Panic

As the 21st century broke, many metal bands trimmed their recordings with electronic instrumentation, which often only brought an inadvertent industrial edge to their sound. Italy’s Death SS also injected its songs with electro flourishes, but with a weird European approach that served to embellish the horror-rock style that it was credited for pioneering in 1977. “Paraphernalia” opens *Panic* with spooky samples and keyboards before “Let the Sabbath Begin” starts the party; Steve Sylvester sings in his most maniacal performance as his band chants satanic gang vocals over a hypnotic mantra of guitar drones and pummeling beats. It’s a far cry from the band’s celebrated early recordings. Yet as time changed, so did much of the band’s lineup (with Sylvester being the only original member here) and subsequently, its sound. It’s evident that with the distorted vocal track of “Hi-Tec Jesus,” the band was going for a Marilyn Manson approach. But what it got sounds much more interesting, like a quasi–death metal take on ZZ Top’s *Eliminator*.