REVIEW DRAFT - The Pit

Alright, it's time for our first Pit Review Draft. You can find out how the draft works by reading this General Chat thread.

The initial order for the Pit Review Draft will be...

1. Ben

2. Sonny

3. Vinny

4. Rexorcist

The six albums to select from are... (drumroll)...

As I have first pick, I better make a choice...

Well, I've always known about this Aspid release, but never heard it. It's time to change that! Aspid - Кровоизлияние is locked in for pick 1.

Over to you Sonny for pick 2.

I am unfamiliar with any of these, so I will go for the band with the coolest-sounding name and Legion of the Damned's "Slaves of the Shadow Realm" is my pick.

On to you Vinny.

I think, Gospel of the Horns - Eve of the Conqueror sounds the most intriguing.

Over to you Rex.

I guess we are posting our thoughts here in the original thread, so here goes:

Legion of the Damned - Slaves of the Shadow Realm (2019)

For those who weren't previously acquainted with them (which seems to be nearly everyone, including me), Legion of the Damned are a Dutch deaththrash outfit who formed in 1992 as Occult, releasing five full-lengths under that monicker until changing their name to Legion of the Damned in 2005, possibly because they had switched from a female vocalist, Rachel Heyzer, to a male singer, Maurice Swinkels and they wanted to differentiate their sound at that point. Slaves of the Shadow Realm is their seventh album as Legion of the Damned, being originally released in 2019 on Napalm Records.

Right, so now we all know who they are, what do they sound like? Well they don't hang around leaving us waiting to find out as they are straight out of the gate at full velocity with The Widows Breed providing a nitrous-powered opening salvo of blisteringly-paced deaththrash. The tracks all fall into one of two camps, the first of which is the high-powered assaults that follow the template of the opener, or more medium-paced fayre. This is pretty much the only variation that you will find here.

The positives I take away from Slaves of the Shadow Realm is the riffs which aren't bad at all with a nice dirty crunch to them that did manage to get me nodding awayand secondly Maurice Swinkels' vocals, his blackened rasp possessing the requisite evilness that the material requires. The major downside for me is the solos - there ain't nothing like enough of them and when guitarist Twan van Geel does let them go they don't sound especially impressive and are shoved down in the mix, feel muted as a result. The solos play a big part in thrash metal, so for me this is a serious negative. Many a time I was begging for a Jeff Hannemann screaming solo to burst onto the scene and grab this or that track by the throat, only to be disappointed by there being either none at all or (possibly worse) a completely lacklustre effort. The bass and drums are functional and don't do much special. The drums seem quite in-your-face whilst the bass much less so.
I think it is not particularly unfair to say that on the evidence of this Legion of the Damned are what could be termed a "journeyman" metal outfit. This isn't a problem for me as much as for some metalheads - I don't constantly need to be challenged by new sounds and ideas, I can be quite happy with an album that makes me nod my head and tap my feet and treads well-worn roads. I think this band could feature under Ben's old thread "Bands with loads of releases no one cares about", which is a shame as when they do click they are pretty decent and I can assure you I have definitely heard a lot worse!
3/5

I'm going Jurassic Jade today.  I'm curious about Japanese thrash.

Jurassic Jade - Never Forget Those Days (1991)

It's no surprise that international countries wanted a piece of some serious metal action.  Japan certainly loves their metal, and it's also no surprise that one of the more obscure ones would take the visual aspect into account by wearing corpse paint resembling kabuki make-up (or vise-versa?)  But did this really help the music?  NO!  Why would it?  Even after having heard their debut Gore, it's obvious that these guys are nothing more than just another thrash band.

I'm gonna keep this review simple for a good reason: Never Forget Those Days is a simple album.  Even though it's a fast and furious album, there was very little brainpower put into the writing, so it just feels like another garage band from Bandcamp.com.  Ironic; with titles like "The Warholic" and "Sayonara Suicide," you'd expect a very evil presence to plague this album the way it does the average Slayer release.  But no, the whole album feels like underdeveloped basic thrash that's trying to follow in the footsteps of the preceding album.  One of the pros of this underwritten album is that some songs like "Mere Anarchy" and the title track prove that these guys can play pretty damn fast without sacrificing too much rhythm.  And it's a suitable album for fans of crossover thrash or powerviolence since the production is more punk-oriented and the singer is doing more shouting than actual singing.

Fortunately, there are some moments where the band tries to take guitar "effects" and atmosphere into account, notably during the lengthy ending of "Kuroi Dōwa" where the guitars are going for a mix of white noise and space travel, so even though it wasn't an amazing solo by any means, it was one of the better and more original parts of this monotonous album.  And "Kindan Shojo" starts with some very dark moaning before going into a creepy and slow-moving metal piece with female orchestral vocals bringing out the mood.  So that really helped make the album less tiring.  But this doesn't always work.  Their attempt at a classic blues song with "Iyada" sucks.  It feels like a crappy bootleg demo from a different band.  And by the time the album ends, we just get a cheap and fairly dark instrumentation with some obnoxious group screaming that sounds completely fake.

I wouldn't recommend this album for anyone.  It's cheaply made and offers nothing new.  To be fair I found myself getting more annoyed by the album than anything.  These guys are pretty much only decent at the absolutel basics, and their efforts to expand their technique hurts as much as it helps.  Comparing this to their OK debut, Gore, helped bring a more accurate outlook on this one.  Gore isn't worth listening to, but it's still better than this.

5/10.

It usually helps my listening experience.  Besides, I'm also comparing each thrash album to every other thrash album I've ever heard, so it makes no difference.

Although I only listened to Gore before checking this one out.  War By Proxy was listed as an EP so I got to that later.

Speaking as someone who likes Jurassic Jade, I think you're selling them a bit short. I can't tell you what to do, but judging by what you're describing, you basically listened to their first two albums, then this one, all in quick succession, which speaking from experience absolutely harms one's listening experience. Granted, I'm not going to pretend like Jurassic Jade are some musical geniuses, but I don't quite think one listen is enough even for them.

For me it is a minimum of three listens before a review.  Granted not always the case as sometimes I can do many more listens before writing a review (Borknagar's Olden Domain springs to mind as one that hit double figures), but yeah, for me the minimum of three is what is needed for my brain to get enough experience of a release.  Will vary i am sure from person to person, release to release.

Speaking as someone who likes Jurassic Jade, I think you're selling them a bit short. I can't tell you what to do, but judging by what you're describing, you basically listened to their first two albums, then this one, all in quick succession, which speaking from experience absolutely harms one's listening experience. Granted, I'm not going to pretend like Jurassic Jade are some musical geniuses, but I don't quite think one listen is enough even for them.

For me it is a minimum of three listens before a review.  Granted not always the case as sometimes I can do many more listens before writing a review (Borknagar's Olden Domain springs to mind as one that hit double figures), but yeah, for me the minimum of three is what is needed for my brain to get enough experience of a release.  Will vary i am sure from person to person, release to release.

Yeah, three is the minimum for me too. I have found from experience that opinions formed after a single listen almost invariably have to be reassessed at a later date.

Gospel of the Horns - Eve of the Conqueror (2000)

Australia's Gospel of the Horns are no longer an active band since 2018 having been around in blackened thrash circles since 1994. They are basically of the same sound as fellow countrymen Destroyer 666 or for a more further geographical reference, Desaster are also a good citation. Unlike either of the two aforementioned bands though, this is not as vicious in its delivery, almost like the low production values actually rob it of some power and presence. Now, don't get me wrong, this tries to be as grim and rough as the best of them. Howitzer's vocals are superb with their rasping (ravishing) grimness and Marauder's riffs are equally as cold and.....marauding. My only real criticism (aside from him calling himself Hellcunt) is the drummer sounds a bit lost in the background, and overall there is just a sense of there being a lack of sharpness to their bite.

As an EP, this works on a quick "smash 'n grab" level of entertainment. Just as GOTH get their hobnail boots and fist-band and chains to the bar, they sup up and are off to lay waste to some other drinking establishment. The synthy, atmospheric outro with its weird alien/subliminal devil speak is unnecessary as they do not strike me as a band who rely on pomp or circumstance to get their point across. At the same time the band certainly do not reinvent any wheels and as a result (having heard more than my fair share of this sub-genre by now) large parts of this EP just pass me by. It falls all too easily into the "Hells Headbangers" atypical trve/kvlt blackened thrash brigade - which in itself is a great place to be, but one that is well-trodden already for me.

3/5

Gospel of the Horns - Eve of the Conqueror (2000)

Australia's Gospel of the Horns are no longer an active band since 2018 having been around in blackened thrash circles since 1994. They are basically of the same sound as fellow countrymen Destroyer 666 or for a more further geographical reference, Desaster are also a good citation. Unlike either of the two aforementioned bands though, this is not as vicious in its delivery, almost like the low production values actually rob it of some power and presence. Now, don't get me wrong, this tries to be as grim and rough as the best of them. Howitzer's vocals are superb with their rasping (ravishing) grimness and Marauder's riffs are equally as cold and.....marauding. My only real criticism (aside from him calling himself Hellcunt) is the drummer sounds a bit lost in the background, and overall there is just a sense of there being a lack of sharpness to their bite.

As an EP, this works on a quick "smash 'n grab" level of entertainment. Just as GOTH get their hobnail boots and fist-band and chains to the bar, they sup up and are off to lay waste to some other drinking establishment. The synthy, atmospheric outro with its weird alien/subliminal devil speak is unnecessary as they do not strike me as a band who rely on pomp or circumstance to get their point across. At the same time the band certainly do not reinvent any wheels and as a result (having heard more than my fair share of this sub-genre by now) large parts of this EP just pass me by. It falls all too easily into the "Hells Headbangers" atypical trve/kvlt blackened thrash brigade - which in itself is a great place to be, but one that is well-trodden already for me.

3/5

Mr. Hellcunt (Marcus to his friends) is also the drummer in my favourite Aussie band, Bestial Warlust, so he's obviously got a decent track record in extreme black metal. Anyway, I listened to this because your review made it sound like it would be up my street  - and it most definitely is. It is pretty badass, it sounds filthy as fuck and it doesn't outstay it's welcome at only twenty minutes. I wish more black metal acts would learn the lesson of "drag 'em in, kick 'em in the balls and get the fuck out of there" before they all start boring us (well me anyway) to shit with their latest sixty-minute-plus "opus". I'd give this one a 4.

Aspid - Кровоизлияние (1993)

Aspid's one and only release is an album I've had on my radar for many years, but just never got around to checking out until now. Perhaps it's the technical thrash metal tag that caused me to put it off, having a somewhat rocky relationship with the subgenre. Or maybe I'd unfairly written it off, figuring it would likely be an overrated and underproduced record from a part of the world not known for its thrash metal. While I can't be sure why it has taken me this long, I can say that I'm very happy that I've finally made the effort. Not only does the album sound a lot better than I expected to, these guys have serious chops to go with it! Similar to what Sadus were producing back in the 90s, Кровоизлияние (which apparently translates to Extravasation, whatever that means) is filled with great riffs, a heap of time changes, really nice leads, impressive and very audible bass, and enough variety for it remain exciting for it's entire 48 minute runtime. Vitaly Kholopov's vocals are quite aggressive for thrash, particularly in his native Russian, and the music itself occasionally approaches death metal (the awesome blastbeats on track 6 make me wish they'd pushed things a little further).

As good as I've found this album to be, I don't think I can justify anything higher than 4 stars. For starters, I don't consider any of the 8 individual tracks to deserve a full 5 stars. I also can't ignore that fifth track Эй ты fails to make much of an impression, and the lengthy intro is both tacky and unsuited to what follows. Overall though, consider me a fan, and given how dead thrash metal was in 1993 (Anacrusis' Screams and Whispers excluded, but that was really a progressive metal album), this certainly deserves its high standing in the metal community.

4 stars

I basically agree with everything you've said there Ben. That intro track was a particularly poor choice but the rest of the album is very solid & worthy of a comfortable 4/5 rating.

Time for another Review Draft for The Pit. This month's pick order will be as follows...

1. Rexorcist

2. Ben

3. Sonny

4. Vinny

The six releases to select from are... (drumroll)...

Rexorcist gets first pick this month...

I believe that Dorsal Atlantica release is a re-recording of Dorsal Atlântica's 1986 debut album "Antes do fim" which I love. Corrosion of Conformity's "Animosity" is worth a listen if you don't mind a bit of early crossover thrash too.

We've not been able to get hold of Rexorcist and since it's already the 5th day of the month (he didn't submit features either), I think we need to push ahead with our picks.

I'm going for Cranium's Speed Metal Satan. I know nothing about the band, but a sub-20 minute thrash / speed EP could be just what I need this month.

Over to you Sonny...

As I have surprisingly never listened to a full CoC album before I will take Animosity.

You're up next Vinny.

Okay - I am going with Deliverance "Greetings of Death, etc"

EDIT - cannot get that album - even on YouTube.  Will go with Needless "Heresy".

Needless - Heresy (2019)

The Review Draft feature this month served its purpose well. Needless are a completely new offering to me and one that probably need a hall of judgement submission (no, I am not) as they offer an intriguing if not altogether functional slant to thrash/death/progressive metal. To start with, the band are Hungarian and although noted as being active since 2004, it was not until 2019 that they released their debut full length.

Heresy is an energetic if not jerky affair in the main. It flits from idea to idea as though alluding to a level of progression that the band are not quite capable of achieving. Time changes are not always the smoothest of transitions (and I get that they are not always supposed to be) with the sense being that things are just piled on top of one another as opposed to being arranged in a clever and challenging way.

Although it lacks finesse, the album is by no means unpleasant to listen to. I will not pretend to like all the eight tracks on here, the level of progressive influence makes the album too jarring an experience overall for me to be able to highlight individual tracks as being standout moments. That having been said the technical prowess aligns on enough occasion for sections of songs to shine (Sky Burial, for example has some memorable sections). Vocalist Ádám Forczek is consistent throughout and has an aggressive yet ultimately predictable style that does not entirely do justice to the more accomplished guitar work of Fogl Botond and Tamás Bárány by way of comparison.

I would describe this as "grown up" technical/progressive - melodic - death/thrash metal that is being done by teenagers not yet at a level of maturity that matches the ambition of the group. Album number two just dropped in 2022 I noticed during my research for this review and I would not be averse to checking that out to hear if they have polished the edges of their song writing prowess enough to really be able to shine.

3/5

Corrosion of Conformity - Animosity (1985)

Considering how much I enjoy both thrash metal and punk rock I suppose I should listen to more crossover thrash than I do. The problem of course is that I have not really ever been blown away by a crossover album from the few that I have heard and so it is still somewhat of a peripheral genre for me. Corrosion of Conformity are also one of those bands whose name I am very familiar with, but who I haven't ever really listened to. This is probably due to the fact I keep seeing them spoken of in the same breath as Anselmo's Down, so I'm not that interested to be honest. Not looking good for Animosity really is it?

But, I did actually quite enjoy a lot of what I heard here. OK, it does occasionally slip into the kind of sloppy mess that crossover often descends into, but generally speaking it remains fairly coherent throughout. It draws heavily from the hardcore side of things, I would say more so than it does from a thrash direction. It actually sounds more metallic when the band throttle the pace back a bit and let the riffs become more measured. The hardcore really jumps to the fore on the more manic and faster tracks which make up more than half the album and then Animosity sounds much more like a Bad Brains album than a Slayer LP. To be honest, it is the punk attitude that I think carries this album with the metalness merely adding a layer of toughness but not really feeling integral and it is that inherent hardcore punk mania that I found most enjoyable about it. So, all in all a record I got a decent amount from, but not really for it's metal content, so I'm not sure how other Pittites who have less of a fondness for punk may view it.

3.5/5

Time for another Review Draft for The Pit. This month's pick order will be as follows...

1. Vinny

2. Ben

3. Sonny

I've removed Rexorcist, as he failed to check in last month. If you're still interested Rexorcist, let me know. The six releases to select from are... (drumroll)...

Vinny has first pick this month...

Thanks Ben, it will have to be Meliah Rage for me.  Been meaning to check them out for a few years.

Over to you Ben.