REMASTERED BY DAN SWÄNO

Before the modern wave of hyper-technicality and over-polished production swept through the extreme music landscape, the Canadian underground was brewing something far more sinister and physically imposing. Emerging from Newmarket, Ontario, in 1991, Rotting became a cornerstone of brutal death metal, a band that bridged the gap between the atmospheric dread of the early 90s and the sheer, percussive violence of the decade’s end. Now, CDN Records pays homage to this northern powerhouse with the definitive re-release of The Forgotten, a collection that captures the band’s most essential and primitive era.

The Forgotten serves as a comprehensive archive of Rotting’s formative years, specifically focusing on the material that cemented their reputation before their landmark album Crushed. From the raw, uncompromising filth of the “Human Race Liquidation” demo to the more refined, yet no less lethal, “Drown in Rotting Flesh”, this release tracks the evolution of a band that refused to follow trends. Rotting’s sound was characterized by an “analog heaviness” – a wall of thick, sweltering riffs provided by Jeff White and Rob Macaulay, driven by Keith Devry’s relentless percussion and Korey Arnold’s signature, subterranean gutturals.

In keeping with the band’s “no compromises” ethos, this re-release remains untainted by modern intervention. The tracks are presented with their original, punishing sonic profile intact, preserving the grit and tape-driven intensity that made these recordings legendary in the global zine and tape-trading circuits. This is a deliberate choice to honour the era when death metal was measured by its weight and atmosphere rather than digital precision.

This release also contains two of their last tracks ever recorded, “I Want You Dead” and “Bear Attack”.