in its early incarnations, how it has evolved, and where it is going.

Featuring original cover and section art by Matt "Putrid Gore" Carr, incidental art by Gary Ronaldson, with design and typography from Tilmann Benninghaus, and title page by Timo Ketola.

Contributors to Extremity Retained include (but are not limited to): Luc Lemay (Gorguts), Alex Webster (Cannibal Corpse), King Fowley (Deceased), Stephan Gebidi (Thanatos, Hail of Bullets), Dan Swanö (Edge of Sanity), Doug Cerrito (Suffocation), John McEntee (Incantation, Funerus), Marc Grewe (Morgoth), Ola Lindgren (Grave), Paul Ryan (Origin), Kam Lee (ex-Massacre, ex-Death), Tomas Lindberg (At the Gates, Lock Up), Travis Ryan (Cattle Decapitation), Robert Vigna and Ross Dolan (Immolation), Jacob Schmidt (Defeated Sanity), Esa Linden (Demigod), Dan Seagrave (Artist), Rick Rozz (ex-Death, Massacre), Steve Asheim (Deicide), Jim Morris (Morrisound Studios), Terry Butler (Obituary, Massacre, ex-Death), Mitch Harris (Napalm Death, Righteous Pigs), Scott Hull (Pig Destroyer), John Gallagher (Dying Fetus), Robin Mazen (Derketa, Demonomacy), George Fisher (Cannibal Corpse), Ed Warby (Gorefest, Hail of Bullets), Rob Barrett (Cannibal Corpse, ex-Solstice), Donald Tardy (Obituary), Moyses Kolesne (Krisiun), Takaaki Ohkuma (Necrophile), Paul Speckmann (Master, Abomination), Anders Jacobson (Nasum, Necrony), Carl Fulli (Epidemic), Matt Harvey (Exhumed), Steve Goldberg (Cephalic Carnage), Ben Falgoust (Soilent Green, Goatwhore), Phil Fasciana (Malevolent Creation), Tony Laureno (ex-Nile, ex-Angelcorpse), Alan Averill (Primordial, Twilight of the Gods), Jason Fuller (Blood Duster), Alex Okendo (Masacre), Dave Witte (Municipal Waste, Human Remains), Lee Harrison (Monstrosity) and many more.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, History

480 pages, Paperback

First published April 11, 2014

About the author

Originally from Maryland, USA, Jason Netherton is a founding member of the band Misery Index, as well as a founding ex-member of the band Dying Fetus. Additionally, he is a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Information and Media Studies at the University of Western Ontario, Canada. Additionally, he oversees the online metal fanzine archive Send Back My Stamps!.

Reviews

[Rodney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremity Retained is an exhaustive trip through an exciting time in music. The progression of death metal from it's beginnings to where it lies today is something that will always be a part of me. Hearing it straight from the band members themselves added another dimension that I enjoyed. With over 100 contributors, the exhaustive may sometimes lean towards exhausting, but I get it. While there is certainly repetition in much of the content and there could have been some trimming, it is undeniable that the interconnectedness of the scene and the resulting bonds between people are what shaped it into what it is. I am not sure if this book is for everyone, as the appeal comes from sharing in this movement during my teenage years, but I will say it did it for me.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a hard time reading non-fiction books even about subjects I'm interested in so I was very surprised when I couldn't stop reading this book. This book has already been dogeared on numerous pages which I only do to my favourite books. No doubt I will read this over and over again until the cover falls off or some pages. Whichever comes first. I had absolutely no issues with this book unlike with Choosing Death which is ironic because Albert Mundrian has a piece in this book and is also thanked by the author. The best part is that it reminded me of bands that I forgot existed and can now go back and reacquaint myself with them.
Unlike other books that discuss the origins of heavy metal and it's subgenres there is no author bias. Extremity Retained is just quotes from musicians, artists, and journalists who saw death metal grow and become what it is now. I like that Mr. Netherton is just a historian who is documenting the death metal underground movement so it will never be forgotten. He does have introductions to every chapter, but they are very brief. It is incredible how objective these chapters are considering he played in Dying Fetus and is the bassist of Misery Index. On the other hand, if you don't know anything about death metal perhaps this book wouldn't be helpful. Perhaps a book like Choosing Death Or Sound of the Beast would be more ideal.
Extremity Retained is divided into sections. Chapter 1 focuses on bands, musicians, individuals responding or reminiscing about how death metal came into existence and how they got into the music. Chapter 2 is about contributors to the death metal movement. Chapter 3 is about the creative process of death metal writing and recording. This part I found to be quite interesting because many musicians discuss Morrisound Studios and Sunlight Studio and how that changed death metal for better or worse. Also some bands remark on record labels or things that in retrospect they would have changed, but it is very minimal unlike in Choosing Death Chapter 4 is about touring and how it is a complete different life. Chapter 5 is the last chapter of the book and is about past, present and future of death metal.
Netherton not only interviewed musicians, but also the artists who designed album art for death metal bands which distinguishes this book from other books on the subject matter. The interview or quote from Dan Seagrave helped me understand how his album art works in conjuncture to the band and their music.
In addition, Netherton is thorough in his documentation of death metal. He does not just focus on the Florida or Swedish movement like most books. He includes musicians and bands from all areas of the United States, as well as South America, Canada, Japan, Australia and numerous European countries. It was cool and enlightening to read what the death metal movement was like in my city (Chicago). Not many writers talk about the Midwest let alone places like Las Vegas or Colorado. Furthermore, unlike Choosing Death this book addresses the death metal movement in Finland, Sweden, and the Netherlands instead of just name dropping and all through the usage of quotes.
Lastly, some of the stories you will read in this book will make you laugh so hard your sides will hurt. Others will fill you with rage and disgust. There are numerous quotes in this book that are my favourite, but the one that made me laugh the hardest is by Tomas Lindberg where he says,

"It's hard to say now if there is still a Swedish sound, as that particular sound is now found all over the world, with retro-American death metal band adopting Swedish guitar tones for example, and before all that half-crappy metalcore bands trying to do some Slaughter of the Soul stuff."

Those are my exact sentiments toward metalcore and my issue with that album.
All in all, I would recommend this book to anybody who loves death metal and loves to learn everything and anything about it. Once again it is very rare that a non-fiction book can make me feel nostalgic for years I never lived or was a child. I would have loved to tape trade and write letters to what would eventually turn into my favorite bands or hell going to great lengths even putting my life in danger all for the sake of music. One can't get any more loyal or authentic than that. These feelings cannot be duplicated or faked. This kind of devotion to music is what I feel is missing in the current state of metal.

[Karsten Albrink · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Being a Death Metal fan from the very early days, i enjoyed this trip into my youth so much. Coming from Germany, i could not find significant differences to how it was for other people, times were different and the underground worked differently. Just reading about how someone else was waiting for mail from some band or fanzine you have ordered from makes me feel like a kid again.
The book is very well written and obviously done by somebody who has a real inside view. Also the illustrations are giving everybody who was in the scene back then a nostalgic feeling, for everybody else they show how underground it was.
This is my favorite book of the year, it is something that preserves my youth, the book i can call "personal" to me.
Many thanks to Jason Netherton for putting this book together, it is informative, entertaining, interesting and simply awesome!!! :)

[Lance Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book about death metal I have ever read. I cannot believe the amount of research Jason Netherton put in while writing this. It is a must read for any fan of the genre. Stay brutal!

[Andrew Garvey · Rating 4 out of 5]

While it has its problems - better editing would have reduced just how repetitive and redundant some entries are as interviewee after interviewee says the same thing over and over again - this is a hugely enjoyable, nostalgic and surprisingly even-handed, positively portrayed oral history of the birth and growth of the international death metal scene from the mid/late 1980s right up until the end of the '90s and a little beyond.

Netherton's interview subjects include some major names from death metal's glory days and he does a great job of ensuring all the major regional/national scenes are represented. The much-neglected Finnish scene gets decent coverage (to find out much more, try this: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5... ) as does the fascinating and culturally very different South American one. There's (rightfully) a lot on Florida and Morrisound and as someone who got into death metal in the early '90s via the Florida scene's biggest bands, this felt especially relevant, fun and nostalgic.

There's some great touring anecdotes, memories of the abject chaos of some live shows and some really interesting stuff about the actual experience of creating and recording death metal that I (a non-musician) had to do a lot of googling to really understand. Many of Netherton's interviewees talk about the fanzine and demo days and his website is a tremendous archive of those times and a great accompaniment to this book: https://www.sendbackmystamps.org/

[Nicolas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plein de récits sur une époque qui n'existe plus vraiment que j'aurais bien voulu connaitre. Bien qu'un grand nombre de musiciens et d'acteurs de ces périodes soient interviewés, le bouquin peut parfois paraitre un peu répétitif mais mieux vaut plus que pas assez dans ce cas !
J'ai un paquet de groupes de l'époque à aller découvrir maintenant...

[Fredrik · Rating 4 out of 5]

An awesome collection of of stories, background info and anecdotes that you don't find in the usual interviews. A must read if you're a fan of death metal or extreme music. A few sections can become a little tiring with old musician bemoaning the current state if music and longing for their glory days. But even here you'll find the odd golden nugget if info.

[CopperTopper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty interesting for the most part--but I feel like the book could have been paced better. Some parts just went on a bit too long.

[Karmakosmik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Il buon Jason Netherton, mitico bassista e vocalist di Misery Index ed ex-Dying Fetus, ha messo insieme una lunga serie di interviste a nomi noti e meno noti della scena Death Metal americana e non, al fine di raccontare quelli che sono stati gli anni d'oro del genere (1991-1994). Diviso in cinque capitoli, il libro è strutturato con tanti interventi più o meno lunghi, inseriti in modo da fornire un andamento più o meno omogeneo al capitolo. Forse i primi due capitoli potevano essere uniti, spesso l'introduzione ai primi gruppi come Morbid Angel o Death ed il fare i primi concerti con la propria band, spesso e sovente si sovrapponevano, e qualche sforbiciata nelle pagine non avrebbe fatto male, Soprattutto quando le varie opinioni o testimonianze tendevano ad essere troppo simili l'una con l'altra. Però, eccetto questi difetti, il libro è molto valido, ed ho trovato molto interessanti la parte dedicata alla registrazione in studio, dove viene spiegato in dettaglio tutto il grosso lavoro fatto nei Morrisound Studios, o quello finale, dove vengono confrontate la scena attuale con quella passata, e con tutto il differente modo di approcciarsi alla musica o come reperirla. Letto insieme al libro "Swedish Death Metal", questo questo libro permette di farsi un idea molto esauriente di cosa effettivamente è il Death Metal.

[Rex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremity Retained: Notes from the Death Metal Underground was a decent read. I'd give it a 4 out of 5 stars. I would have rated it higher if it wasn't so repetitive at times. You can only take so many times a retelling of an incident with all the members in the band and the bands that they were on tour with.

Despite that, it was nice going down memory lane reliving the era I bought certain cds and tapes from pawn shops, record stores, flea markets, and through friends. Having a $20 allowance for the week to buy one album and that album meant the world to you. Or writing zines and metal mags to meet pen pals and learning about new bands.

It was a very fun and nostalgic read even though it took a few days to finally finish it.

[Martin Sasseville · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well assembled, very interesting, no subjective comment from the author, very good insight into death metal, although some parts are very redundant, especially the last part. Totally worth the read. Not your boring journalist written metal book with subjective insight. The collected stories speak for themseves you don't need a recap to figure what it mean. I would have give a 4,5, but because we can't I'd give a 4...

[Ramakrishnan M · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is less of a "story"; more of a collection of "short stories"; veterans from the scene share their tales of how they started, what kind of life they had on the road, how they see the scene evolving, etc.

Some parts of it were very interesting - for instance to hear about the bands' first recording, first road-trip, etc.

But overall it gets a bit repetitive.

Not a bad read...but that's about it

[Chris Puzak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly recommended, especially if you were around for the early 90's death metal scene.