Pesaro, Italy’s Death SS formed in 1977 but remained shrouded in obscurity until the early '80s. The group pioneered horror metal, which accounts for the members’ awesome names: Sylvester the Vampire, Paul Death Chain, Claud Zombie Galley, Danny Mummy Hughes, and Thomas Werewolf. (What’s even cooler is that each band member dressed in costumes fitting their monster alter egos.) This compilation spans seven years of Death SS's evolution and reveals that along with being inspired by Le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol and old horror movies directed by Roger Corman, the band also had a thing for British heavy metal. The driving “Murder Angel” and the crudely recorded “Horrible Eyes” play like a young Alice Cooper singing over Iron Maiden demos, even though these songs predate Maiden by a few years. “Cursed Mama” is a standout that suggests the band was also aware of what Roky Erickson was up to. From 1982 to 1984, frontman Sylvester the Vampire was replaced by Sanctis Ghoram, who delivered a more sinister-sounding snarl on songs like “Chains of Death” and the doomy “Black and Violet.”