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Mental Destruction – When Madness Strikes [second tape version]

Mental Destruction
When Madness Strikes [second tape version]
1991 Sound Source (.1916.)
Jonkoping, Sweden

Samuel Durling – Vocals, programming
David Durling – Keyboards, programming
Jonas Blåberg – Animalic screams, programming

Side 1:

  1. Without Form
  2. Wolfram 18
  3. When Time is Over (No Time Will Be)
  4. Krossa [edited Swedish version]
  5. Midnatt

Side 2:

  1. The Walls of Madness (Parts I-VII)
  2. Illusion
  3. The Lord Reigns
  4. Black Orange / A World in Decay

Didn’t I already review this demo? Well, yes and no. This is the second version of this demo tape. This version adds two songs (“Krossa [edited Swedish version]” and “Midnatt”), and also has several different versions of some of the songs from the first version. “Without Form” is a longer version of “Dark, Black, and Without Form” from the first version that shares a lot of the same noises as the first version, but also adds a lot more. “Wolfram 18” is about 30 seconds longer here. “Black Orange / A World in Decay” is about 1 minutes 50 seconds shorter on this tape. And overall, the sound on the second version is louder, clearer, and probably remastered from the first version. The packaging is also different – the cover actually wraps all the way around the tape case and is glued on the back. When closed, it actually looks a lot like a thick but small book. The front of the cover also has a foldout section with about 8 pages of lyrics in a booklet format. The style of this demo is pretty much the same as the first one, so you can read my review on that one as the two new songs pretty much stay in this style. The CD re-issue in 1995 dropped “Black Orange / A World in Decay,” edited “Without Form” down to less than half it’s length here, and added 4 new songs.

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Mental Destruction – When Madness Strikes (original tape version)

Mental Destruction
When Madness Strikes (original tape version)
1990 Metal Cross Productions
Jonkoping, Sweden

Ivar – Vocals
Plupp – Animalic Screams
Dave – The Beatmaster

  1. Dark, Black, and Without Form
  2. Wolfram 18
  3. When Time is Over (No Time Will Be)
  4. Black Orange / A World in Decay
  5. The Walls of Madness (Parts I-VII)
  6. Illusion
  7. The Lord Reigns

This is the original tape version of When Madness Strikes by Mental Destruction. You might be asking “Wasn’t this re-released on CD? Why care about the original tape version?” Well, that is because this tape has one song that wasn’t on the CD release (“Black Orange / A World in Decay”), as well as the full version of a song that was edited on the release (“Dark, Black, and Without Form”). “Wolfram 18”  also sounds a bit different to my ears on the original tape. The sound here is a bit more minimalist industrial noise than you find on other releases by bands like Blackhouse. But Mental Destruction went on to be one of the bigger names in industrial during their brief existence, so I don’t need to tell you that their take on industrial works. This tape also came with a sticker of the front cover, as well as an insert with the lyrics. Interesting thank you notes on the insert: they thank new wave Christian label Embroyo Arts and Blackhouse among the names, and then mention Vengeance Rising and The Lead as musical inspiration. Samuel Durling, David Durling, and Jonas Blåberg were the members on this tape, but I am not sure which one is Ivar and which one is Plupp :).