Review: Living Sacrifice – Nonexistent

From the Crypt Review
Living Sacrifice – Nonexistent
Released 1992, remastered and remixed 2022.

Before Living Sacrifice somewhat reinvented itself with Reborn, they released this foul blast of odious death metal into the world.

Full disclosure—I’m a DJ-era guy, through and through. While The Hammering Process introduced me to the band (and proved to be hugely influential in showing me that Christian bands could rock just as hard as their secular counterparts), I always struggled with getting into the earlier material. I figured that the early records were a band fumbling through different styles, trying to get their sonic footing, and there was not much point in diving into them.

Then, after Nordic Mission breathed new life into their second album, Nonexistent, I gave it another shot—and I’m thankful I did.

When Carcass recorded Reek of Putrefaction, the production was famously botched, with the band completely unhappy with the results. Ironically, that horrific production helped birth a grindcore cult classic, amplifying its sonic horror.

Not so with Nonexistent—at least in my opinion. Issues with the production process led to a half-formed release that sounded patched together and somewhat malformed, especially in the vocal department. Some fans loved the rawness of the original production, but I couldn’t get past it.

Thankfully, in 2022, Nordic Mission gave the album a much-needed remaster and remix, resurrecting it into something heavier, more pronounced, and much nastier. Of course, some purists felt the original rawness suited the sound, but for me, this remix/remaster was essential—it finally gives the album the impact it should have always had. (For what it’s worth, I believe the band approves, as it presents the album in the way it was originally intended.)

Everything one could love about old-school death metal is here: the riffing, the production, the sheer sonic brutality. Perhaps the band felt the need to prove themselves—that they could play this kind of music just as heavy and nasty as the secular giants. If so, they passed with flying colors.

D.J.’s vocals take some getting used to, much like John Tardy’s of Obituary. But once you adjust, you realize they are an integral part of the album’s raw, youthful energy. With the remaster, a very slight reverb was added to the vocals, giving them a haunting, Cause of Death-era Obituary effect that works wonders for the overall sound.

The riffing is ominous and foreboding, yet bursting with unbridled energy, hinting at the even more intense follow-up, Inhabit. While Inhabit leans towards early Immolation (Dawn of Possession comes to mind), Nonexistent embraces a slower, groovier approach. The occasional breakdowns here foreshadow elements that would become more prominent in later records, but in this setting, they add to the sheer sonic pulverization of the listener’s ears.

At the time of its release, Christian death metal was in its absolute infancy. Mortification’s debut had just dropped in 1991, and Crimson Thorn hadn’t even released their Plagued demo yet (which was still thrash metal!). Given how controversial extreme metal was within Christian circles back then, Nonexistent must have sounded utterly demonic to some ears.

But nothing could be further from the truth. Living Sacrifice wore their faith on their sleeves, and that conviction only makes this album more powerful. As someone who loves old-school death metal, Nonexistent checks all the right boxes—it’s rotten, foul death metal of the first order, standing proudly alongside the classics of the late ’80s and early ’90s.

The absolute savagery of D.J.’s howls on “Atonement” is worth the price of admission alone.

Though it had a troubled birth, Nonexistent remains one of the greatest records the Christian death metal scene has ever produced. Easily in my top 10 death metal albums of all time, this is mandatory listening.

For Fans Of: Obituary (early), Pestilence (early), Morgoth (early), Skeletal Remains (early), Gorguts (early), Death (early).

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