Review by Rexorcist for Deathrow - Deception Ignored (1988)

Deathrow made some major improvements to their general sound between the thrashy but fuzzy debut, Riders of Doom and their more epic and glossy Raging Steel, but they still had some improvements to make. This is where they decided, "Let's go crazy, let's get nuts," and turned into a freakin' prog band. And boy did they rock prog in ways most thrash bands couldn't at the time. I mean, some of these ideas sound like they were basically being Chuck Schuldiner before Chuck Schuldiner turned his band Death into a tech band. And sometimes they just get thrown in your face. That randomized piano playing at the beginning of Triocton kinda smacked my brown around like "What the hell just happened?" And they prove again that they're quite good at layering guitar riffs together. Of course, this also means there's a little less of the Teutonic side of things, being a bit more melodic and wild much like And Justice for All or Rust in Peace. Hell, you know they nailed it when a nine-minute song like Narcotic manages to flood you with a barrage of consistent riffs and progression that never gets too wild for its own good or overstays its welcome, AND THEN FOLLOW IT WITH A SEVEN-MINUTE EPIC. This was a major winner for the band, yet another improvement and a damn good reason to check out thrash.  This is the kind of album where the band proves they know how to both have fun with their chosen artform and treat it as an artform to grow and learn from.

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