What are you listening to now? : The Pit Edition

Nuclear Assault - "Game Over" (1986)

I've always enjoyed the debut album from these New York thrashers. Sure the guitar sound is lacking in distortion & definition but the rest of the mix makes up for it. As does the soild performance from the rhythm section. The tracklisting is very consistent & the band really didn't sound like anyone in particular. They'd already developed their own brand of hardcore-tinged thrash metal that never quite pushed out into full-blown crossover territory. Quality stuff.

4/5

Flotsam & Jetsam - "Doomsday For The Deceiver" (1986)

The outstanding debut album from US thrash metallers Flotsam & Jetsam featuring future Metallica bassist Jason Newsted. Kinda sounds like Metallica & Megadeth meets the more melodic sounds of Agent Steel & early Queensryche. Very polished & ambitious for a first up effort. I've always dug it.

4/5

Sacrilege B.C. - "Party With God" (1986)

The debut album from these Californian thrashers is an overlooked gem in my opinion. It's got a fair whack of hardcore about it but fans of the aggressive thrash that Slayer, Exodus & Dark Angel were dishing out around the same time will love this shit.

4/5

Destruction - "Eternal Devastation" (1986)

This album was the first Destruction release that really interested me thanks to a more complex & mature song-writing style & a searing chainsaw-like guitar tone that clearly sums up the Teutonic thrash model. I also think that Schmier's lower register vocal delivery is improved substantially here & it's an absolute riff-fest to top it off. It's not perfect by any means but fans of Kreator, Sodom & particularly Coroner (who I suspect drew a great amount of influence from this record) will lap it up.

4/5

Dark Angel - "Darkness Descends" (1986)

A huge record for me from back in the day. It's a brilliant lesson in how to play fast & aggressive thrash metal. I think it would have been even better if the production was a bit less muddy but it's awesome nonetheless. Fans of Slayer's "Reign In Blood" & Kreator's "Pleasure To Kill" should already own this to complete the unholy trinity from 1986.

4.5/5

Kreator - "Pleasure To Kill" (1986)

An absolute classic of raw, aggressive Teutonic thrash. I think Kreator even managed to top their magnificent "Flag Of Hate" E.P. from earlier the same year with this one. It sounds like early Slayer combined with extreme levels of violence & accentuated by one of the most vicious vocal performances the world had heard to date (Mille's but Ventor's is great too).

4.5/5

Renegade - "Total Armageddon" (1987)

I haven't heard this one in decades but when I first got into thrash metal back in the late 80's these guys were pretty legendary in the local underground Australian scene so it was pretty much mandatory to have a copy of this album. "Total Armageddon" was the first full-length album to come out of the Melbourne thrash scene & it's an underrated release in my opinion. The majority of this material is more along the lines of raw & dirty speed metal than genuine thrash to be honest but despite some sloppy performances (particularly the drumming) there's enough energy on display to get me banging my head. I'm not sure how much of that appeal is built on nostalgia but any album that features an image of the devil drinking a stubby of VB on the cover can't that bad now, can it?

3.5/5

Corrosion Of Conformity - "Technocracy" E.P. (1987)

I quite liked COC's "Animosity" album from 1985 but this little E.P. from two years later falls a bit flat in my opinion. It features the same songs on both sides of the record only performed with different vocalists. The second one is comfortably superior which leaves me wondering what the point of it all was.

3/5

Vektor - "Terminal Redux" (2016)

The third album from this legendary Arizona progressive thrash metal outfit. As with "Black Future", I enjoy it but I don't love it. The performances are outstanding & there's been plenty of risks taken with a lot of proggy ambition. I guess I just find the more melodic sections to be a little too light-weight for my personal tastes but I enjoy the album nonetheless. It kinda sounds like Coroner meets Death with a bit of black metal thrown in which can't be a bad thing now, can it?.

3.5/5

Protector - "Misanthropy" E.P. (1987)

The debut release from this German death/thrash outfit. An extremely consistent record that deserves a lot more attention than it's received over the years. It's really quite brutal for the time & fans of Possessed, "Abominations Of Desolation"-era Morbid Angel & early Sepultura will completely froth over this. It's a forgotten gem in my opinion.

4/5

Overkill - "!!!Fuck You!!!" E.P. (1987)

This was my first revisit to this little E.P. since we back in the day & it's not hard for me to see why. "!!!Fuck You!!!" includes a two minute cover version of the title track from 1979's self-titled debut E.P. from Canadian punk rockers The Subhumans followed by four live cuts taken from Overkill's first two albums. The production on the live tracks isn't terribly amazing & the cover version isn't worth purchasing this release for so I don't see much reason to seek this one out.

3/5

Coroner - "No More Color" (1989)

The Swiss gods of technical thrash metal start to head in the more progressive direction they'd take during the early 90's & it makes for a stronger record than their previous material. There are no weak tracks here although I do still find Tommy's neoclassical moments to be a little cringe-worthy. The classy riffs flow in a never-ending stream from your speakers however & even though I prefer 90's Coroner over their 80's releases there's little doubt that they'd hit a new creative peak with this album. Fans of bands like Toxik, Mekong Delta & Obliveon will be absolutely all over this as Coroner were setting the standard at this stage.

4/5

Destruction - "Mad Butcher" E.P. (1987)

The German thrash metal legends continued to hone their craft. This time recruiting a new drummer & an additional lead guitarist & going for a cleaner & much more complex sound. The guitar solos are a real highlight & one gets the feeling that the entire purpose of the E.P. was to showcase the improved technical skills of the new lineup. The re-recorded version of the title track is an improvement on the sloppier, dirtier original while the two new originals are both extremely entertaining. Particularly the very sophisticated "Reject Emotions" which reminds me a lot of "Rust In Peace" era Megadeth in its melodic & structural extravagance. Unfortunately the cover version of Plasmatics' "The Damned" is an obvious misfire but there's enough quality here to make this an enjoyable release for fans of Teutonic thrash.

4/5

Testament - "Live At Eindhoven" E.P. (1987)

3.5/5

Nuclear Assault - "The Plague" E.P. (1987)

4/5

Macabre - "Grim Reality" E.P. (1987)

The debut release from this Chicago deathgrind outfit although this was more of a thrash metal affair with bits of hardcore/crossover & early death metal thrown in here & there. It's got good energy but the squealy vocals & higher register riff style have never really been my cup of tea to be honest. The remixed version sounds much better however it also includes an extended version of the pointless instrumental track "Mass Murder" which was completely unnecessary.

3/5

4.5/5 almost perfect barring two tracks

I'm guessing you're referring to "Meaningless Movements" & "Dead Embryonic Cells"?

I'm guessing you're referring to "Meaningless Movements" & "Dead Embryonic Cells"?

No Murder and Subtraction.

5 stars from me. Love all the tracks mentioned.

Yeah, it's 5 stars for me. I maybe wouldn't be here without it. Also, "Dead Embryonic Cells" and "Subtraction" are some of the better tracks.

Blood Feast - "Face Fate" E.P. (1987)

The four-song sophomore release from this New Jersey-based thrash metal outfit. Blood Feast combine the more extreme US thrash of bands like Slayer & Dark Angel with the early death metal of Possessed & Death but unfortunately the quality fades out gradually after a solid start & the production is inconsistent & lacking in clarity.

3/5

Possessed - "The Eyes Of Horror" E.P. (1987)

As a proud member of both The Horde & The Pit, it's feels almost blasphemous to admit that I've never quite understood the true appeal of Possessed & their 1987 "The Eyes Of Horror" E.P. is a prime example of this. Don't get me wrong, I mean this is some quality thrash metal alright. But it's a long way from masterful & doesn't really showcase anything you haven't heard done better (& substantially heavier) before. I always "like" Possessed's 80's material but the fact is that I've never really "loved" it.  In fact, you could say that this is nothing more than a reasonably well executed combination of Slayer & Venom influences & you wouldn't be too far off the mark. I slightly favour the now legendary "Seven Churches" album over this one & there can be no doubt that it was the more groundbreaking of Possessed's back catalogue but if I'm honest with myself then I'd suggest that "The Eyes Of Horror" isn't too far behind in my esteem. I'd definitely favour it over 1986's "Beyond The Gates" album even though the production jobs on both records are far from ideal.

3.5/5