What are you listening to now? : The Pit Edition

Devastation - "Violent Termination" (1987)

The debut album from these Texans is a pretty poor example of US thrash metal really. It's in the style of the first couple of Exodus, Dark Angel & Slayer albums only it's not nearly as effective. To be fair there are some exciting & chaotic solos ala Slayer/Morbid Angel & more than the odd decent riff across this tracklisting however these elements never manage to overcome the terrible production, inadequate drumming & thoroughly awful vocals which are pretty much spoken. Devastation would go on to become a lot better than this.

2.5/5

Death Angel - Act III (1990)

Up for review as part of my Pit challenge and I don't really get on with Death Angel historically.  Giving it another try anyways before putting my thoughts into words on the Challenge.

Attomica - "Attomica" (1987)

The debut album from this Brazilian thrash metal outfit. Their sound is built around US thrash riffs ala Metallica's "Ride The Lightning" & early Exodus only the vocals are pure black metal & they regularly employ some well executed blast beats which gives the music a good energetic feel. The production & performances are quite raw but I find their style immediately appealing. It's a shame that they hadn't quite figured out how to best structure their songs at this stage because each track has good parts but they don't always fit together smoothly & promising sections are often repeated for too long. They've also over-extending the track lengths much further than they needed to be with only seven tracks across 38 minutes. "Attomica" isn't quite at the same level of other early Brazilian thrash debuts from bands like Sepultura, Dorsal Atlantica or Vulcano but it's still well worth pursuing for fans of your rawer, more underground thrash.

3.5/5

Vulcano - "Anthropophagy" (1987)

The second studio album from these Brazilian thrash metallers.

2.5/5

Sits top of the pile as my favourite Overkill record.  Another fine afternoon spent revisiting favourite albums whist doing the Clan Challenge for The Pit.  Good times.

4.5/5

"Horrorscope" is my favourite Overkill record too actually. 

Kublai Khan - "Annihilation" (1987)

1987's "Annihilation" album was unfortunately the only release for this massively underrated & relatively unknown Minneapolis thrash band. Kublai Khan were built around axe-slinging band leader Greg Handevidt whose reputation as an early member of Megadeth (around 1983/84) is validated with an abundance of aggressive thrash riffs & some exciting light-speed solos. Greg's vocals are really pretty powerful too & despite changing his style at regular intervals across the album (check out the obvious Hetfield-isms in the phrasing at times) he proves himself to be a more than capable frontman. There's a truck-load of energy on display here & even when you can easily pick up the inspiration for a particular track it's hard not to get sucked in by the up-front execution & no-holds-barred approach to the delivery with elements of speed metal being employed quite regularly & to good effect. In fact, it's really pretty hard to understand how Kublai Khan haven't made a bigger impact (well..... any sort of impact at all) to be honest. There's not a weak track among this lot & I can only guess that it's the inconsistent & unbalanced production job that's prevented Kublai Khan from gaining tier two US thrash success. The guitar solos & snare drum really are ridiculously loud in the mix & the guitar tone & volume changes pretty drastically from track to track. It sounds like they've recorded these songs in completely different sessions & possibly in different studios & that may well be the case but thankfully the old-school tape-trader in me became comfortable with those sort of flaws decades ago so it's not hard to look past. If early Metallica, Testament & Megadeth style thrash & speed metal is your bag (particularly "Kill 'Em All") then I highly recommend that you give this one a spin.

4/5

Razor - "Custom Killing" (1987)

Razor's fourth album features the same sort of early-Slayer-meets-Venom style thrash & speed metal as their earlier releases however this time it comes with an unsatisfactory production job that leaves the rhythm guitars miles too far back in the mix. Thankfully the band's natural energy is able to overcome this obstacle. Particularly a couple of the speed metal numbers which is where I find Razor to be at their best at this stage in their careers. They've always had a dirty, grimy edge to them that's still well in effect here too but this time they've also tried their hand at a couple of 11 minute thrash epics which both seem to work pretty well. I think "Custom Killing" deserves a touch more credit than it gets to be honest as I quite like it. How bad is this cover artwork though?! Anyone else pick up a strong Overkill vibe from that white devil skull thing?

3.5/5

Blessed Death - "Destined For Extinction" (1987)

I didn't have much time for 1985's "Kill Or Be Killed" debut from New Jersey outfit Blessed Death which is often linked to thrash but was actually more of a speed metal record. However their 1987 follow-up record "Destined For Extinction" is another kettle of fish altogether with the band having fully transitioned into an aggressive thrash outfit in line with the model that some of America's more brutal thrash exponents were pushing at the time. The production isn't wonderful but the dirty sound seems to suit the band's nastier approach & you can always make out what's going on so it's not an issue at all. Vocalist Larry Portelli may be a sticking point for some with his seemingly random use of high-pitched screams but (with the exception of the very ordinary "Pray For Death") I can comfortably deal with him most of the time.

At the end of the day this album takes me back to my roots. It's nothing you haven't heard before & I don't think they ever quite nail the song-writing quality to compete with the top tier bands but all fans of 83-86 period Slayer & "Darkness Descends"-era Dark Angel should find a lot to enjoy here. Blessed Death tip toe around the Slayer plagiarism line pretty closely at times with the solo sections in particular being a carbon copy of Slayer's most frantic & extreme works but (as I said with my recent Exumer review) that can't be a bad thing as classic Slayer is simply the best music ever recorded in my opinion.

4/5

Artillery - "By Inheritance" (1990)

3.5/5

E-X-E - "Stricken By Might" (1987)

Some rough & ready underground 80's metal that combines thrash, speed & traditional heavy metal. In fact, there's even a little crossover thrash here too. I quite like it. Particularly two of the last three tracks. For fans of Exciter, Hallows Eve & early Slayer.

3.5/5

Messiah - "Extreme Cold Weather" (1987)

The sophomore album from Switzerland death/thrash outfit Messiah is a half studio/half live affair & features aggressive thrash riffage with brutal black/death metal vocals. The studio material is entertaining but suffers from a lack of focus & some heavily pieced together & forced song structures while the live material has to deal with inconsistent production. Having said that though, I can't help but find the appeal here given that I love this style of music but I don't like it quite as much as their 1986 debut "Hymn to Abramelin" (also 3.5/5). For fans of Protector, Massacra & Merciless.

3.5/5

Blood Feast - "Kill For Pleasure" (1987)

Aggressive New Jersey thrash metal ala early Exodus, "Show No Mercy"-era Slayer & Possessed.

3.5/5

Target - "Mission Executed" (1987)

High quality Belgian thrash metal for fans of Deathrow, Metal Church & Flotsam & Jetsam.

4/5

Indestroy - "Indestroy" (1987)

The sole album from this Maryland-based thrash metal outfit. The dodgy production doesn't do it any favours but fans of Nuclear Assault, "Killing Is My Business"-era Megadeth & early Exodus may find some enjoyment here.

3/5

DBC - "Dead Brain Cells" (1987)

An excellent debut album from this Canadian outfit that sports a sophisticated thrash metal sound combined with a fair chunk of crossover thrash & the occasional technical thrash moment. Fans of Slayer, Nuclear Assault & DRI will really dig this stuff. 

4/5

Apocalypse - "Apocalypse" (1987)

Some pretty sophisticated Swiss thrash metal with tech thrash & speed metal influences. Fans of Testament, Xentrix & "Master Of Puppets"-era Metallica should get some enjoyment out of it.

3.5/5

Agressor - Neverending Destiny (1990)

Scathing death/thrash from France.  Shit artwork but more than rescued by the musical content.  Blistering guitar work with raspy, throaty vocals.

3/5

Mutilator - "Immortal Force" (1987)

Aggressive Brazilian thrash metal that suffers from the usual poor production but has enough attitude & violence to keep me entertained. Fans of Slayer, "Darkness Descends"-era Dark Angel & 80's Sepultura should find enjoyment here.

3.5/5

Sacrilege - "Within The Prophecy" (1987)

The sophomore album from these Birmingham thrashers sees them dropping most of the crust punk component of their sound in favour of a more mid-tempo but no less dirty thrash metal sound that maintains the over-the-top guitar tone of the debut. I actually rate it more highly than its more highly regarded older sibling. For fans of Détente, Onslaught & English Dogs. 

4/5

I’ve been returning to this recently. I showed it to some colleagues at work, seeing as they were fans of ...And Justice For All, figuring that they would enjoy the similarities here as neither of them had heard Heathen before. They were well impressed. My biggest complaint would be that it is a rather long album, with little very variation so it grows a touch tiring towards the back half, and when they do attempt to break up the frenetic pace, the results are a bit lukewarm (the ballad ‘Prisoners of Fate’, the short instrumental ‘Guitarmony’), but I love it just the same. I actually enjoy their cover of ‘Kill the King’, which isn’t something thrash bands tend to have a great strike rate on (thinking Dark Angel’s attempt at ‘Immigrant Song’ more than anything else, but covers included on albums tend to leave me cold and sound out of place). Lee Altus deserves a lot of credit here as well.

Incubus' Serpent Temptation (1988)

Given I'd never given this band a go previously, I have to say that I'm stunned at how great this is. Ripping thrash metal with lots of great riffs and blast beats. I can understand why it's often listed as death metal due to its intensity, but the vast majority of the riffs are pure thrash. If it wasn't for the somewhat lacking vocals, this could rate even higher than the 4 stars I'm giving it. If you're into the more intense side of thrash (think Morbid Saint and early Kreator and Sadus), then you owe it to yourself to check this album out.

4 out of 5 stars!

Incubus' Serpent Temptation (1988)

Given I'd never given this band a go previously, I have to say that I'm stunned at how great this is. Ripping thrash metal with lots of great riffs and blast beats. I can understand why it's often listed as death metal due to its intensity, but the vast majority of the riffs are pure thrash. If it wasn't for the somewhat lacking vocals, this could rate even higher than the 4 stars I'm giving it. If you're into the more intense side of thrash (think Morbid Saint and early Kreator and Sadus), then you owe it to yourself to check this album out.

4 out of 5 stars!

Fun fact: When Incubus reformed after an 8-year split, it had to be under the new name Opprobrium because of the alt-funk rock/metal band Incubus. I don't listen to any of those two Incubus bands, but about the alt-funk rock/metal band Incubus, I absolutely agree that their first two albums (Fungus Amongus and S.C.I.E.N.C.E.) are what metal fans really want from that band. Scr*w "Drive"!!