With carefully considered stateside releases of classic albums, Music Video Distributors has very quietly become one of the premiere heavy metal and progressive labels in the US. The MVD Audio imprint has been reissuing hard-to-find titles from metal bands like Vader, Behemoth and Immolation and European proggers like Pendragon and Marillion. Now MVD Audio has worked a deal to revive nearly two-dozen classic metal albums from Roadrunner Records. Among the scheduled January releases are titles from Solitude Aeturnus, Last Crack, Xentrix, Crimson Glory, Sadus, Gorguts, Pestilence and Realm. I’ve recapped the pick of the litter below and, as usual, you can click on the CD covers to buy these discs at Amazon.com. 

SOLITUDE AETERNUS
Into The Depths Of Sorrow (1991)
Beyond The Crimson Horizon (1992)
With sludgelike riffs, monster drumbeats, loud vocals and a lyrical obsession with the darker elements of existence, these first two albums from Solitude Aeternus helped signal a return of the doom aesthetic to heavy metal. Inspired by bands like Witchfinder General, St. Vitus and, of course, Sabbath, Solitude Aeturnus would subsequently influence a generation of late-90s era bands. The band is still plugging away at it in Texas, guitarist John Perez and crew releasing a new album, Alone, in late-2006.  

LAST CRACK
Sinister Funkhouse #17 (1989)
Burning Time (1991)

During the band’s short existence, they released only these two proper studio albums, interesting mixes of thrash, grunge and hardcore which psychedelic flourishes that placed Last Crack firmly on the fringe of heavy metal. Although Roadrunner released both of these albums, the band never really found an audience among the label’s traditional metal audience. After several years of constant touring, Last Crack called it quits. Over the years, however, these two albums would grow in stature, with many fans placing Last Crack into the same circle of other “misunderstood” bands like Voivod. With interest in the band remaining high, Last Crack reunited in 2002 and is currently working on a new album for release in 2007. 
 
XENTRIX
Shattered Existence (1989)
For Whose Advantage (1990)

UK thrashmasters Xentrix (pronounced “zen-tricks”) made quite a splash among European fans with the hard-fast-brutal musical style of their debut disc, Shattered Existence. Following a similar musical tack as Anthrax, Xentrix appealed to hardcore metalheads but was accessible enough that they appealed to those listeners that weren’t into extreme metal. Between these two albums, the band recorded an ill-fated cover of Ray Parker’s theme from the Ghostbusters movie. The EP that the song appeared on was hit with litigation and subsequently pulled from store shelves. For Whose Advantage followed a year after the debut, offering more of the same uncompromising metallic thrash. Both of these reissues include bonus tracks and, yes, the Ghostbusters theme song.    

REALM
Endless War (1988)
Suiciety (1990)

On these two albums, Realm explored a futuristic, highly-technical thrash sound that incorporated elements of progressive rock and classic pop music. Hailing from Wisconsin, also the home of Last Crack, Realm was often compared to Bay Area thrash bands like Exodus and Testament. Featuring fiery guitarist Takis Kinis, the band delivered an impressive hardcore cover of the Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby” on Endless War. After the release of Suiciety, Realm broke up, with several members joining Last Crack vocalist Buddo in forming the band White Fear Chain. These two albums remain an impressive reminder of one of the lesser-known and underrated bands of the thrash-metal sphere.