Vital Remains was formed in 1989, in Providence, Rhode Island US
Codec WMA Lossless

Tracklist:

1. War In Paradise 7:45
2. Of Pure Unholiness 6:39
3. Ceremony Of The Seventh Circle 6:58
4. Uncultivated Grave 7:02
5. Malevolent Invocation 4:11
6. Isolated Magick 5:14
7. Cult Of The Dead 7:09
8. Frozen Terror 5:47
9. Amulet Of The Conquering 5:32

Personnel:
Rhythm Guitar - Tony Lazaro
Vocals - Jeff Gruslin
Lead Guitar - Paul Flynn
Bass - Joe Lewis
Drums [Session] - A. Alonzo

At the beginning, it is worth noting that for a debut, Let Us Pray is a relatively long album, lasting over 56 minutes. Such a dose of death metal can give many a headache, or simply discourage in the world. But I assure you, not this time. In the case of Vital Remains, everything - contrary to the trends prevailing on the scene at that time - takes place in medium-slow tempos, only here and there touching on not necessarily massacring accelerations. The guitars are definitely the best on this album - the riffs are varied, well thought out, pleasantly melodious and far from constant tremolo, and the solos are wild, a bit twisted and properly exposed (applause for Paul Flynn). Longer (for the average in the genre), more atmospheric songs are arranged very well, which is why they are certainly not boring or overcomplicated, although in some places they lacked a better cut. Such treatments in some places are associated with the patents of the great Mercyful Fate or - less great - Celtic Frost, and this means, among others, no total brutality. Compared to the rest, Ace Alonzo's sparing (also in terms of sound) drumming is relatively weak - unfortunately, you can feel that the guy sometimes doesn't make it and simplifies his job, which is a pity, because the other musicians can clearly turn up the pace (so that's probably why he was omitted from the insert). I haven't seen the lyrics, but from the titles and what I can pick out from the singing (a solid roar, so there are no understatements) of Jeff Gruslin, I conclude that in addition to the strictly "devil-hell" subject matter, we will also find references to the prose of the brilliant H.P. Lovecraft. As you can see, in this field Vital Remains tried to depart from the typical, gore-style, death tendencies (maybe only with the exception of the funny cover). For lovers of "climate" and - horror! — not overly extreme death metal Let Us Pray is a position he found, but it will not cause frenzy of joy