Daniel's Reviews

Cybergrind, eh? Yep… “What the fuck is that?” I hear you ask. Well to be honest, I couldn’t have answered that question up until the last couple of days. In fact, the only reason I can now is because I made a conscious effort to hunt down a well-regarded & pure cybergrind record for the sole purpose of finding out just what the fuck that term is referring to. I mean it sounds so absurd when you think about it. Grindcore is such a raw & organic subgenre that’s built on a complete lack of pretense & even less subtlety so mixing it with electronic music sounds on paper like it might tarnish the integrity of what the musicians are trying to achieve. But what the fuck would I know?! I’ve been proven to be wrong before so just maybe I’d be found to be wrong again. Time would tell.  

The band in question are known as Genghis Tron & they’re a three-piece outfit that began life in New York in 2004. They initially put out a few EPs before releasing their debut full-length “Dead Mountain Mouth” through Crucial Blast Records in 2006. The unusual cover art doesn’t really give anything away & it’s hard not to notice how atypical it is for an album that’s loosely associated with the grindcore movement. Perhaps I should have taken that as a sign? I dunno but this record doesn’t look, feel or sound anything like any grind record I’ve heard before or since. 

Genghis Tron’s musical concept is based on the cross-pollination of intense & blasting grindcore, the complexity of mathcore, abrasive & chaotic electronica & elements of a more laidback IDM sound. Kinda like Discordance Axis meets a nice cross-section of Aphex Twin’s discography. Now I know that might seem like a lot to swallow but surprisingly… it works! It certainly takes a listen or two to get used to but the production of Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou is good which perhaps helps to make it a more cohesive result than it might have otherwise been & it ends up playing like a challenging & interesting piece of art. Not everything works mind you but that’s the price you pay when taking on a hybrid of such differing extremes & the positives easily outweigh the negatives. 

Will grindcore fans enjoy this record? Well…. I don’t know about that. In fact, if I’m honest, I’m not sure that the cybergrind term is entirely well suited to Genghis Tron’s music. I mean it really does go against the very basic ethos of the grindcore movement. This is clinically put together. It’s very clean. And I’m not actually sure I hear a lot of hardcore about many of the riffs either. Sure there are a lot of light-speed blast beats on offer but those are just as common in technical death metal & I hear a fair bit of that particular subgenre here with some of the more technical sections being splendidly executed & showcasing the undoubted chops that guitarist Hamilton Jordon possesses. He really does fit himself very tightly inside these programmed drum beats & it makes for a highly focused assault at times. The mathcore reference is certainly relevant though as there’s an ADD-fueled chaos about most of these tracks with sudden tempo changes & hectic arrangements being the order of the day & a reasonable amount of dissonance & abrasion being employed as a part of Genghis Tron’s standard kit bag. There are elements here that aren’t too dissimilar to bands like Converge or The Dillinger Escape Plan. Not to mention the fact that front man Mookie Singerman screams his fucking head off in a similar way to your average metalcore vocalist. You shouldn’t expect any deep death metal style grunting like is commonly employed in a lot of grindcore these days as there are none to be found here. It’s a total scream-fest. 

The first half of “Dead Mountain Mouth” is where you’ll find the more blasting & hectic material & I don’t think it’s any surprise that I enjoy it significantly more than the back end of the album. In fact, the record does tend to taper off over the last four songs but thankfully the damage had already been done. The electronic component isn’t always to my taste but this is mainly due to my preferences in electronic music in general. Don’t let anyone tell you that Genghis Tron are influenced by “techno” because that’s just blatantly untrue. I was a techno DJ during the 2000’s & this material has nothing to do with the more repetitive, mechanical & spacey sound of techno. Instead, I often find Genghis Tron utilizing fast-paced electronica which is not a style I’ve ever had much time for so it’s not surprising that I struggle with some of the parts which see them jumping around & never settling into a groove for too long. There’s a little bit of quirkiness about these parts too which is not something I’m too comfortable with either but on the other side of the coin, the more restrained IDM influenced sections are some of the highlights of the record as I really enjoy the more chilled & downtempo beats that occasionally pop up.  

Overall, I find “Dead Mountain Mouth” to be a challenging & engaging piece of work that doesn’t sound like anything I’ve ever heard before. It’s very ambitious but has been surprisingly successful in its quest to find a middle ground between some vastly differing influences. I think it should be praised from a purely artistic & creative point of view because, despite the obvious challenges Genghis Tron have taken on, they’ve managed to produce a highly professional & enjoyable result that will definitely surprise a few metal fans out there. The short 31 minute duration is probably a good thing too as it doesn’t allow enough time for the novelty to wear off. The question has to be asked though… is this style of music worthy of its own subgenre? Well yes, I think it probably is but not one that sits underneath the grindcore banner. It’s much more in line with the ideals & concepts employed within the industrial metal space in my opinion & I subsequently feel that it might be a better fit for The Sphere than The Horde. Still… don’t overthink it. The rewards will be plentiful for those that are will to be patient & keep an open mind. 

For fans of: Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Gigantic Brain, Bologna Violenta.

Massachusetts’ finest mathcore exponents Converge & I have had a fairly fruitful relationship over the last decade or so. I first encountered them through their 1996 sophomore album “Petitioning The Empty Sky” shortly after release & whilst I had a bit of time for it, there would be a gap of more than a decade before our paths would cross again following my extended hiatus from the metal scene. Upon returning to the passion of my youth in 2009, I quickly caught on to the buzz surrounding the band’s “Jane Doe” LP which inevitably led to me immersing myself in the rest of Converge’s back catalogue. This included the follow-up to “Jane Doe” in 2004’s “You Fail Me” which saw the band initiating a new business relationship with punk rock label Epitaph Record. Epitaph was owned & run by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz & had built a strong reputation as a breeding ground for commercially successful punk bands like NOFX, Pennywise, The Offspring, Rancid & Bad Religion for over two decades by this stage so it was a move that opened up opportunities for a hardcore-based band like Converge. “You Fail Me” would also be the band’s first album as a four-piece following the departure of guitarist Aaron Dalbec who was asked to leave after the band & their management became concerned with Aaron’s increasing focus on his hardcore punk side project Bane. 

Epitaph would recruit experienced producer Alan Douches to produce “You Fail Me” in partnership with Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou & the result seems to have received mixed responses from what I’ve read online over the years. In fact, Ballou has openly stated that he felt the original mix was lacking something & put that down to engineer Matt Ellard’s lack of comfort & familiarity with the mixing desk he was asked to use & also having to battle through consistent power failures throughout the process. I’m not sure if the Spotify version I’ve been listening to this week is the one that was later remixed by Ballou & remastered by Douches for the 2016 “redux” edition or not but I certainly don’t have any problems with how it sounds. On the contrary, it’s a perfect representation of where Converge were at at this particular moment in time. The separation between the instruments is spot on & each band member receives a clarity & brightness that hasn’t always been afforded to metalcore bands over the years. There’s enough crunch to crush the listener under the weight of the heavier moments but enough subtlety to ensure that the nuances of Converge’s newly stripped back sound are also highlighted. The rhythm section sound particularly impressive in my opinion so there’s very little to complain about in this regard.  

It’s interesting to see how Converge have developed their sound in the three years since Jane Doe & I’d be keen to hear how much the band members feel the new label & line-up have contributed to that. This is an extremely professionally put together package & it shows a newly found maturity in the band’s song-writing skills with a number of fresh ideas being presented with universally successful results. The four-piece lineup seems to have had some sort of impact on the direction of this material as it’s noticeably less dense & more stripped back than its gargantuan older brother “Jane Doe” & there’s also a fair bit more melody on display. Short opener “First Light” is a prime example of Converge’s exciting new approach with its atmospheric unaccompanied guitar work openly paying homage to Neil Young’s “Dead Man” soundtrack; a beautifully atmospheric record whose wonders I’ve basked in repeatedly for more than two decades now. The next track “Last Light” would also hint at the themes presented in the opener to great effect. Then we also get lengthy acoustic track “In Her Shadow” in the middle of the album; an experiment that has inevitably caused great divide amongst long-time fans. Personally, I think it works to break the record up nicely with its post-rock feel even hinting at psychedelia at times. But never fear all you metalcore fans, there’s more than enough heavy stuff included to satisfy your crazed thirst for rabid mosh-pits. My personal favourite is the gigantic title track which sees the band going for a sludgier approach driven by Nate Newton’s huge bass sound. Its use of repetition to build tension works brilliantly & I think it’s one of the best moments in Converge’s career overall. But “You Fail Me” also sees Converge returning to their hardcore punk roots more regularly than they did on “Jane Doe” & unsurprisingly those moments are the ones that appeal to me the least on the album (see “Eagles Become Vultures” for example). But, impressively, there are no genuinely weak tracks included here & it’s hard to argue with the band’s status at the top of the mathcore/metalcore tree.  

Converge were a class act at this stage in their careers & everything is presented with purpose & precision & (even though metalcore isn’t my subgenre of choice) I find it hard not to really dig everything this band touches. The consistency in this material is almost intimidating to be honest. A lot of these tracks blur the lines between mathcore & traditional metalcore with the technicality that was so obvious on “Jane Doe” being more subtly utilized but no less impactful here; another a sign of the band’s new-found maturity. It sounds like Converge are more focused on song-writing & artistic expression rather than simply pulverizing the listener into submission or amazing their audience with their undoubted techniques. There’s an increased level of precision about everything they do & it makes the techier arrangements sound so fluent that it would probably be pretty easy for the more complex arrangements to fly straight over the untrained listener’s heads. This band is so talented & virtuosic by this stage that it’s almost embarrassing. Drummer Ben Koller is the clear highlight for me personally though & I regularly find myself having to pick my jaw up off the ground after those high-speed snare rolls he specializes in. What a band! 

Front man Jacob Bannon’s vocal performance is a little different to what it was previously. The lyrical content is all about human failure & he uses a variety of techniques to get his point across. Personally, I’ve always found him to be the least appealing aspect of the band & that doesn’t change here. It’s mainly his more aggressive moments that I struggle with. His trademark shrieks of raw vitriol often sound like he’s spitting his lyrics out through a mouth-full of phlegm & he doesn’t possess the strength & power of many of his contemporaries. In fact, I often wonder if it’s Bannon’s contributions that leave me seeing my scoring of Converge albums being limited to the three & a half’s & four’s but I usually end up deciding that it’s more of an overall stylistic thing as no matter how good Converge are at their chosen craft, I’m not too sure they’ll ever manage to get me reaching for the higher scores. 

Overall, “You Fail Me” showcases an extremely talented group of musicians flexing their creative muscles & continually pushing themselves artistically, musically & technically. It’s a more accessible record than “Jane Doe” was but its impact is felt in different & more subtle ways. I admire this album as a musician & a lover of music & it may just have been Converge’s best release to the time in my opinion. 

For fans of: Botch, Drowningman, The Dillinger Escape Plan.

My awareness of Washington-born (& later Seattle-based) crossover thrash outfit The Accused began when I was still enduring the early years of high school back in the late 1980’s. I was a cocky young long-haired metalhead attending a school that wasn’t particularly conducive to extreme forms of music so I was forced to actively seek out alternative avenues for identifying new bands & that often meant finding ways to infiltrate social networks within older age brackets than my own. There was a group of skateboarders that were into thrash in the year above me & looking back now I find it pretty amazing just how many of the great metal bands of the day I was introduced to through them (either directly or indirectly). Given their past-time of choice, it probably won’t surprise many of you to hear that these skaters were just as passionate about crossover thrash bands like Suicidal Tendencies & DRI as they were for your more traditional thrash sound. And needless to say, The Accused would be one of the many bands that I would first experience through cheap dubbed cassettes that were sourced for me through friends of these particular skaters. From memory, I think I lost my Accused virginity through the band’s 1986 debut album “The Return of... Martha Splatterhead” which I’ve only recently revisited & found that I still have a lot of time for however 1987’s “More Fun Than An Open-Casket Funeral” album had less of an impact on me back in the day so let’s see if age & maturity has seen my appreciation of it grow over the last three decades.

First impressions show the production job to be a noticeably improved on the extremely dirty way the band was presented on “The Return of... Martha Splatterhead”. There’s still an obvious rawness here but it’s nicely balanced as far as clarity & overall brightness goes. It’s hard not to notice that the drum kit is a little unbalanced though. Not to mention the fact that the toms & kick drum sound a bit loose & flabby. Initially I found this to be a little annoying but repeat listens saw me becoming acclimatized pretty quickly so it’s not a major concern. The rhythm guitar sound definitely has a foot in both camps as far as metal & punk go & I think it suits The Accused’s sound nicely while the solos could do with a bit more definition to them (perhaps this was intentional?).   

I would imagine that front man Blain’s over-the-top vocal delivery is probably an obstacle for some would-be fans but I find him to be reasonably tolerable most of the time. He certainly can’t be faulted for lack of effort, that’s for sure. In fact, I think he suits The Accused’s more frantic thrash & crossover songs very nicely to be honest... even if he does sound like he’s trying to swallow his own head lot of the time. On the instrumental side of things though, “More Fun Than An Open-Casket Funeral” is a bit of a mixed bag. I remember “The Return of... Martha Splatterhead” being a little more consistently focused on a high-velocity crossover sound which was heavy on the hardcore side of the equation while here The Accused seem to be going for an each way bet with a fair chunk of this material sounding more like traditional thrash metal than it does crossover (see “Halo Of Flies”, “Lifeless Zone”, “Scotty”, “Bethany Home” & “Mechanized Death” for examples). The opening track "Halo Of Flies" even starts off with two riffs that are blatantly ripped off from Slayer's "The Final Command" & Kreator's "Command Of The Blade" respectively. During those thrashier moments it’s only the crazed, punk-driven vocal stylings of Blaine that remind you of The Accused’s hardcore pedigree. Then, on the other side of the coin we have four straight-up hardcore punk tunes in “Judgement Day”, “Splatter Rock”, “Septi-Child” & the God-awful cover version of Cliff Richard’s “Devil Woman”. Unfortunately The Accused have also elected to throw in a few additional curve balls like short bass solo “S.H.C.” & closing banjo ditty “I’ll Be Glad When You’re Dead” to keep the listeners on their toes. I’m very much against novelty tracks & the few we get here are all pretty much disposable which inevitably tarnishes my impressions of the overall album.

The most frustrating thing about “More Fun Than An Open-Casket Funeral” is that it starts out so strongly but fades so badly in the back end. The first five tracks are arguably the best of the fourteen included with the first two being the clear album highlights (particularly spectacular crossover thrash tune “W.C.A.L.T.”) so you’ll rarely find a better example of a top-heavy album. It’s probably not a big surprise that the earlier tracks tend to focus entirely on thrash & crossover. As I’ve mentioned in countless reviews in the past, I’m not the biggest fan of hardcore so it’s no surprise that I only find one of those punkier tunes to be very interesting. There’s a lethargic feel to a couple of them that’s in direct contrast to the urgency & electricity of The Accused’s crossover material which is where I think they’re at their best. So overall I find this to be a disappointing release that was a clear step down from the more consistently raw & youthful energy of the debut.   

For fans of: DRI, The Exploited (1990's), "Animosity"-era Corrosion of Conformity. 

You may have noticed that I recently revisited 2004’s “Terrifyer” album from Washington-based grindcore trio Pig Destroyer; a record that I’d missed at the time of release but cottoned on to five years later & have thoroughly enjoyed ever since. I had originally secured “Terrifyer” in a digital format which included an immensely epic 32 minute bonus track known as “Natasha” in accompaniment; a piece that I regarded as not only an essential part of the release but also the clear highlight. In fact, it was actually that track that elevated my opinion of “Terrifyer” from a very solid & enjoyable grindcore record to a true classic of extreme metal so I’ve always regarded it as a part of the full album experience. But when I returned to “Terrifyer” through Spotify last week, it became immediately obvious that it was missing a key component. That’s right ladies & gentlemen! “Natasha” was nowhere to be found. Apparently the bonus track had been cut for subsequent reissues & I soon discovered that it had been awarded its own release as a single-track E.P. in a slightly extend 37 minute format in 2008. This left me pondering for some time over whether to include it under my “Terrifyer” review or not. I mean I hadn’t known the album without it & it had made such a major impact on me at the time. But I eventually decided to omit it & conduct this separate review of the “Natasha” E.P. as I feel that it’s definitely a very different beast to the proper album. Of course, this led to my scoring being slightly lower for “Terrifyer” but it just seems more appropriate. 

For those that are familiar with Pig Destroyer’s grindcore pedigree but haven’t had the pleasure of experiencing “Natasha” as yet, please erase all preconceived notions of what you’re potentially in store for because this particular track sounds absolutely nothing like any of their albums. In fact, it’s very clear as to why the band felt the need to separate it from their proper albums as it was always destined to alienate some fans. “Natasha” sits in direct contract to the band’s short one minute blasts of energy & aggression & prefers a beautifully drawn out & slowly enveloping ambient approach that I find to be considerably more appealing. And when I say ambient, I MEAN ambient because a good portion of this release can be described as legitimate ambient music & some very high quality ambient music at that. As a long-time fan of that particular genre, I can tell you that Pig Destroyer have absolutely nailed the art of creating an atmosphere through the use of sounds, synths & samples & right from the very start I feel myself being swept off to a dark & eerie place where I’m enveloped in a shroud of menace. Despite the lengthy & drawn-out arrangement, there is never a hint at boredom & the composition has been perfectly tailored to accentuate the highlights & leave me feeling that this is the fullest realization of the concept the band took into the studio. When the guitars & drums finally chime in, I experience an all-encompassing feeling of power & realise that I’m amongst kindred spirits. 

The production job on “Natasha” is nothing short of phenomenal & is spot on for this style of music. When you really break it down, this track is a series of different ideas that have been joined together to create a whole that’s clearly greater than the individual parts. Many of the segways between these parts really shouldn’t work either. Sometimes you’ll get a heavy riff section simply being faded out & a more ambient section faded in but the timing is absolutely spot on & it’s done with such professionalism that it seems entirely appropriate. The guitars & drums couldn’t be more crushing & if there’s not a bass player here then the producer has done a stellar job at beefing out those guitars. The stereo spectrum has been fully utilized which shouldn’t be a surprise as the track was always intended for a 5.1 surround sound DVD release (which is the format it originally came in when included with “Terrifyer”). 

“Natasha” has nothing whatsoever to do with grindcore. It utilizes a number of different subgenres across its lengthy duration but its basis is in doomy sludge metal & a number of slow dirging riffs can be heard scattered evenly across the tracklisting. The earlier parts have a definite Godflesh feel to them (minus the industrial element of course) while the unaccompanied riff towards the middle of the track is a lot dronier & wouldn’t be out of place on an early Earth record. There’s a definite post-metal sensibility about how the whole thing is constructed that brings to mind the likes of Neurosis though with the ambience out-weighing the metal for the most part. I feel that Swans have been a definite influence on Pig Destroyer in this regard (particularly during the gorgeous female vocal section) & that synth-driven period two-thirds of the way into the piece is simply breath-taking in its ethereal splendor. But never fear all you extreme metal fans! The doomier sections are absolutely soul-crushing with drummer Brian Harvey contributing the perfect accompaniment to fully accentuate the overall heaviness of Scott Hull’s guargantuan riffs. 

Interestingly, those of you that have already read my review of "Terrifyer" would be aware that J.R. Hayes' vocal delivery wasn't exactly my cup of tea but here it's a completely different story. Hayes offers much more variety with a number of different approaches being employed from whispered spoken word to a tortured & mournful style that reminds my of early 90's Anathema to a more aggressive & vicious delivery that sits somewhere between Ministry's Al Jourgensen & hardcore punk. So essentially we've seen J.R. expanding on Pig Destroyer's overall appeal levels for me & in the process becoming a tool to further enhance the atmosphere the band are trying to create. His vocals are by no meaning over-used though as they're used fairly sparingly compared to your average 1-2 minute blast-fest.

I can’t express how effective this all is. In fact, not only does “Natasha” hold its own against the elite releases from the sludge/doom metal subgenres, it actually surpasses the vast majority of them. And listening to it as an isolated release in its own right (i.e. without the blasting 32 minutes of grindcore in front of it) has only further enhanced its artistic grandeur. To say that “Natasha” couldn’t possibly be more suited to my tastes & interests is an under-statement. It’s pretty much the sum of all of the things that I love about organically created music & I regard it as one of very few metal records that are truly perfect. Make no mistake, “Natasha” is one of the most underrated records I’ve ever come across. It’s a genuine classic & should by all rights be place on a pedestal as the highlight of Pig Destroyer’s career to date. 

For fans of: Thou, Grief, Harvey Milk

Maryland four-piece thrashers Indestroy first formed under the moniker of Fatal Sin in 1983 before renaming themselves three years later. Their musical career would be a relatively short one with just 1987’s self-titled full-length & 1989’s “Senseless Theories” E.P. seeing the light of day before they’d call it quits in 1990, just in the nick of time with the grunge movement about to throw a big cat amongst the thrash metal pigeons. My only personal exposure to Indestroy came through the self-titled album several decades ago now but it clearly didn’t make a huge impression on me as I don’t believe I ever entertained the idea of tracking down the E.P. afterwards. 

Indestroy’s debut was released through New Renaissance Records in 1987; a very busy extreme metal label that would also release records from bands like At War, Wehrmacht, Dream Death, Necrophagia & Blood Feast within just a two year period. New Renaissance was a fairly low budget venture though & inferior production jobs were par for the course so you shouldn’t go into “Indestroy” expecting a bright & vibrant sounding album. On the contrary, the sound production would be the most disappointing element of the record with the rhythm guitars being too low in the mix & a noticeable lack of high end throughout. Jeff Parsons’ bass guitar sounds nice & full but the riffs aren’t given the chance to fully showcase their wares which limits the appeal of an album that’s really been built around them. I guess we shouldn’t be surprised though given New Renaissance’s track record & the fairly minimal level of experience of producer Chris Kozlowski who hadn’t produced a metal release of any note at that stage as far as I’m aware. It’s actually pretty hard not to let this element of the album dictate the scope of its scoring potential to be honest & I think that there’s a definite possibility that I might have reached for a more favourable rating had the sound quality been decent. 

From a technical point of view, Indestroy were more than capable musicians & composers. In fact, the riffs possess a level of sophistication & complexity that wasn’t often seen in extreme metal at the time & it was clear that the band knew what they were doing. There’s certainly a looseness to the performances but it’s nothing that wouldn’t have been ironed out by a decent producer & production budget. Surprisingly for a low-profile debut like this, the guitar solos of Drew “Blood” Adrian are actually really shredding & show him to be a more than capable guitar hero. I actually find the lead work to be the highlight of the album as it adds some excitement to a set of songs that had great potential but are held back by the sluggish production. Rhythm guitarist Mark Strassburg’s vocals are the other career limiter though. His delivery is inconsistent & he doesn’t sit well in the mix on some tracks. During his better moments he sounds quite similar to Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine but at other times he sounds a little immature to my ears & I think Indestroy may have been better served by a dedicated front man. 

Musically, Indestroy cover several subgenres across the tracklisting. The basis for their sound is built on US thrash metal with Nuclear Assault, early Exodus & particularly “Killing Is My Business… & Business Is Good!”-era Megadeth seeming to be the primary sources of inspiration behind tracks like “The Gate”, “Fatal Sin”, “Brain Damaged” & “Shadowlord”. During their shorter & more aggressive numbers like “U.S.S.A.”, “Dead Girls (Don’t Say No)” & “Dismembered” however, the band sounds a little closer to speed metal with a bit less complexity to the riffage. Then there are slower & less intense tracks like “Ground Zero”, “Justice Sucks” & “A.I.M.L.E.S.S.” which take a more measured & traditional heavy metal approach so the album certainly isn’t lacking in the variety department. I find that the bassy production & general ambition in some of the song-writing often reminds me of Danish heavy metal masters Mercyful Fate which is quite a compliment but the most obvious influence is clearly early Megadeth who also sported an impressive level of complexity for the time. Album highlight “Fatal Sin” is a obvious example of this as it’s clearly trying to emulate the class & prowess of Mr. Mustaine & his cronies. 

Overall, I find Indestroy’s debut to be a frustrating experience. I mean there’s enough evidence presented here to suggest that there’s a more than decent album hiding in there somewhere. All that was needed was an experienced metal producer to draw it out. As it stands though, I don’t think I’ll be returning to “Indestroy” any time soon as (despite the best efforts of the instrumentalists) the product just sounds inferior. The B side also sees the quality of the song-writing fading noticeably which leaves me feeling a bit flat afterwards. It’s hard to overcome that feeling by remembering the stronger first half after sitting through the last four tracks which are all pretty lackluster. You get the feeling that the next release from the band could have been really good though as the groundwork had been completed here & all that’s required are a few tweaks so perhaps it might be worth checking out the subsequent E.P. to see if that ended up being the case. 

For fans of: Nuclear Assault, Exodus, early Megadeth

It’s quite alarming to think that my relationship with the unusual Canadian metal institution known as Voivod is now pushing out past the three decade mark but their 1989 album “Nothingface” was where it all stems from. I can vividly still recall my first encounter with the band. It was through a late-night radio program around that 1989/90 period & the song in particular was the opening track “The Unknown Knows”. I’d read a little bit about Voivod through articles in metal magazines but this particular track didn’t sound like any metal I’d heard before & I wasn't entirely sure what to make of it at first. But I used to tape all of these underground radio programs as they were only on once a week & I’d give them repeat listens for the next seven days. I’d even keep the best songs on mix tapes that I’d make up. Needless to say that there was something about that song that kept me coming back even though it took me well outside of my comfort zone & I think that sums up the “Nothingface” album in a way too. 

Voivod had begun life as a rough & ready speed metal outfit in the early 80’s with their influences ranging from Motorhead & Venom to hardcore punk with a little progressive rock thrown in for good measure. I didn’t mind their first two albums but things really started to take off when they began expanding on their prog rock influences & in doing so they created the critically acclaimed & seminal “Dimension Hatross” album in 1988; a record that had a particularly large impact on me personally. But 1989’s “Nothingface saw Voivod’s transition being completed with the band finally having reached a sound that was completely on the other side of the musical spectrum from where they first began. 

The production job on “Nothingface” is exceptional. Music this complex & dissonant requires a level of audio quality to be fully appreciated & producer Glen Robinson has done an excellent job at representing the nuances of what Voivod were trying to achieve here. Piggy’s dissonant guitar riffs are always beautifully defined while bassist Blacky offers just the right balance of grit & clarity whilst filling out the bottom end & front man Snake sits in a nice little niche all of his own. The overall balance & separation is excellent throughout & it’s hard not to compare it to the noisy mess that made up Voivod’s 1986 sophomore effort “Rrröööaaarrr”.  

Voivod have always been affiliated with the thrash metal movement but I have to admit that I’ve never been comfortable with that association to be honest. Their first two records hardly contained a single thrash riff & I’m much happier to describe them as dirty speed metal from a theoretical point of view. Those speed metal roots would become progressively more diluted with each effort though & “Nothingface” represents somewhat of a climax in the band’s musical & artistic development. Snake’s vocals take a cleaner & slightly quirky direction as he’s now completely dropped the abrasive edge of his early days.  He still sounds a little bit wacky though. Kinda like he could be a combination of Faith No More’s Chuck Mosley & Mike Patton. His delivery won’t be for everyone but I think he suits the unusual sound that Voivod were pushing at this stage in their career. Guitarist Piggy has always had a unique & noticeably dissonant sound built on Motorhead & punk rock but his ability to take that into new & progressive territory without ever sounding like he’s losing control is a real highlight. His guitar solos are perhaps more sporadic than in the past but when they have their time in the sun they generally offer something fresh & interesting from a melodic point of view. I could argue that Piggy’s ALWAYS been the highlight of Voivod’s sound but that would be down-playing his band-mates a little more than I’m comfortable with. And besides, the performance of bassist Blacky is nothing short of phenomenal here as he’s stepped out into waters that are generally reserved for the elite musicians of the prog rock spectrum. Particularly Chris Squire of Yes. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that it’s Blacky’s contribution that leaves the most lasting impression on me here. 

Most fans would readily admit that “Nothingface” was the least metal & most light-weight album that Voivod had released to the time but I’m gonna go one step further & suggest that what we have here is no longer a metal release at all. It fits much more comfortably alongside the great works of King Crimson, Rush & Yes than it does the elite progressive metal releases. For starters, the guitar sound & style is completely devoid of palm-muting & the tone is much more akin to that of punk rock. The tempos are substantially more laid back than the band’s more ferocious earlier works & there’s nothing too intimidating about the overall atmosphere. There’s also a weird & adventurous feel to the music that I relate to bands like Mr Bungle (who were more than likely influenced by this record) & a less obvious but still apparent alternative element that makes me think of a band like Jane’s Addiction. It’s exhilarating stuff really & even though I don’t find any of this material to be genuinely classic, even the weaker tracks keep you on the edge of your seat in anticipation of what strange direction Voivod will take off to next. There’s a lot of talk on the internet about how ridiculously complex & technical “Nothingface” is too but that’s not exactly true when you put it into a prog rock context. The changes don’t sound forced & I never feel that the band are simply throwing out technicality for the sake of impressing despite the clear abundance of skill on offer. But what this added complexity does when combined with the quirky vocal approach is make Voivod's product less accessible & despite being a noticeably lighter Voivod record, there’s no suggestion that “Nothingface” is a sell-out. It’s still an extremely challenging record as you won’t find any hit singles amongst this lot.  

A lot of the album’s marketing has been focused around the cover version of Pink Floyd but people need to remember that “Astronomy Domine” was taken from Floyd’s more psychedelic debut album rather than their radio-friendly mid-70’s to mid-80’s heyday & it’s a very good example of the cover version too. Some people seem to think that it interrupts the flow of the album but I disagree. If you forget that it’s a cover & simply listen to the music then I find that it works in the overall context of the tracklisting & is in fact one of the highlights of what is a very consistent album. There isn’t a weak track included although I have to admit that I don’t see a genuine classic here either & the high quality fades a little over the last three tracks which are still quite interesting but lack the hooks of the earlier material. 

Overall, “Nothingface” is more of an intriguing record than a classic one in my opinion. It may not be a match for Voivod’s genuinely amazing “Dimension Hatross” album from the previous year but it’s certainly a worthy addition to any collection & I rate it comfortably more highly than the band’s early speed metal works. 

For fans of: Rush, Yes, Mr. Bungle

The tale of Belgian thrash metallers Target is only very short but it’s one that deserves to be heard amidst the wealth of unheralded underground thrash stories that have been lost in the annals of time since the genre’s heyday in the mid-to-late 1980’s. I first became aware of Target through tape trading in the early 90’s & remember being quite a fan of both of their late 80’s albums. Sadly, the band wasn’t destined for a long career though & would disintegrate by the time the 90’s rolled around. This is perhaps not such a bad thing for a thrash band given what most of their peers would go through during the grunge years it has to be said. But let’s start with Target’s debut album “Mission Executed” which drifted past most extreme metal fans radars without much fanfare amidst the peak of the thrash metal movement in 1987. 

The album cover for “Mission Executed” is a typically low budget affair that wasn’t exactly going to instill faith in the casual consumer. It looks a lot like some of those ironically put together retro synth wave covers that are floating around these days & you wouldn’t know that what you were in for was a thrash metal record from the look of the sleeve. Given the climate at the time where most record-buying consumers had to take a punt on releases based on word of mouth or the attractiveness of the album cover, it’s not surprising that Target struggled to gain traction. It would have been interesting to see whether they would have been more successful had they had access to the sort of cover art that bands like Kreator were thriving on at the time but I guess we’ll never know. 

The production job on “Mission Executed” seems to have copped a little bit of flack from online reviewers over the years but I have to say that I can’t see where those comments are coming from. Perhaps I’m listening to the remastered version which is apparently much better? I’m not sure but the guitars are rip-roaring & the drums pounding in all the right areas with front man Guy Degrave given lots of room to move so there are no complaints from me in this department. I particularly love the rhythm guitar sound which is nice & raw with a metal as fuck attitude running straight through its core. It certainly adds to the intensity of the band’s sound. 

The delivery of vocalist Guy Degrave sits somewhere in the realm of your classic American thrash front men like Metal Church's David Wayne or Overkill’s Bobby Blitz rather than the more raspy European model. He possesses more than enough balls to make sure that Target’s heavier moments sport a suitably violent accompaniment but can also tackle some more melodic & traditional heavy metal moments without causing a detrimental effect. I really like him although there are a few examples of him overstepping his mark in the theatrics here & there. The twin guitar attack produces an absolute riff-fest though & any thrash fan should find more than enough to bang their head to here. The barrage of riffs are superbly accentuated by drummer Christ Braems who is the highlight of the album in my opinion. He was clearly very well versed in the finer points of thrash drumming because he makes every post a winner here in ensuring that Target receive every last drop of value out of some already high quality riffs. The guitar solos of Lex Vogelaar & Franky Van Aerde seem to get a lot of praise in other reviews but while they’re certainly serviceable I wouldn’t go so far as to say that they add a lot to Target’s music. They just seem to be an excuse to chuck a bunch of notes together without much thought of constructing any sort of sub-plot to the main storyline. 

Target generally seem to be lumped in with the small group of bands that make up the technical thrash metal subgenre but their debut doesn’t really ever produce the sort of complexity required to fit the mould to tell you the truth. It’s much more aligned with the traditional thrash metal model that their American counterparts had cut their teeth on & you can easily hear the influence of bands like Slayer & Exodus. But as the album progresses you’ll likely also pick up on elements of your classic heavy metal sound being borrowed. I’d suggest that these influences are generally coming from the US power metal scene though as there’s still a noticeable crunch to the riffs that was more in line with the bands that fell somewhere in between heavy metal & thrash metal like Metal Church or early Laaz Rockit. You’ll also get a little speed metal thrown in here & there with some simpler & more melodic up-tempo material included on occasion but overall you’ll be left with little doubt that Target were a bunch of passionate thrashers & they were at their best when they were at their most unrestrained & aggressive. 

“Mission Executed” gets off to an absolutely stonking start with the opening two tunes “Mission To The Andes” & “Hordes of Insanity” being genuinely classic European thrash metal anthems that fit right smack bang in the middle of my comfort zone. In fact, upon my first revisit last week I got quite excited, thinking that perhaps I’d uncovered an unheralded underground classic that I’d been forgetting about for all these years. But the quality certainly drops off after that initial onslaught & the music gets a touch less trashy for a couple of tracks. These are still very enjoyable mind you. Just not at the same quality as the earlier numbers. It’s interesting that Target’s less impressive output tends to match up with the songs where they haven’t quite nailed the song structures. They’ll sometimes extend the segways further than they needed to or try to include too many riffs in a song for the sake of it. But there are no real failures here because Target are a class act & the quality & professionalism of their music is able to get them by even during these less impressive periods. Closing track “Death Blow” is a great way to end proceedings & you’ll rarely hear a better instrumental track on a thrash record. 

I have to say that I’ve been pleasantly surprised by “Mission Executed”. This is one high quality thrash record that’s been criminally overlooked in favour of a significant amount of inferior product, especially in the European market. I highly recommend you give it a few spins if you’re serious about your thrash. 

For fans of: Deathrow, Metal Church, Flotsam & Jetsam

By the time 1996 rolled around I’d been aware of Brooklyn-based gothic doom merchants Type O Negative for several years already. My de-facto partner had been a huge fan of the band so their albums (particularly 1993’s “Bloody Kisses”) had gotten regular spins around the home we shared together. However that relationship came to an abrupt end under the worst possible circumstances just before the release of their fourth studio album “October Rust” & it sent me spiraling into the most difficult time of my life thus far as I tried to recover emotionally. So you can imagine that listening to a new Type O Negative album wasn’t exactly something that was high on my priorities list at the time. Particularly given the early reports that it was the band’s most commercially accessible outing yet & the evidence of the poppy single “My Girlfriend’s Girlfriend”. But when a good mate at work (who wasn’t a metalhead by any stretch of the imagination) pushed me to give it few spins after becoming somewhat obsessive about it I was left with no choice but to do so, if only to appease his continuous hounding. And boy was I glad I did because not only did I find “October Rust” to be a stunningly addictive record but it somehow managed to significantly assist me through the emotional turmoil I was going through. 

Type O Negative have always had a very strange sense of humour & the start of “October Rust” is a prime example of this. The first 38 seconds of the album is made up of the sort of amplifier hum that’s produced when you pull the cable out of your electric guitar with your amplifier left on. It’s meant as a joke but it’s a long way from funny. It’s just a waste of time & space really. Then an even worse artistic decision follows with the band members expending one of the most pointless 21 second periods of my life in verbally thanking me for buying the record. No worries guys but can we get on with some fucking music now please?? If we skip right to the end of the album, the final untitled 9 second track is also a spoken-word thank you from Peter Steele & these musical missteps almost lead me to believe that Type O Negative have intentionally tried to self-sabotage their appeal. I mean what other conceivable reason can there be for this sort of misguided self-indulgence?? Thankfully though, the rest of this lengthy album (it totals a duration of 73 minutes) is made up of legitimate songs & some extremely high quality ones at that. 

In a word, the production on “October Rust” could best be described as glistening. The band have incorporated a number of new elements to create a more expansive & ultimately more attractive & marketable product with Josh Silver’s use of synthesizers filling out, complimenting & enhancing Type O Negative's dark metal sound throughout. Kenny Hickey’s guitar sound is particularly fuzzy & distorted with a noticeable reliance on chorus FX & it works to become a huge unified beast when combined with Peter Steele’s impressively thick & heavy bass sound. The use of melodic vocal harmonies has the potential to isolate those of us that are averse to a bit of cheese but it’s done in such a tasteful & professional manner & the hooks are of such a high quality that it’s very hard not to be drawn in for the long haul. 

Steele’s performance on the album is pretty phenomenal to be honest. His vocals are as deep & powerful as any he delivered in his career & they really suit the newly developed Type O Negative sound. It’s not hard to recognise the influence of gothic rock bands like Sisters Of Mercy on his style here & that’s a theme that runs through other elements of the album too. In fact, many of the melodic instrumental bridges scattered across the tracklisting appear to have an obvious connection to The Cure & it works beautifully. Peter’s bass playing is also a highlight with a post-punk influence being consistently visible in many of his bass lines. Again, this is perfectly amalgamated with the doomier sound that Type O Negative were previously known for & this diverse range of influences is one of the real strengths of “October Rust”. 

Sadly, there are a couple of weaker songs included. The popular single “My Girlfriend’s Girlfriend” is much too quirky & commercially focused for my liking while the cover version of Neil Young’s “Cinnamon Girl” was a strange choice indeed. But thankfully these two blemishes are amongst the shorter tracks included with most of the other tracks exceeding the five minute mark. There are still a multitude of highlights to choose from with a good two thirds of the tracklisting falling into the classic category. Most of the material lies firmly within the realm of gothic metal but, as with many bands associated with the subgenre, the band’s doom metal roots are never too far off with tracks like “Red Water (Christmas Mourning)” & “Haunted” presenting some of the most depressively dreary & majestically heavy riffs we’d heard from Type O Negative to the time. It’s really interesting though that I often find myself thinking of early 80’s new-wave & pop bands like Duran Duran, Simple Minds & Tears For Fears when I hear the lush synth-driven melodic content & vocal harmonies that have been integrated into many of these songs. That might sound horrible to most metalheads but trust me when I say that it’s a big positive & one of the key elements that makes this release so unique. 

Strangely, “October Rust” not only left me enamored with its hooks for weeks (if not months) on end but it also managed to help me recover from some extreme emotional trauma even though it should by all rights have been some sort of reminder of the root cause. In truth, I don’t think that would have been possible if Type O Negative hadn’t taken a fresh approach as it would have been too easy to link the album with my past experiences with the band. But even if I put my past aside & listen to “October Rust” with fresh ears in the modern day, I find that I’m often left in awe of its ability to balance sheer depressive heaviness with insanely beautiful melody. Sure there are a few misfires on offer but that’s Type O Negative for ya & the peaks here are astronomical. This is essential listening for fans of gothic metal. 

For fans of: Moonspell, Paradise Lost, Tiamat. 

Canadian crossover thrashers Aggression are a four-piece outfit who formed in Montreal in 1984 & are still around today as far as I’m aware. They’ve released a number of albums over the years but the only one that I’ve ever come into contact with is their 1987 debut full-length “The Full Treatment” which is the subject of today’s review. It seems to be their most well-known release but they’re hardly a household name within the underground thrash community. 

There’s one major flaw with “The Full Treatment” & it hits you immediately upon pressing play so we might as well get it out of the way early. The cavernous & murky production job on this record leaves a lot to be desired with the rhythm section dominating the mix & leaving the rhythm guitars struggling to be heard a lot of the time. It reminds me of NME’s “Unholy Death” or Voivod’s “Rrroooaaarrr” in its inaccessibility actually. Both are records that have their appeal limited not by the music being produced but by the packaging they’re presented in. Perhaps “The Full Treatment” doesn’t suffer quite as much as “Rrroooaaarrr” does in this regard but it takes some getting used to. Especially if you put this record on immediately after listening to Queensryche like I’ve done on this particular revisit.  

From a musical point of view Aggression is generally regarded as a thrash metal band with crossover tendencies however I’d argue that there’s easily enough crossover here for the term to be employed in a full-time capacity. In fact, Aggression try their hand at a variety of different approaches on “The Full Treatment”. On the one hand you’ll hear ultra-aggressive straight-down-the-line thrash metal tunes in the vein of classic Dark Angel (“Frozen Aggressor”, “Dripping Flesh”, “Rotten By Torture”, “The Final Massacre”) but then other tracks like “One For The Woods” & “Demolition Of Your Face” feel a lot closer to a pure hardcore punk sound than a metal one. Brilliant opener “Forsaken Survival” reaches a clear compromise that sits comfortably under the crossover thrash tag while “Green Goblin” & “The Reaping Hook” actually take things a lot further in the intensity stakes with a total thrashcore approach being employed complete with impressive blastbeats. Early UK grindcore exponents Unseen Terror come to mind on these occasions. 

As is commonly the case with me, I find the straight-up hardcore tracks to be tough going. I’ve never been much of a punk fan & these tunes aren’t gonna change that however the more brutal thrash material is often exhilarating & it’s a shame that a few of these tracks seem destined for greatness early on only to run out of steam as the tracks progress (see “The Reaping Hook” or “Dripping Flesh” for example). Vocalist Pierre "Cactus Pete" Fleurant is the ace up Aggression’s sleeve though & it’s his hate-fueled yet charismatic delivery that represents the band’s strength. Just listen to the pure anger he displays on opening track “Forsaken Survival” which takes your expectations & firmly stuffs them back down your neck. I fucking love that tune! It’s by far the album highlight & is up there with the greatest achievements for Canadian thrash overall in my opinion. It’s just a shame that it sets a standard that the rest of “The Full Treatment” fails to live up to. That’s not to say that the remainder of the album is full of failures though. The two tracks that follow it are also pretty enjoyable but things descend rapidly from there with a noticeable mid-album lull only being recovered by the high quality thrashfest that is “Rotten By Torture” towards the end of the album. Ambitious eight minute closer “The Final Massacre” takes a slower direction but it doesn’t quite work in my opinion with its riffs sounding a little generic & flat. 

So “The Full Treatment” is a bit of a mixed bag to be honest. I only really find myself enjoying half of this material however there’s enough quality there to carry the weaker tracks & make the album worth exploring. The passion & authenticity in Aggression’s music is undeniable & I think those elements might be the primary reason for me having scored the album so favourably despite all of its failings. I mean even the tracks that I don’t like have parts that kick my ass in some capacity so you can rest assured that relief is never too far away. 

For fans of: early Slaughter, “Darkness Descends”-era Dark Angel, Cryptic Slaughter 

Aaaaahhhhhh… the old album-performed-in-its-entirety live album debate, eh? Some people love ‘em… some people think they’re purely a marketing cash-grab. I fall into the former category & I think that a part of that comes from my years as a performing musician. I love to hear the electricity & uncertainty of a live performance. Ben, on the other hand, has predominantly always found live releases to be a waste of time & money & has been of the opinion that if you already have all of the tracks in their generally superior studio format then why would you have a need to revisit live versions. Well I regularly find that the additional nuances that become evident in a live performance can add or take away from the overall product & it often makes for a much more unique experience than Ben gives it credit for. But in saying that, I rarely come away with a completely different score for a live-in-its-entirety style album & (while I hate to say it more than anything in the world) perhaps this proves Ben’s point to an extent. I mean there’s generally some tracks that are better & worse than their studio counterparts but I have to admit that it’s very rare that anything other than the production can cause these releases to rate in anything but a very similar way to their original versions. But anyway… back to the topic at hand. 

I’ve always been a big fan of Queensryche’s “Operation: Mindcrime” album. I wouldn’t say that I’ve ever regarded it as a genuine classic of the progressive metal subgenre but it’s my favourite work from a band that I generally always liked (at least I did until the mid-90’s). The thing with concept albums though, is that they’re often filled out with tracks that contribute more to the storyline than they do from an artistic point of view & it’s rare to hear a release that manages to completely nail the format. “Operation: Mindcrime” wasn’t too far off the mark but it was a fair way from being perfect. It was undoubtedly a strong piece of progressive heavy metal though & the prospect of a full live album rendition was enticing as it had been a fair while since I’d taken the studio version for a drive. 

From a production point of view this album had a lot to live up to. The progressive rock & metal subgenres are crammed full of spectacular sounding live records that are performed with a precision that only microsurgeons can relate to & a performance of one of the great classics of the progressive metal movement would come with an expectation of even greater heights. So does it deliver from a purely sonic point of view? Weeeelllll…. I’m not sure it does actually. It certainly sounds more than passable & the synths fill out the sound nicely whenever they’re implemented however I’ve heard plenty of live releases that sound better over the years. It just sounds…. well… suitable without ever really excelling I guess. A decent sounding prog metal live album. Nothing more, nothing less. The performances on the other hand, are spot on but I don’t imagine that this was ever in question from such a class act. Even operatic front man Geoff Tate nails pretty much every task he’s asked to undertake & shows just what an amazing performer he is but I don’t think that was ever really in doubt, was it? 

But it’s the subtle differences that make the live album a valued piece of artistic expression & here we get a few; some positive & others not so positive. It’s amazing how often these pluses & minuses tend to balance each other out over the course of a full-album live release though & that’s very much the case here. The intro track “I Remember Now” simply isn’t loud enough to have the impact it had on the studio album, the lack of studio gloss leaves “Revolution Calling” more open to the fact that the song-writing is a little bit subpar & classics like “Breaking The Silence”, “I Don’t Believe In Love” & “Eyes Of A Stranger” all fall just short of the euphoric peaks of their glory days. However, “Anarchy-X” has never sounded so exciting, studio album low-point “Spreading The Disease” has picked up some added energy that sees it moving up into my graces for the first time & the one-two punch of highlight tracks “The Mission” & “Suite Sister Mary” is more crushing in both its execution & its amazing scope & grandeur than ever before. 

Given how similar the overall result was likely to be, the inclusion of two additional songs on top of the album tracklisting was always going to make or break “Operation: LIVEcrime” as an essential release & I have to say that the track selection could have been better. I don’t mind either “The Lady Wore Black” or “Roads To Madness” but neither were particular favourites of mine from their respective releases. The low-key “Roads To Madness” was also a strange way to close out the record. It’s not a bad track but in this context it’s hard not to see it as an anticlimax when they could have ended the record with a more epic track like “Queen Of The Reich”, “Take Hold Of The Flame” or “Empire”. It seems like a missed opportunity to me. 

But it’s hard to criticize an album that possesses the undeniable class & quality of “Operation: LIVEcrime”. It will disappoint approximately none of Queensryche’s loyal fanbase or fans of quality progressive music in general for that matter & you can mark it down as another essential release for the band. Perhaps the last one for Queensryche actually. 

For fans of: Crimson Glory, Fates Warning, Dream Theater

The debut studio album from New Jersey based thrashers Blood Feast is a raw & aggressive affair that sports a take-no-prisoners approach. The noisy production has the sort of authentically raw 80's underground atmosphere that old tape traders like myself would be comfortable with & it works pretty well for this material with the out-of-control guitar solos having a fair bit of Slayer's Jeff Hanneman & Kerry King about them even if they're not on par from a technical point of view. It's also worth noting that there's a fair whack of hardcore punk about Blood Feast's style which adds a little more violence & intensity to some of this material in a similar way to early Sodom. The obligatory loose execution that was so common in extreme metal at this point in time is well represented but its not anything too extreme.  

Vocalist Gary Markovitch's delivery sits somewhere between the gravel-throated style of Exodus front man Steve Souza & the growly death metal grunting of Possessed's Jeff Becerra & Death's Chuck Schuldiner but there's a bit of variety in his approach between the individual tracks. Actually Blood Feast are often mentioned as a prominent influence on the young US death metal scene & are regularly referred to in the same terms as the more brutal thrash bands like Demolition Hammer, Kreator & Morbid Saint. I'd suggest that there are definitely a couple of tracks that border on death metal amongst this lot (mostly because Markovitch starts to head further in that direction) but I wouldn't say that "Kill For Pleasure" is as consistently intense or brutal as the bands I mentioned & the instrumentation doesn't veer too far off the path of aggressive US thrash metal. There are a couple of really great mosh-pit worthy numbers here though (see "Venomous Death" & "The Evil") & thankfully the highlights are strong enough to compensate for an inconsistent tracklisting sporting as many failures as there are successes. 

Overall, "Kill For Pleasure" is a flawed but enthusiastic effort that has enough quality thrash metal on offer to keep me bobbing my head. I actually prefer it to Blood Feast's more highly regarded "Face Fate" E.P. from later the same year. But what's with the album title?? Surely Blood Feast had heard of Kreator's hugely influential "Pleasure To Kill" album at this point, hadn't they? 

For fans of: early Exodus, "Show No Mercy"-era Slayer, Possessed.

2001's "Sünder ohne Zügel" represents the fifth & most celebrated album from German folk metallers In Extremo who are supposedly one of the senior players in a subgenre known as "Medieval Folk Metal". I only recently heard about this particular subgenre & immediately found myself feeling curious to see what it sounded like. And it was this curiosity that drew me into giving "Sünder ohne Zügel"  a few spins. 

Surprisingly, there's very little of anything "medieval" about this record. In fact, it sounds very clean & modern compared to most folk metal I've heard which left me pondering over whether it even qualified for the genre at all. But after several listens I came to the realization that there was just enough folk instrumentation to warrant the Folk Metal tag (particularly the regular bagpipe contributions) with the rest of In Extremo's sound being comprised mainly of Nu Metal & Alternative Metal with little bits of Progressive, Industrial & Traditional Heavy Metal tossed into mix on occasion too. The vocals of front man Das letzte Einhorn are delivered in the deep, croaky, monotonous & heavily German style of Rammstein's Till Lindemann & are written in the band's native tongue as far as I can tell.  

There are 4 or 5 very good songs scattered across the tracklisting & the band was obviously quite experienced in the studio because everything sounds very clear, tight & generally pretty heavy. But sadly there are too many tracks where I find myself put off by parts that sound more like Limp Bizkit or the more generic Korn efforts than they do the better works of the largely black metal driven folk metal genre. And then we get those cheesy folk melodies. Certainly not as many as you'll find in most folk metal outings but they're there nonetheless. So overall this amounts to a record that (whilst generally well composed & executed) ultimately fits comfortably within the confines of my "none of my business" file.

For fans of: Subway To Sally, Saltatio Mortis, Ignis Fatuu

For those that think Death's "Scream Bloody Gore" album was the first true death metal album (for the record, it was Possessed's "Seven Churches" from 1985), think again because the debut full-length from Ohio's Necrophagia entitled "Season Of The Dead" beat them to the punch by a good three months & came armed with the gory horror movie themes & palm-muted tremolo-picked riffage that would go on to become a trademark of the genre.

Killjoy's vocals might not be as deep & monster-like as modern death grunters go for but they certainly sit within death metal guidelines in my opinion & are similar to those of Mike Browning (Morbid Angel/Nocturnus) & Henry Veggian (Revenant). Unfortunately they do represent the most annoying part of the album though as some of the good work that's done by the instrumentalists is undone by some unusually random phrasing that seems almost improvised at times. In fact, it often sounds like he's growling away over a completely different song but the moments when he's on the money are some of the album's highlights (see "Ancient Slumber). 

As with most early death metal, we still get our fair share of thrashy Slayer worship here at times but this is generally offset by a grisly death metal atmosphere which is occasionally enhanced by the use of horror movie cinematics. It's interesting that Necrophagia aren't averse to slowing things down a bit for the odd doomy passage with the darkness turned up to ten & it's easy to see where a band like Autopsy might have picked up on that concept. I can't say that I'm a fan of the bizarre experimental sections that pop up on a couple of tracks such as the twisted circus-style parts of opening track "Forbidden Pleasure" which is presumably supposed to tie in with the zombie flick themes. It sounds particularly random to me.

The production doesn't do the album any favours & it would have been good to hear how this would have sounded with a little more emphasis being placed on the rhythm guitars. There's a lot of bass in the mix & it highlights a pretty decent performance from Bill James. Larry Madison's guitar solos have a serious similarity to the style that Morbid Angel's Trey Azagthoth was pushing at the time & it's an interesting question as to who influenced who here given that Necrophagia had been around for a good four years by this stage. I've never heard Necrophagia's demo tapes so I can't say for sure but I suspect that Trey is safe in this respect.  

There are some strange cut-&-paste style drop-ins scattered across the tracklisting where it's very clear that two disparate recordings have been pasted together in a haphazard manner & it can sound a little jarring at times but overall I still find "Season Of The Dead" to be an enjoyable listen all these years later. It's an important (if inessential) part of the death metal story.

For fans of: Revenant, early Morbid Angel/Autopsy.

1987’s “Wilczy Pająk” album represents the self-titled debut from five-piece Polish thrash metallers Wolf Spider; a band who would wisely change their moniker to the translated English version shortly after the release of this record with all future releases utilizing English song titles & lyrics. It showcases the crude beginnings of a band that would become a lot thrashier & more technical over the next couple of records but here still seem to be in the process of defining their sound.

Despite commonly being labelled as a thrash metal release, “Wilczy Pająk” sees Wolf Spider testing the waters in a few different subgenres with speed metal being the dominant one in my opinion. Sure there are a few thrashers included here but most tracks rely on simpler yet no less rapid riffs with a few toes still hanging on to the NWOBHM for dear life. “Zemsta mściciela” is probably the only track that sees the band slowing things down enough to qualify for the traditional heavy metal camp but many of the songs include sections or riffs that sound more traditional so I feel that the speed metal label is a more accurate description of what to expect than the thrash one is.

Upon first listen I was caught a little off guard by the low quality production because “Wilczy Pająk” sounds very much like a cheap demo tape. It’s got a very noisy & tinny sound with the crashing of the cymbals dominating the mix & I can’t help but think that I might have rated the album a touch higher if it was afforded a more appropriate production job. Upon investigation I found that some online versions sounded a bit better than others so it would be worth your while to hunt around but it won’t result in a totally acceptable outcome.

The musicianship on display is actually pretty good. Particularly the shredding guitar solos which highlight some excellent chops despite receiving far too much high end in the mix. I think the solos might be the best parts of the record actually. Vocalist Leszek Szpigiel is a pretty decent front man too although he’s possibly not quite as aggressive as many European thrash fans might be used to. His delivery reminds me more of bands like Loudness, Scorpions & several mid-80’s French heavy metal acts. In fact, there are some similarities between the overall sound of the NWOBHM-influenced mid-80’s French scene & the sound that Wolf Spider are pushing here (minus the additional thrash component of course).

From a song-writing point of view, “Wilczy Pająk” starts off really strong with the first couple of tracks leaving me feeling very positive about what lay ahead; particularly the sub-two minute opener “Żądna ofiary twarz” which is the most aggressive song on the tracklisting. But sadly the quality drops off noticeably from there & only manages to recover for closing track “M.C.”. Wolf Spider’s weaker moments usually match up with the less successful attempts at vocal phrasing with several verses sounding like Leszek is trying to stuff too many words into a bar purely for the sake of lyrical continuity. It leaves me thinking that perhaps some of this material was a bit underdone & that a little more time & experience might have been required to see the songs realize their optimum level of appeal. So overall I find “Wilczy Pająk” to be a little flat. It's certainly not bad but you won’t find that hidden underground gem you’re hunting for here I’m afraid.

Look…. Let’s be honest here. I was never going to like this album & I never really expected to either. This was my first revisit after having given “Голос сталі” a run back at the time of release & finding it to be quite repulsive. But there’s something you need to know about me. I suffer from OCD (i.e. obsessive completism disorder) & this means that I find it very hard to accept that I don’t at least have an informed opinion on every important metal release there is. And unfortunately for me, that includes the folk metal subgenre which (with the exception of a couple of bands) I find to be directly opposed to my personal tastes most of the time. To be more specific, it’s a genre that I’ve have had a running battle with for decades now. BUT…. thankfully the metal Gods have had some sort of mercy on me because “Голос сталі” (or “The Voice Of Steel” if you prefer the translated version) isn’t half as bad as I remember (although admittedly a fair way from something that I’d legitimately enjoy).

“Голос сталі” certainly requires a fair commitment from the listener as it’s a lengthy album coming in at just under 70 minutes in duration with most of the tracks approaching or exceeding the ten minute mark. But to their credit, Nokturnal Mortum don’t every stand still for too long & I don’t think I ever become bored as such. There’s a lot in this material to be honest & the creative juices were clearly flowing at this point in time. An expansive production job certainly helps & we see a number of folk instruments employed to good effect along with the regular use of synthesizers. I think the synths work really well as (unlike many of their peers) the band don’t overdo them. They’re always noticeable but play more of a supporting role most of the time which helps to beef up Nokturnal Mortum’s sound. They also give “Голос сталі” a bit of a progressive feel & I’d guess that Pink Floyd & 70’s progressive electronic music might have been an influence on the band. In fact, there’s still a definite symphonic aspect to the Nokturnal Mortum’s sound which is not surprising as they originally started as a symphonic black metal outfit in the mid 90’s. The black metal vocals are still here in full capacity too but I have to admit that they don’t add much to the music. They’re serviceable enough but lack a bit of character. It would have added something to album if they’d varied the vocal delivery a bit more like they did on a track like “Небо сумних ночей”. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a horrible track & the low point of the album but Varggoth (if it’s him) sounds more like Johan Edlund from Tiamat & I would have liked to see other variations in vocal delivery across the album.

Although “Голос сталі” is generally regarded as a folk metal release (& I’m not denying that it is), there’s a little bit more to it than that. Predictably I find the genuine folk metal material to be a real struggle but there’s also some really interesting & ambitious ideas being explored at times too. For example, the lead guitar work more often than not sounds more like Mark Knopfler from Dire Straits than anything else & the accompanying instrumentalists have worked with that concept to create some genuinely original sections within the longer pieces. It was quite ingenious really & I find those sections to be quite intriguing. The other parts that interest me tend to be the less cheesy black metal & Viking metal parts with Emperor & “Twilight Of The Gods”-era Bathory being the main influences there. But don’t fret all of you hardcore folk metal fans out there, when Nokturnal Mortum get their gallantry on they still folk it up with the best of ‘em & it’s here that I find myself failing to withhold a cringe or ten. Interestingly I really like the intro piece “Інтро” which is pure folk music (i.e. sans metal) & it reminds me that I actually don’t mind folk music. I just really struggle with folk melodies being incorporated within a metal context as I feel that the two genres tend to fight opposing battles & a track like “Шляхом сонця” showcases that in no uncertain terms.

Overall, it was inevitable that I’d find “Голос сталі” to be hard work & fans of the folk metal subgenre should probably take my opinion with a grain of salt. But I do think that Nokturnal Mortum have managed to put together a reasonably creative piece of art here. If not one that would appeal to my personal tastes much.

For fans of: Moonsorrow, Kroda, Temnozor

I was first introduced to German thrash metallers Accuser through the underground tape trading scene back in the early 1990’s. They weren’t terribly well known at the time however I came into contact with their first two albums through a dubbed cassette I received from a European trader. The A side included the topic of this review in 1987’s “The Conviction”; a record that included just seven tracks with a few of them being quite lengthy for a thrash metal release. I don’t recall listening to “The Conviction” more than a few times but I do remember thinking that they were more than decent so I was interested to see how they’d fair a good three decades later.

Those of you who follow my listening habits would likely be aware that I’ve been revisiting a lot of very raw Teutonic & South American thrash metal in recent times so it was a pleasant change to find that “The Conviction” actually features a pretty clear production by mid-80’s German thrash standards. The rhythm section is very clear with the bass guitar in particular receiving enough grunt to be able to drive the material through with a consistent energy level. The rhythm guitar sound does vary a little between tracks which isn’t unusual for the time but it’s not a major concern & the record sounds pretty professional overall. But the production isn’t the only area with a little more polish than you’re likely used to. The musicianship is also very good & is world’s away from the early Kreator, Sodom or Destruction releases. The riffs are very tightly performed which gives “The Conviction” more of an American edge to its sound. If I’m overly critical I’d suggest that the guitar solos aren’t all that engaging but they’re not exactly inadequate either.

I’m not entirely certain as to whether Accuser have just the one vocalist as the style of delivery changes from track to track; at some points sounding very much like Accept’s Udo Dirkschneider while at others coming closer to the trademark raspy Teutonic thrash growl. I probably prefer the Accept style to be honest as I can’t say that the other styles are terribly engaging even though they’re more than tolerable. Thankfully though, it’s the instrumentalists that carry the band.

Stylistically “The Conviction” is very much a tale of two sides. The A side sees Accuser taking a predominantly speed metal approach with the pedal planted firmly to the metal & the riffs & guitar melodies taking a more traditional direction. The signature German speed metal sound is definitely in effect with early Iron Angel, Living Death, Holy Moses & the faster Accept material being good points of reference. You’ll also find several examples of melodic guitar harmonies that you wouldn’t normally find in a genuine thrash metal environment but are much more frequently seen on speed metal records like the first couple of Helloween releases. The B side however sees Accuser launching off into a more complex, modern & particularly US sounding thrash metal sound with Exodus being the obvious influence. Both styles are pretty well done & I have to wonder whether the A side was comprised of Accuser’s older material with the B side showcasing their newer thrash metal direction. If pushed I’d suggest that I slightly prefer the thrashier material (album highlight “Sadistic Terror” in particular) but that’s hardly a surprise now given my musical pedigree.

Overall I find “The Conviction” to be a reasonably enjoyable experience. The tight execution & the urgency of the riffs are definite drawcards for the band but it’s a shame that they couldn’t nail the song-writing to an extent that saw a few more highlight tracks. There’s a level of consistency about the tracklisting though with just the one blemish in the speed metal number “Screaming For Guilt”. Despite releasing a couple of reasonably successful first up albums, Accuser apparently drifted from my memory pretty quickly back in the early 90’s as I don’t recall checking out any of their post-80’s releases but perhaps I should rectify that now as there’s some definite promise here.

For fans of: Exodus, Living Death & the more aggressive Accept material.

New York thrash metal outfit E-X-E first came to my attention in the early 90’s, once again though the tape trading scene that shaped such a large portion of my musical tastes & opinions for the coming decades. The band’s 1987 debut album “Stricken By Might” had appeared on one side of a badly recorded 90 minute cassette I received in my mail box from some foreign location of which I no longer remember but I do recall getting quite a bit of enjoyment out of it without it ever threatening to command regular revisits. I don’t believe I ever checked out E-X-E’s 1990 sophomore album “Sicker Than I Thought!” but from what I can tell it was somewhat of a let-down in comparison so that may not be such a bad thing.

“Stricken By Might” is a long way from a well-polished, high-budget & over-produced affair. On the contrary, it’s fuelled purely on metal-as-fuck attitude & the sort of old-school mentality that made the mid-to-late 80’s such a special time to be discovering extreme metal. This is real music made by real people & in many ways it epitomizes what metal initially aspired to be. E-X-E sadly weren’t quite skilled enough to pull off the full package as yet but even if they had been they may not have wanted to anyway as the raw & dirty production & naïve yet energetic performances really help to create an attractive old-school atmosphere of the type that many bands are still trying to replicate today. Stylistically, E-X-E have most of the 80’s covered too by delivering an each way bet into everything that was great about the decade in metal. Thrash metal , speed metal & heavy metal all receive the treatment & there’s even a bit of crossover thrash on opening number “Slaughter Disorder”. In fact, some of the tracks see the band switching genres regularly between the various parts of the song & it wasn’t all that easy to whack a genre tag on the band.

Front man Joseph Palma isn’t the most talented vocalist you’ll ever encounter. He can actually be quite pitchy at times but there’s an attractive authenticity in his mid & higher register delivery that makes details like that seem fairly inconsequential. Drummer Charles Lopez opts for a very simple approach that at times sees him sounding a bit repetitive. There’s definitely a Teutonic edge to his style but unfortunately his kit isn’t terribly well balanced in the mix with his snare drum being noticeably louder than the rest of his kit. It’s interesting that many of E-X-E’s riffs don’t employ the trademark thrash metal palm-muting whilst still being thrashy in nature & this characteristic very much brings to mind Canadian speed metal originators Exciter who are actually a pretty good reference point for E-X-E’s dirty & energetic sound. But it’s the hyperactive guitar solos of Adam “Muammar” Marigliano & Rui “Evil” Tavora that highlight the savage electricity of E-X-E best with Slayer’s Jeff Hanneman & Kerry King being obvious influences. These two may not be half as talented from a technical point of view but they certainly know how to thrash out & their performances are one of the highlights of the album in my opinion.

Overall, “Stricken By Might” is a very consistent record with just the one failure in the uneventful “Warchild”. In saying that though, it’s a little unusual that the two clear highlight tracks are left so late in the game. Anthrax-influenced thrasher “Fatally Wounded” is my pick of the bunch & you’ll rarely find a better example of raw 80’s thrash than that. Closing number “Crib Death” is also outstanding & sees E-X-E muscling up substantially with a sound that verges pretty closely to death metal & sees the band finishing on a real high. “Stricken By Might” would have been a truly mind-blowing album if it had of contained a full tracklisting at the quality of those two tracks. As it is though there’s still a fair bit to keep me entertained & I’d suggest that “Stricken By might” is yet another example of how the underground thrash scene was coming of age in the wake of 1986’s string of career highlights from the bigger name acts. It’s definitely worth a few spins.

For fans of: Exciter, Hallows Eve, early Slayer.

1990’s “By Inheritance” album was my entry point with Artillery which isn't a bad place to start as its gone on to become the Danish thrash institution's most celebrated release. I picked it up through the tape trading scene shortly after release but if I’m honest I probably didn’t give it as big a thrashing as most of my peers did as I struggled to see what all the fuss was about at the time. It wasn’t really until I did some research into the band’s earlier releases that I saw what an musical departure it was for Artillery in a number of areas but that still didn’t lead to me holding “By Inheritance” up on any sort of pedestal. 

Artillery’s first two albums (1985’s “Fear Of Tomorrow” & 1987’s “Terror Squad”) were both solid releases in their own right & I enjoy both of them to varying degrees, particularly "Terror Squad" which is still my Artillery record of choice to this day. Comparatively, “By Inheritance” almost sounds like it comes from an entirely different band. The professionalism of the production & performances are exceptional with the instrumentalists taking a lot more risks & showing off a whole new level of ambition that would see the album succeed in a time when the popularity of thrash metal was definitely on the decline in the wake of the death metal onslaught. The Metallica worship of Artillery’s formative years was now long gone although they’d definitely learnt some invaluable lessons from their idols regarding song structure & the incorporation of outside influences. 

What we have here is a highly melodic & noticeably technical release that still resides comfortably within the confines of the thrash metal genre. The song structures are often quite progressive with plenty of changes & you can easily pick up on the influence of mid-to-late 80’s progressive metal here. The riffs themselves contain impressive complexity as well as immaculate execution & the regular incorporation of exotic Middle Eastern melodies into the framework of a thrash record was very ambitious if not always totally successful. These additions all make for an interesting & challenging result & I can’t help but feel that Artillery have pulled a lot of influence from classic Iron Maiden in relation to their melodic & thematic experimentation. That’s almost certainly the case with the huge increase in melodic & harmonic content at the very least. In fact, “By Inheritance” often strikes me as thrash metal’s answer to melodic death metal in this regard. There’s always some sort of melodic idea being expressed & you could very easily label this as melodic thrash metal.  

“By Inheritance” showcases a band that was well on top of their game. And why shouldn’t they be when they’ve had a good three years to improve since their last album. The rhythm guitar performances in particular are quite outstanding & I’m often left drawing comparisons with the likes of Coroner which should give you a hint at the level of proficiency on display. The vocals of Flemming Rønsdorf certainly fit into the higher register of thrash front men but they have genuine character & suit the music very well despite giving me the distinct impression that they would have fit even more comfortably over a US power metal band like Savatage. Flemming often sounds a little bit like Overkill’s Bobby Blitz at times too & I’ve always enjoyed Blitz. 

The thing that turns off most detractors of this record however is the fact that it’s a little less intense than Artillery’s previous work & I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that this prevents me from reaching for the higher scores. The drumming in particular sounds pretty light-weight & bouncy at times & leaves me craving a bit more Dave Lombardo in the approach. It certainly gives the complex riffs plenty of room to breath but it’s unlikely to get my head banging or my body thrashing. Another issue for me is the quality hole that resides right in the middle of the tracklisting. I’ve never found “Bombfood”, “Don’t Believe” or “Life In Bondage” to be terribly appealing songs & they do take the tarnish off what was a relatively strong start (with the exception of the God-awful Middle Eastern intro track “7:00 From Tashkent”). The Nazareth cover version “Razamanaz” has been a big topic for discussion over the years but I have to admit that it’s grown on me. It certainly stands out like a sore thumb in the tracklisting & there’s very little doubt that the record would have flowed better without it but it definitely has its charm despite being a simpler & more traditional heavy metal number. 

Overall, I find “By Inheritance” to be an interesting & enjoyable listen, if not one that I feel like returning to all that regularly. I think it serves as somewhat of a gateway into the thrash scene for fans of genres like progressive metal & melodic death metal as it possesses many of the attributes that fans of those subgenres look for in their metal. Unfortunately it’s unlikely that I’ll ever get to the point of holding the album up as a beacon for European thrash but I prefer it over an album like “Fear of Tomorrow” these days. 

For fans of: Overkill, Megadeth, Heathen

Brazilian thrashers Chakal hail from a region with a reasonably strong pedigree in raw, underground thrash metal with Belo Horizonte being the home of bands like Sepultura, Overdose, Sarcofago, Mutilator, Holocausto & Exterminator in the mid 80's. The band first formed in 1985 with their earliest recordings of any note appearing on the "Warfare Noise" compilation in 1986 alongside Mutilator, Holocausto & Sarcofago. Another year would pass before Chakal's debut album "Abominable anno domini" would be recorded & released; a record that I picked up on through one of my two South American tape trading colleagues based in Chile & Peru in the early 90's. The album didn't do a lot for me at the time from memory & I had very little recollection of what to expect when going into my first revisit in close to thirty years.

The formula that Chakal are pushing here will be a familiar one if you have any sort of experience with some of the other Brazilian bands I've mentioned above. The production is suitably raw with the mix changing noticeably between tracks. In fact, i found myself adjusting the volume knob a bit between tracks too which indicates that the album wasn't well mastered (if it was mastered at all). Unfortunately the rhythm guitars are situated a long way back in the mix which seems to be a very common thing with low budget mid-80's metal releases for some reason but the vocals & solos compensate by being much too loud & subsequently not really allowing the overall sound to gel all that well. The bass guitar is also much louder than the guitars on some tracks which isn't ideal.

The musicianship on display here is sub-standard at best with the drummer Wiz often struggling to stay in time. He's clearly been influenced by Kreator's Ventor on the evidence here as he goes for some very similar beats. There are times when the riffs the rhythm guitarists are playing don't really seem to fit with the beats either & they seem to be trying very hard to make something to work that's just never going to. There's a good amount of intensity & aggression about this riffage though without ever challenging the likes of Sarcofago in the extremity stakes & it goes at least part of the way to overcoming some fairly generic thrash riffs at times with Possessed, early Sepultura & particularly early Kreator being the most obvious points of reference. The best parts of "Abominable anno domini" though are when Chakal push out further into legitimate death metal territory with "Warriors Of Disgrace" & "The Dead Walk" being not only the clear highlights of the album but also some of the best extreme metal to come out of South America to the time. I absolutely love the way that the vocals are used to accentuate the changes in riff & rhythm. Unfortunately the guitar solos are absolutely appalling with Mark & Pepeu having no understanding of keys or any other sort of musical theory for that matter. It's a real shame when some of the better material here is tainted by such inept attempts at leadwork & Chakal would have been better off leaving the solos to better qualified bands.

But the real talking point here is front man Vladimir Korg whose vocals are particularly aggressive for a mainly thrash focused band. In fact I'd suggest that his delivery has a lot more in common with genuine death metal than it does with thrash. He kinda combines a raspy Coroner/Sadus approach with a more evil one that's very much in line with the material that Possessed & Death were putting out at the time. I actually really enjoy Vladimir's delivery & I think he's clearly the best thing about the album. He sounds even more effective on those death metal-driven highlight tracks too.

Unfortunately though, it's the inconsistent song-writing & inept instrumental performances that let Chakal down here despite a lot of enthusiasm. The highlight tracks may well be right up my alley but they're still marginally tainted by some horrible attempts at guitar solos in the middle of each song & the weaker tracks (see "Children Sacrifice") are really pretty terrible. There's simply not enough quality tracks to balance out the rubbish so despite Chakal not being the worst South American thrash band going round they don't manage to achieve an album that commands long-term appeal.

For fans of: Possessed & early Kreator/Sepultura.

The French black metal  masters return after 2005's monumental "Kenose" E.P. (one of my top three metal records ever) with another high quality release & the sheer scope of this album is pretty mind-blowing to be honest. In fact, it's this sort of record that makes Deathspell Omega the most intriguing band on the planet in my opinion. The intensity of the blasting drums is a real drawcard for me but this time I do find that the production job sees them sounding a little less precise & the dissonant riffs at times find it a struggle to overcome the sheer chaos going on around them. I absolutely love the growly vocals of Mikko Aspa though. They sit amongst the most grim & evil in the entire black metal game & are perfectly suited to the instrumentation around them.  

This is definitely a more avant-garde release than "Kenose" was & Deathspell Omega would take that style to additional levels in the future. Here I think it works well but in hindsight I don't think it was as fully realized as we'd see on a record like 2010's "Paracletus". There are a few sections that descend into complete chaos where I struggle to make sense of it all whilst some of the tempo changes can be quite sudden & jarring. I think these elements were intentional though & feel they're intended to frighten the listener out of any sort of comfort zone they may have found for themselves amidst the impenetrable darkness of Deathspell Omega's musical onslaught. I can't think of a band that compares on a number of levels & I'm particularly attracted to the intellectual aspect to their lyrics & image. I also love that they take some serious technical chops & use them in the most bizarre, unusual & frightening way rather than simply trying to show off.

Deathspell Omega possess the mind-bending dissonance of Gorguts, the dark menace of Mayhem & the avant-garde experimentation of Ved Buens Ende. It's really great that there are bands like this out there to keep me exploring modern underground metal. Particularly one that traverses the darkness so comprehensively when a lot of modern black metal is noticeably less intimidating than the classics of the 80's & 90's. Whilst the undeniable class of Deathspell Omega is beyond question, unfortunately I don't find myself placing "Fas – Ite, maledicti, in ignem aeternum" on the same sort of pedestal as its predecessor. There's little doubt that it's a consistently entertaining listen that keeps me on the edge of my seat for the entire runtime though & it won't disappoint fans of serious extreme metal. 

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.

It was hard to know what to expect when I revisited 1999’s third studio album from Birmingham funeral doom metal stalwarts Esoteric recently. I’ve had a wide array of experiences with this album in the past with my enjoyment levels varying greatly depending on my mood, my fatigue levels & the strengths & weaknesses of my listening device of choice. In fact, it’s not uncommon for me to find my first listen to be a hard slog as “Metamorphogenesis” can be particularly inaccessible at times & I usually find that it doesn’t open up until the second listen. It’s therefore very important to give it a few spins before making any sort of judgement & (despite my having checked the album out a few times before) my first run though on this particular revisit was still pretty tough going. This is largely contributed to by the incredibly dense production with the extensive layering of different elements seemingly melding into an impenetrable & relentless wall of nonsensical noise that requires you to have all of your faculties available to you in order to make sense of what’s going on. It certainly didn’t help that I was quite fatigued after work either as my brain simply wasn’t up to it but everything made a lot more sense on repeat listens. The use of headphones is also highly recommended as it seems to draw all of the disparate elements & layers closer together from my experience & once everything clicks you’ll see the record in a completely different light moving forwards.

“Metamorphogenesis” takes the form of three lengthy pieces ranging from 11 to 17 minutes in duration & adding up to a total of 44 minutes. This makes it a relatively short release for Esoteric when compared with their previous two records which were both double albums. But never fear! You won’t find any 3 minute pop songs amongst this lot with the tracks ranging from twelve to seventeen minutes in length & you shouldn’t expect to be humming along to many melodic hooks afterwards either. Interestingly, two of the three tracks begin with all guns blazing instead of employing the gradual slow build-up model that seems to be a standard with this sort of music. It can actually be pretty jarring if you’re not ready for it. Particularly with the first track as I always forget to prepare myself to experience a sudden barrage that includes multiple vocal & lead guitar tracks going right from the word go. But I guess you could say that Esoteric’s whole approach to music is confronting. Their unique style of funeral doom metal can be overwhelming & suffocating in its density with separation between the instruments having been sacrificed in favour of sheer weight & volume. The bass that forces its way out of your speakers is somewhat akin to that of drone metal in a way as Esoteric seem to employ the use of noise & speaker reverberation in a similar (but less obvious) fashion & the use of repetition is also used for a similar purpose. Despite the huge amount of different parts that are layered into each piece, these tracks are drawn out for days & I wonder about the influence of post rock on the band as there’s a definite similarity to the way they build towards a crescendo over a long period & with the listener not really noticing.

Unlike most purveyors of funeral doom, each of the three tracks included has its own unique personality but shares similar characteristics. The space & cosmic themes the band employs suit the instrumentation to a tee with loads of effects being utilized to take the listener out of their comfort zone. In fact, some sections seem to have been intentionally composed of completely disparate parts that make no real sense but ultimately contribute by putting you into a defined head space before the next section comes in to crush you with ridiculously heavy but equally beautiful instrumentation. The experience is noticeably psychedelic & the idea of a bad acid trip comes to mind on more than the odd occasion. But I don’t say that in a negative fashion. It’s simply that Esoteric sound like no one else on Earth on this album. Their use of dual vocals is both relentless & unintelligible but it’s used as more of an accompaniment to the overall soundscape than as a musical protagonist. The lead guitar work is also a constant with the melodies of bands like Katatonia & Anathema being the obvious reference only never in as twisted a fashion as you’ll be submitted to here with the various licks being drawn back into the wall of noise rather than sitting out front on their own.

Once it clicked with me, I found “Metamorphosis” to be an astounding album. It took me to realise that some of the things that initially caught me off guard were intentionally employed & that Esoteric wouldn’t have achieved such an otherworldly result without them for me to see the true genius in this music. It shares a lot in common with Australian doom/death legends diSEMBOWELMENT in its psychedelic qualities & thick & unique atmosphere &, while we’re on the topic of Aussie music, I also hear a lot of “Paradox”-era Cruciform in the riffs & structures with the band not being afraid of lifting the tempo on occasion too. Most doom metal is all about those riffs & Esoteric possess those in spades but they don’t feel the need to thrust them down your throat when there’s so much more to be said. Funeral doom metal can often be one-dimensional but “Metamorphogenesis” almost has too many dimensions for its own good at times. Esoteric can take you to uncharted parts of the universe with this music & I can’t recommend “Metamorphogenesis” enough.

For fans of: diSEMBOWELMENT, Mournful Congregation, Ahab

New York hardcore legends Agnostic Front hit the ground running with their first two releases (1983’s “United Blood” E.P. & 1984’s “Victim In Pain” album) building them quite a solid following amongst the strong New York underground scene. But opinions were divided on the merits of their 1986 sophomore album “Cause For Alarm” when the Front returned with a noticeably more metal-oriented outing that was clearly influenced by the likes of Slayer. Crossover thrash fans (like myself) embraced the album with open arms while the punk elitists out there scowled at the band’s impure approach to the city’s signature hardcore sound. Personally, I think “Cause For Alarm is a great record & is thoroughly underrated. But this brings us to 1987’s “Liberty & Justice For…” album, the second & final of Agnostic Front’s forays into the realms of crossover thrash.

Here we see the band somewhat hedging their bets because not only do we get a continuation of the vicious light-speed thrash assault that so impressed me on “Cause For Alarm” but in the latter stages of the album we see the band returning to some of the more obviously punk driven material of their early years. Given that I’m definitely much more of a metal fan than a hardcore one, there will be no surprises that I would have preferred a record that was totally dominated by a crossover thrash sound & it’s difficult for me to understand the numerous reviews I’ve read where fans state that the couple of straight up punk tunes are the clear highlights when those are the only numbers that I don’t find any appeal in. But in saying that, there’s definitely enough flat-chat speed metal riffage & pounding drums for my liking here only probably not quite as much as there was on its predecessor. 

The production is worth mentioning because it took some getting used to. There’s a definite lack of brightness & high-end here & it does take a little bit of the electricity out of the music if I’m honest. Thankfully the performances of the instrumentalists are tight as a motherfucker which is interesting given the major lineup changes the Front had undertaken since their last record. The entire rhythm section & one of the two guitarists were making their first appearances for the band here but you’d never know if from the evidence because they seem to have slotted straight in nicely. Vocalist Roger Miret gives another enthusiastic performance. In fact, I’d sometimes suggest that he’s guilty of OVER-enthusiasm at times because there are definitely moments where he sounds like he’s dry retching more than anything else which isn’t a particularly good look. But overall I think he suits the chaotic music pretty well. 

“Liberty & Justice For…” is another enjoyable Agnostic Front record. You won’t find anything terribly ground-breaking on offer but you can certainly expect a high energy crossover thrash workout plump with peak time velocities & some of those fantastically sudden track endings I generally associate with quality hardcore. The couple of straight up punk tracks do cause the album to fade a bit towards the end which sees it sitting a step down from “Cause For Alarm” but there are definitely enough positives for me to recommend the album.

For fans of : Cro-Mags, Ludichrist, Leeway.

This 1987 Earache Records release sits amongst the earliest examples of legitimate grindcore to receive a proper release as well as being one of the inaugural releases for Earache. Weeeellll… if I'm honest Unseen Terror's sound sits somewhere between grindcore & thrashcore as there's still a very strong thrash influence in a lot of the riff structures but the consistent use of blast beats is a clear differentiator from crossover thrash in my opinion. Unfortunately the band parted ways with their bass player just before the recording so what we have here is in fact a duo featuring Heresy/Sacrilege guitarist Mitch Dickinson on vocals, guitar & bass & Brujeria/Lock Up/Napalm Death/Meathook Seed bass player Shane Embury on drums. In fact, I believe that Embury started out as a drummer before picking up the bass when he joined Napalm Death shortly afterwards. 

The production job is a bit of a problem for me with fuzzy guitars & a drum kit that sounds noticeably artificial & lacking in depth whilst the performances aren't exactly mind-blowing either with neither band member managing to stay in perfect time consistently. There are riffs galore here & you can easily pick out the influence "Human Error" had on bands like Napalm Death, Terrorizer, Carcass & even Morbid Angel. The guitar solos were almost certainly the influence for those heard on Carcass' "Reek Of Putrefaction" album while you can hear a lot of the inspiration for Pete Sandoval's drumming with Morbid Angel & Terrorizer on occasions.

But influence doesn't always equate to high quality & that's the case here with the sloppy performances & ineffective sound production combining to dampen my enjoyment. Each song that shows promise seems to include at least one section that erases some of Unseen Terror's good work while Mitch's monotone hardcore punk inspired grunt does tend to grate on me at times & also leads to the tracklisting sounding pretty similar. 

Overall, "Human Error" isn't all that bad but it's just not anything that'll interest me for long. I enjoy the wealth of energetic blasting (despite it being overused) but the groovier punk riffs definitely lose some of the band's momentum which Unseen Terror unfortunately struggles to recover from given their lack of genuine musical talent. A couple of the short Garfield-related joke tracks don't help a lot either. I'd steer clear of "Human Error" if I were you & would recommend that you check out Unseen Terror's "The Peel Sessions" E.P. instead as it's infinitely stronger.

For fans of: Early Napalm Death, Heresy, Cryptic Slaughter, early Carcass & Terrorizer

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 back in 1983/84 is validated by 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 front man. 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.

I quite enjoyed the self-titled debut album from this German thrash metal outfit but the 1987 follow-up release "Apocalyptic Nightmare" doesn't seem to have the same edge. It sees Necronomicon taking a similar approach with very loose performances & a nice raw production however this time the overall energy the band creates fails to balance out their complete lack of structure or technique with the guitars proving to be particularly incompetent. I do love the Schmier style vocals which have that nasty snarl that seems to be so common in the Teutonic thrash scene but some added technicality in the arrangements fails dismally in the execution. The Destruction influence is even more obvious than it was previously with a fair whack of speed metal being evident in the composition of the riffs but while most tracks have enjoyable parts when the band stops mucking around & simply thrashes out, only a couple of the seven lengthy tracks manage to overcome Necronomicon's technical & theoretical failings. "Apocalyptic Nightmare" is not awful but there were much better examples of Teutonic thrash around at the time.

It's not often that a band will begin their careers with a full-length live album however that's exactly how Brazilian thrash metallers Vulcano kicked off their recording careers. Unfortunately 1985's "Live!" showcased a band that was still very much developing their sound & technique & I found it to be a pretty unappealing listen overall. Surprisingly though. 1986's debut studio album "Bloody Vengeance" represented a huge improvement with the band championing a much more brutal & extreme style that really appealed to the old school tape trader in me. So why then did I not remember what the follow-up album (1987's "Anthropophagy") was like until I revisited it this week & why has it taken close to three decades for me to come back to it? Well it didn't take me long to figure it out to be honest.

Vulcano had returned with a brand new line-up that saw band-leading bass player Zhema swapping his chosen instrument & replacing the entire twin guitar attack as the single axe man with a mostly new support crew. A bold move indeed & one that you would immediately guess would result in a changed sound. But this change in personnel wouldn't be the main contributing factor in Vulcano's latest effort sounding noticeably different to its older sibling.

So what was I looking for in a Vulcano record? Dark & evil atmosphere? Check! Fast blasting thrash riffs? Check! Death & black metal influence? Check! Raw & brutal vocal delivery? Check! Absolutely unlistenable production job that causes physical discomfort to listen to? Che..... Wait.. WHAT?? Yes that's right dear readers. "Anthropophagy" is one of those rare records whose production job is simply so bad that it comfortably evaporates any positive attributes that the music may have possessed (Think Suffocation's "Breeding The Spawn" only much much worse). And look... from what I can make out there are plenty of attractive qualities here that would likely have appealed to me if there was any sort of definition to the guitar riffs. I mean I love the vocal delivery for starters & the fast rhythms & their accompanying blast beats would likely have gotten me charging if I could make out what was going on through the muck. It's just that the rhythm guitars sound like a mess of white noise with little to no weight to them & this is exacerbated by their melting into some crashy cymbals to give "Anthropophagy" a horrible layer of high end noise that regularly instigates cringes in this particular metalhead. And that's saying something given my years of trading underground demo tapes. 

Interestingly, the only track that is able to overcome the production issues to become a worthy addition to your auditory library is the six & a half minute blackened stoner metal departure known as "Fallen Angels". This is mainly due to its much slower tempo & basic riff structures which see it being more memorable & noticeably more intelligible. I'd hazard to guess that if "Anthropophagy" was sporting a bumper studio production then this song would likely have stood out like a sore thumb as it definitely sounds a little out of place amongst the rest of the blasting thrashers but as it is it serves to provide some welcome respite from the barrage of meaningless guitar fuzz. It even showcases an obvious "Vol 4"-era Black Sabbath influence in a couple of the groovy stoner riffs on display.

So overall I find "Anthropophagy" to be a really annoying record. I can tell that there's a quality aggressive thrash metal album in there somewhere but it just seems to be sitting there taunting me as I sift aimlessly through the muck it's drenched in. I can only imagine that Vulcano must have been horrified upon hearing the result. At least I hope they were. 

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.

I was a big fan of the 1986 debut album from New York thrash metal outfit Nuclear Assault. It was far from perfect but somehow managed to overcome its flaws through pure conviction & energy so I wasn’t surprised to find that 1987’s follow-up E.P. “The Plague” drew a similarly enthusiastic response. It’s a six-track affair that’s entirely made up of original material & given that there are no weak tracks included the question has to be asked as to why the band didn’t simply write a few more tunes & release it as a full-length album. 

The music is once again delivered with plenty of life & energy which was somewhat of a trademark for Nuclear Assault at the time but the production & performances are definitely a little less raw & show a touch more refinement. That’s not to say that “The Plague” is overly polished. The guitar sound is very much in line with other second tier 80’s thrash releases & it fully deserves any street cred it’s picked up as a result as the riffs benefit from a noticeably more shredding tone than the under-distorted, punky sound of “Game Over”. It’s great to hear Danny Lilker’s bass guitar being so easily heard in the mix too as that’s not always the case with thrash metal. 

As with “Game Over”, Nuclear Assault display a variety of influences across the tracklisting but they sound a bit more sure of what they’re trying to achieve here despite the regular genre-hopping. There’s definitely a bit more of what I’d describe as traditional thrash metal on offer with a good half of these tracks sitting comfortably under that tag & (with the exception of the gimmicky joke track “Butt Fuck” which sounds very much like Suicidal Tendencies’ “Institutionalized”) there’s noticeably less hardcore included which can only be a positive thing for me personally as I’m much more of a thrasher than a punk. I can detect loads of fellow New York thrashers Anthrax on tracks like “Game Over”, “Nightmares” & “Justice” & I’d be surprised if there wasn’t a direct influence there given their close proximity & the history of cross-pollination with their lineups. There was a fair whack of speed metal on the debut & they haven’t completely forgotten that element of their sound either with closer “Cross Of Iron” sounding very much like some of the faster Venom material. The slower & more melodic title track sits the furthest from the thrash metal model however & it’s also the clear highlight of the E.P. with a super-catchy chorus hook & a well-executed atmosphere that builds progressively. In fact, it sounds a lot like one of those big WASP power ballad anthems to my ears & not in a bad way either. You should expect to feel the urge to raise your lighter in the air when this one hits your ear drums. 

There’s nothing particularly technical about Nuclear Assault’s approach. Instead they opt for a simple but effective delivery that relies heavily on the strong musical relationships of the various band members. They remind me of Overkill in that respect as on paper some of their riffs don’t seem like anything you haven’t heard a thousand times before but the way they’re delivered seems to give them an extra edge for a reason I can’t put my finger on. The guitar solos are a classic example of this as they’re not terribly proficient but they manage to hide their technical deficiencies through a mixture of enthusiasm, effects & electricity. John Connelly’s vocal performance is improved on his first up effort too which helps to lift the flatter song-writing to acceptable levels. 

Sadly “The Plague” E.P. is mainly known for the controversial joke track “Butt Fuck” which was written about Motley Crue front man Vince Neil having gotten away with murder after killing former Hanoi Rocks drummer Razzle in a car accident while he was cripplingly drunk. This is a real pity as it’s not one of the better tracks included & also stands out in the tracklisting as it’s not reflective of the release as a whole. The opening instrumental track “Game Over” is a great way to kick off proceedings however & remains one of my personal favourites with its authoritative thrash riffage. 

“The Plague” is another strong release from Nuclear Assault. It doesn’t offer as many highlights as “Game Over” did which sees me slightly preferring the debut but there’s not all that much in it & I recommend that all thrashers should check it out. 

1993 was a really interesting year for death metal. The subgenre had peaked a couple of years earlier & was now going from strength to strength as far as popularity & commercial acceptance went but people were starting to question the longevity of the movement given the limited sonic tool kit with which the artists had to work with & this led to various different approaches being employed by the protagonists of the subgenre. On the one hand you had those that elected to simply refine the existing model without taking too many risks. Morbid Angel, Brutality & Dismember all fell into this camp with their 1993 releases. And then we had those that realized that death metal couldn’t be sustained long-term without continuing to challenge the status quo with bands like Death, Atheist & Carcass all pushing the limitations of the subgenre to new extremes. 

The first two albums from Swedish death metal gods Entombed had been primarily responsible for the formation of the then thriving Swedish death metal scene. 1990’s “Left Hand Path” had wet my palette with a new & grimier sound based around their now legendary signature Boss HM-2 pedal driven guitar crunch but it was 1991’s “Clandestine” album that really saw me becoming a crazed fan. It was a much more complex & sophisticated outing that saw the band extending themselves as not only musicians but also as genuine artists. But if 1993’s follow-up “Wolverine Blues” is anything to go by then it’s safe to assume that Entombed had pushed the traditional death metal sound as far they thought it could go. 

I can still remember my feelings upon giving “Wolverine Blues” my first spin after rushing out to pick it up immediately on release. Confusion would be a very good word for it really. I was genuinely confused by what I was hearing. It wasn’t that what I was hearing was all that “bad”. It was that it wasn’t what I was expecting at all. Carcass would take me to a similar place with their “Heartwork” album only a few weeks later but I think “Wolverine Blues” was a little more alienating for me initially as I wasn’t even sure that this was a death metal record at all. I definitely got the feeling that it might be a grower but I wasn’t all that sure that I wanted to invest the time required to see to be honest. I was a complete death metal nut at the time & the scene was absolutely chock full of great death metal in the mid 90’s. So why would I bother to see if I could push through the initial barricades that were preventing me from gaining full enjoyment with this record? It was because “Wolverine Blues” sounded like nothing I’d ever heard before & I got the distinct sense that I might be hearing something that would set the tone for the future of metal. I wasn’t sure I was onboard with it mind you but I wanted to see where it would go. 

Now if you’re already familiar with Entombed’s earlier work then don’t expect to find “Wolverine Blues” to be completely foreign to your ears. The band’s signature elements are all still there & you’ll immediately know who you’re listening to. It’s just that those elements have been used in a different way & it’s resulted in a more fresh & noticeably accessible take on the death metal model. For example, the rhythm guitar sound is not as dominant in the mix here with the rhythm section take on a more authoritative position. Particularly the bass guitar of Lars Rosenberg which is positively huge. This gives the production job a real punch during those heavy-hitting moments where the band comes together in unison. 

The overall tempo of this material is obviously more mid-paced than Entombed’s previous works & the song-writing utilizes more traditional verse-chorus-verse song structures than the anything-goes type arrangement that death metal bands had generally employed in the early 90’s. These two elements immediately give “Wolverine Blues” a more accessible feel but there were actual hooks here too. In fact, it’s difficult to think of a more “catchy” death metal record & that was a little hard to stomach for some fans (me included). The vocal delivery of LG Petrov could no longer be described as a growl or a grunt either. It was much more of a bark & had a lot more to do with hardcore punk than it did with death metal but this didn’t give it any less aggression to be honest. It was just…. different.  

Instrumentally, there’d been a subtle change in the style of the riffs on “Wolverine Blues” with many of them possessing a groove that I’d associate more with stoner metal. Black Sabbath’s “Vol 4” album regularly springs to mind actually. Particularly during the doomier sections. The guitar solos also have a noticeably more bluesy feel to them that seems to have been drawn from 70’s hard rock while the drumming employed during these solos definitely seems to be trying to accentuate that by opting for beats that sit a lot more comfortably in the rock camp than the metal one. In fact, it seems like the band were using these solos as a sort of crescendo on many of these songs as the atmosphere lightens up, the tempo becomes more up-beat & you can imagine the audience all starting to rock out a little more. I can’t say that this concept appeals to me all that much but it was certainly very different.  

Nicke Andersson’s drumming had been the highlight of the “Clandestine” album. He was always the creative genius behind Entombed & one gets the feeling that he was the mastermind behind the change of direction with “Wolverine Blues” too as his drumming is the catalyst for the change in atmosphere it pervades. His hard-hitting style is still in full effect but there’s a much rockier feel to a lot of this material & that’s the main element that detractors find isolating. I certainly fell into that camp initially but time saw me becoming more comfortable with it after I’d accepted that Entombed were now a very different beast. 

Look I’m not going to sit here & tell you that I like Entombed Mk II as much as Entombed Mk I. Well at least not as much as I do “Clandestine”. I would have much preferred a more standard death metal offering at the time & would suggest that this is probably still the case. But I’d be lying if I claimed that the charm of “Wolverine Blues” didn't open up to me over time. If you allow the hooks to dig their teeth in then they very likely will & there are no weak tracks here. The attention to detail that marks an elite member of any subgenre is still well & truly in effect here & Entombed always had a rare talent for writing transitions that see all of the band members coming together with an inimitable crunch. This is indeed still some hard-hitting metal music. I’m just not sure that it’s death metal so I’ve never been comfortable with that tag. But if not death metal… then what? I’m not too sure but the death ‘n’ roll label would seem to be about as good as any in the grand scheme of things & I’m yet to hear any example of that sound that matches this initial foray in the two & a half decades since so I recommend that you ignore the negativity of the death metal purists out there & go into “Wolverine Blues” with an open mind. You may just find that you like what you hear. In fact, I slightly prefer it over “Left Hand Path” these days if I’m completely honest.

As we entered the late 80's, the now dominant thrash metal scene had not only begun to spawn a new breed of young artists but it had also seen a noticeable increase in the quantity of inessential E.P. releases with most representing nothing more than a cash-grab in the overall scheme of things. Many of these releases chose the easy option of including live material too & given that extreme metal was still a relatively young beast with its producers & engineers still working out the best way to record it, these were not always presented with the highest quality of sound. Overkill's "!!!Fuck You!!!" E.P. is a prime example of this & here we see another in Testament's "Live At Eindhoven" E.P. 

Testament's debut studio album "The Legacy" had made some fairly major waves in the metal underground when it was released in April 1987. It possessed a class &  enthusiasm that separated it from the bulk of new thrash records being released at the time & it worked to build Testament's reputation as the potential heir to Metallica's throne very quickly. In the buzz leading up to its release, Megaforce Records wasted no time whatsoever in booking the band on a European tour with Anthrax; a tour highlighted by a triumphant show at the Dynamo Festival in the Netherlands on the  8th June 1987. Reportedly this show went down so well that Megaforce elected to rush out a recording of the show in order to capitalize on the band's newly found street cred. 

The "Live At Eindhoven" E.P. included just the five songs; four of which can be found on "The Legacy" with the closer "Reign Of Terror" being lifted from the band's first demo tape from 1985. There's a definite energy to the performance with the band clearly very excited about the future & giving the show everything they had. Vocalist Chuck Billy's voice sounds very powerful throughout & he proves himself to have an enormous presence for such a young chap; taking his voice to more guttural levels than he had on the album. Lead guitarist Alex Skolnick shows that his tutelage under Joe Satriani had been well received as he doesn't miss a beat in showcasing a style that beautifully balances technique with an uncanny sense of melody. But the thing that maintains the listener's interest throughout the listening experience is certainly the quality of the song-writing & it's easy to see why the Dynamo crowd would have been converted into rabid Testament fans through this experience. 

But sadly there's a catch. Given all of the positives listed above, "Live At Eindhoven" had the potential to be a genuinely great release but falls well short due to an obvious shortcoming. There's no question that a live release was incredibly premature given that the Testament had only released the single studio album but the maturity of the band's songwriting & the clear musical talents of the musicians would have been enough to overcome any public concerns in this area. Unfortunately the roadblock would appear in the production as "Live At Eindhoven" sounds genuinely awful most of the time. There's some variation from track to track in this regard but I don't think I ever find myself able to completely commit despite my clear nostalgia towards a group of songs that were such a big part of my childhood. Don't get me wrong, most of the tracks are still quite enjoyable if you're a fan of "The Legacy" but none reach their potential with "Do Or Die" in particular falling into a murky hole. The classic "Apocalyptic City" comes the closest to overcoming its sonic limitations but the faster cuts see the dual guitar attack washed out in a blur of overpowering bass. Chuck's voice struggles to find its niche early on but soon towers over the band while Skolnick's leads cut through the murky riffage very comfortably but it's the riffs that suffer most here which is a real shame given that they're such a drawcard for any thrash metal outfit. 

So overall it's a little hard to recommend "Live At Eindhoven" despite my having scored it reasonably well. I can't deny my enjoyment of the song-writing & performances but the appeal of this record is definitely limited by its production flaws & it's hard to see the relevance of the release given the timing in the band's career. Testament fans will undoubtedly find it interesting but I wouldn't suggest it as a starting point for newcomers. Stick to the studio albums if you fall into that category.

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. I do enjoy the substantially more accomplished level of musicianship on display here. Particularly the guitar solos which 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 production does sound a touch empty at times but I'd be lying if I didn't say that I prefer a more polished sound than we'd heard from the band previously.

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 & there are a few of those effeminate squeals that have tainted previous Destruction releases.  In fact, Schmier doesn't sound anywhere near as aggressive & unhinged as he did on a record like "Sentence Of Death". There's definitely enough musical quality here to make this a really enjoyable release for fans of Teutonic thrash though & it may be a controversial opinion but I rate it more highly than any of Destruction's previous material.

By 1983, the Swedish heavy metal scene was starting to become a bit player in the global market. It had taken a lot longer than most of us probably realise to get going but we now had bands like Heavy Load, 220 Volt, Torch & Europe all vying for the public’s attention through a traditional sound that drew heavily from the English for influence. Linköping five-piece Axewitch were one of the lesser known bands popping out of the woodwork at the time but their debut album “The Lord Of Flies” is certainly not far off the pace set by those other bands I mentioned.  

To say that Axewitch pushed a meat-&-potatoes style of heavy metal is an understatement as there is absolutely nothing here that you won’t have heard before. Whether it’s the obvious Van Halen plagiarism on instrumental guitar solo track “Let The Strings Cry Out” or the just as obvious homage paid to the keyboard intro from Ozzy Osbourne’s “Mr. Crowley” on two minute interlude “The Arrival Of The Flies (Part 1)”,  you’ll always find yourself casting your mind back to a familiar track or band of some sort. But that’s not necessarily such a bad thing in my opinion. I’ve always been able to look past a generic sound when it came to my metal as long as the production, performances & song-writing have stood up to my scrutiny. So the question is, do they in this instance? 

Well the production is reasonably good for the time & certainly doesn’t impede your listening experience & the instrumental performances are also on the money without ever becoming highlights. In fact, I’d suggest that instrumentally Axewitch were a pretty decent heavy metal outfit & the signs were very good that I’d be enjoying “The Lord Of Flies” early on with the first four tracks all offering a fair bit of appeal to me. But there are a couple of issues that become apparent the further you get into the album & they’re mainly related to vocalist Wallen.  

Wallen is by no means a terrible singer but for a generic heavy metal band to be successful they need to have a genuinely charismatic front man & he doesn’t really cut the mustard in that respect. His mid-range delivery simply isn’t powerful enough to engage the listener on the level required to break out of the underground as he struggles to hit the big notes at times. He’d make a decent cover band front man for the local pub scene but he certainly can’t compete with the Dio’s & Halford’s by any stretch of the imagination. Also, some of the later tracks show the song-writing to be half-baked & I’d suggest that Axewitch probably weren’t quite ready to venture into the studio just yet. Just listen to the vocal phrasing & melody on songs like the terribly commercial “Down Town” or the subpar closer “Seven Angels”. It seems like Wallen is almost improvising his vocals at times & it doesn’t really work as far as I’m concerned. This leads to me finding these tracks fairly tough going despite some decent instrumentation. 

 “The Lord Of Flies” is by no means a disaster though. In fact, highlight tracks like “Just Another Lunatic” & the title track really hit the spot for me but it’s hard to see the replay value in an album that simply emulates the big boys of the heavy metal world whilst rarely equals them in terms of quality. The influence of English bands like Judas Priest, Saxon & Iron Maiden are the most recognisable & fans of those bands will certainly find some enjoyment in Axewitch’s workman-like brand of hard rockin’ heavy metal but I doubt “The Lord Of Flies” will be hitting too many best of lists.

During the latter part of 1980, Motorhead had hit a career high point & were enjoying the strongest critical & commercial success of their career to date. So you can imagine that the band & their management would have viewed any sort of hold-up in their touring & recording schedules as disastrous. But unfortunately for the band that’s exactly what they were about to experience. Motorhead drummer Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor had managed to seriously injure his neck while mucking around during drunken shenanigans & apparently it’s a little hard to drum in Motorhead with a busted neck. Phil had been taking part in a game of “who can lift the other person up the highest” with a large Irishman which resulted in Phil being dropped on his head from quite a height. An extremely unlucky & freak occurrence for such a game, don’t you think? But however it may have occurred, it certainly brought Motorhead’s meteoric rise to a grinding hault. Thankfully for the band though, Motorhead’s label mates Girlschool were in the recording studio at the time & their producer Vic Maile had the ingenius idea to invite Lemmy & Eddie into the studio to record a single with Girlschool so as to ensure that the Motorhead juggernaut wasn’t completely derailed while Phil recovered.

The result was the “St. Valentines Day Massacre” EP which was released in February 1981 with the band’s names listed as “Motor Headgirl School” on the front cover. The artwork features the two bands dressed as prohibition era gangsters & their molls while the musical concept was equally as interesting. The two bands would combine for a cover version of Johnny Kidd & the Pirates “Please Don’t Touch” & then each band would cover one of the other band’s songs which resulted in Motorhead covering Girlschool’s “Emergency” & Girlschool covering Motorhead’s “Bomber”. Girlschool drummer Denise Dufort took on the drumming duties on all three songs.

For those that aren’t already aware, Girlschool were a fairly prominent all-female NWOBHM act that put out some fairly decent records through the early 80’s. I’d recommend you check out their 1980 debut album “Demolition” if you enjoy straight down the line hard rock with a bit of danger about it but don’t expect to hear too much legitimate metal. Their sound is much more along the lines of your grimy Motorhead-inspired hard rock. In fact, Lemmy & the boys were clearly their primary influence in my opinion. It’s interesting to note that Lemmy had a brief affair with guitarist Kelly Johnson & has been quoted as saying that he’s always had strong feelings for her even decades later. He certainly respected her as a musician & was a strong supporter of the band throughout their career.

All three of the songs here are worth a listen. “Please Don’t Touch” has a strong 50’s rock ‘n’ roll vibe going on while “Emergency” is more of a straight-up hard rock number. I prefer the original version of “Emergency” which is my favourite Girlschool song overall. “Bomber” is probably the track that offers the most appeal for me personally as it’s the heaviest of the three & I think the girls make a good fist of a genuinely classic song.

The E.P. is generally regarded very highly with some people claiming it to be a NWBHM classic. Personally, I quite like it but think that those sort of sentiments are fairly extreme. “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre” should be enjoyed for what it is i.e. a novelty release intended to tide fans over until Motorhead could recover from Phil’s injury. It certainly doesn’t compare with Motorhead’s previous three albums but is a fun listen nonetheless.

Pagan black metal, eh? A subgenre that has always seemed to me to be quite loosely defined & hardly warranting of differentiation if I’m completely honest. But if ever there was a record that typified exactly why someone thought it necessary to create a unique identifier then the debut studio album from Germany’s Nagelfar (entitled “Hünengrab im Herbst”) may just be it. Unlike most folk metal releases, this record is without question a black metal album at its core. But there’s also enough folk metal here to mean that fans of the darker & more evil brand of black metal may be put off a bit too. In fact, I almost fell into that category myself... but not quite. 

Nagelfar was based around founding members Tobias & Alexander Frohn (guitar & drums respectively) with various musicians rotating around them over their short career. Some of you may already be familiar with Alexander through his solo project The Ruins Of Beverast where he records under the pseudonym of Alexander von Meilenwald. The duo recruited an additional two band members in 1995 before recording two demos & signing a recording contract with Kettenhund Records for their debut full-length which was released in December 1997. 

The production we get on “Hünengrab im Herbst” is very surprising for a Pagan black metal release & even more so when you consider that this is a debut. The crystal clarity of the recording is one of the highlights of the album & could possibly have lured me into enjoying the experience a little more than I ever had any right to. The mix is driven by a super-powerful drum sound. Particularly the kick drum during the machine gun double kick sections & the snare during the blast beats. The bass guitar sits way back in the mix & contributes on more of a subliminal level but the guitar riffs are bright & in your face throughout. It all makes for a controlled sonic avalanche that jumps out of the speakers at you regardless of your taste & I found it to be pretty refreshing for a subgenre that prides itself on its exclusive use of intentionally lo-fi recording processes. It’s great to see that black metal doesn’t have to be only semi-intelligible to make an impact & deliver an atmosphere. 

The performances are also high quality. Particularly the rock solid & metronomical drumming display from Alexander who plays a major role in keeping the record engaging. I also really enjoy the tortured black metal shrieks from vocalist Jander. When he goes all out Nagelfar’s sound is at its most dark & exciting in my opinion. Unfortunately I can’t say the same for his clean vocals which are very hit & miss. More miss than hit in fact. He alternates between a deep chant & a mournful goth rock delivery that reminds me of parts of Anathema’s early works but I can’t say that either approach really sit all that comfortably with me. It probably doesn’t help that these inclusions usually coincide with the folkier sections of the record because folk metal & I have never been terribly fond of each other.  

In fact, Nagelfar offer far more compositional experimentation than your average kvlt black metal outfit with the regular use of keyboards, piano & several folk-oriented instruments offering something different to break up the blasting black metal. The only problem with that is my taste really. I happen to LOVE blasting black metal. And I also happen to HATE cheesy folk metal. So what tends to happen is that I find myself digging the shit out of the start of each track only to find my adoration gradually eaten away by several frustrating & generally off-putting folky sections & this ends up tarnishing what had the potential to be a bloody good listen. I mean I love the really intense parts despite the fact that some of the guitar riffs can be a touch more melodic than I’d usually go for. The word epic pops into my mind quite regularly with some parts reminding me of the sweeping & uplifting blast sections that Deafheaven have gone on to make their name off in more recent times & others drawing on the classic Bathory Viking metal sound to good effect which can’t be a bad thing either. 

But overall I find myself feeling a touch empty after listening to “Hünengrab im Herbst”. It’s certainly a professional example of the black metal sound but I can’t help but have those what-if moments when I hear genuinely amazing material like the first five minutes of the closing epic “Der Flug des Raben (Ein Jammerschrei in traurig' Nächten)” only to find my hopes & dreams somewhat dashed during a middle section which brings several cringes to my face. The cheese factor isn’t enough to completely nullify the strong parts but this could have been a much higher scoring record for me if there was a stronger focus on the true black metal ethos.

This was my introduction to Coroner way back in 1988/89. I bought the album on cassette & listened to it quite regularly. It was certainly a much classier effort than their debut album "R.I.P." from the previous year but I still found myself struggling a little with Tommy's occasional neo-classical indulgences. Instrumental "Arc-Lite" with its Malmsteen-esque arpeggios was a particularly awkward listen for me as the neo-classical element seems to take away from the darkness of the atmosphere & at times it all seems a little cheesy. The rest of the album is generally quite enjoyable though with "Absorbed", "Sudden Fall" & "The New Breed" being the pick of the bunch. It's definitely a solid release but 80's Coroner never really appealed to me like 90's Coroner did.

I think it’s fair to say that the Polish weren’t exactly a major contributor to the burgeoning global metal scene during the 1970’s & early 1980’s. But 1982 would see the roots of the local movement starting to sprout through a series of 7” singles from TSA who were the first Polish band to try their hand at a heavier form of hard rock. The following year would represent the true starting point for the local scene however following the release of the debut studio albums from both TSA & a five-piece outfit from Poznan known as Turbo. TSA would also put out an additional live album the same year & the two bands would go on to form the basis of the Polish heavy metal scene for decades to come along with over the top Katowice outfit KAT. 

As was the case with the early TSA releases, I think it’s fair to say that Turbo’s debut album “Dorosłe dzieci” can’t exactly be classed as heavy metal in the true sense of the term. There’s a lot more 70’s hard rock on offer than there is genuine metal despite the extensive use of double kick & the occasional power chord here & there. I’d suggest that the band were drawing quite strongly from bands like Scorpions & Deep Purple for inspiration more than they were the likes of Black Sabbath but the NWOBHM has certainly played a part in the development of their sound. Turbo pay clear homage to the early works of Iron Maiden at times. Particularly through the continuous use of guitar harmonies which is a major element in the make-up of their sound. Bruce Dickinson-period Samson also springs to mind on occasion. 

The three ballads are where the Scorpions influence is the most obvious as Turbo show themselves to be very proficient at creating a gentler form of hard rock without surrendering to the cheese gods. In fact, the band are clearly very accomplished musicians & I don’t find this all that surprising. All of the Polish heavy metal releases I’ve heard over the years tend to share the same attribute & (as is the case here) they’re all beautifully produced too. I put that down to the fact that it’s much harder for non-English speaking bands to break out of their local scenes so the ones that do generally tend to be a cut above the rest.  

Wojciech Anioła’s drumming Is noticeably more exciting than your average early 80’s hard rock drummer was likely to attempt at the time & this is another factor in people often labelling “Dorosłe dzieci” as a metal release while the basslines of Piotr Przybylski have clearly been influenced by Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris. The guitar harmonies & lead solos are the clear highlight of the album however as they’re beautifully composed & executed. Unfortunately I think the vocals of Grzegorz Kupczyk drop the ball a bit on occasion & they definitely represent the weaker element in Turbo’s makeup. Grzegorz often utilizes a spasmatic delivery style that doesn’t quite cut it against the classic metal front men of the time but he certainly seems better suited to the ballads where he can get in touch with his emotional side. He’s definitely no Klaus Meine though. I think the vocal hooks could have done with a bit more work on some songs too which is ultimately what leaves a few tracks sounding flat. In total I’d suggest that I enjoy roughly two thirds of the track listing but there’s nothing truly horrible included.

The strength of Turbo is in the skills of the instrumentalists however & this highlighted in no uncertain terms during the sole instrumental piece “W sobie” which is the clear album highlight. It features the stunning use of melody matched with impeccably executed guitar harmonies & I find it dominating my thoughts for days afterwards. The closing title track is also one of the stronger moments & represents the best of Turbo’s softer side.  

Overall, I find “Dorosłe dzieci” to be an enjoyable & rewarding listen that’s not too dissimilar to TSA’s early works in terms of quality. If pushed, I’d suggest that I slightly favour Turbo’s debut over the two TSA albums from 1983 but that’s mainly on the strength of “W sobie” which really does stand out as a huge achievement for the band. Fans of heavy rock should find some enjoyment here as long as you can look past the Polish language lyrics. Turbo were already a class act & it’s not surprising that they’d go on to bigger & better things in the near future.

The third album from Newcastle’s black metal pioneers Venom (1984's “At War With Satan”) hadn’t exactly set the world on fire. Venom had played an almost unparalleled role in the creation of extreme metal with their first two records; 1981’s “Welcome To Hell” & “1982’s “Black Metal”. But a change of direction towards a more slightly cleaner & substantially more progressive approach hadn’t pleased their many fans & critics so the pressure was on for them to release something that was more in line with the public’s expectations. Personally, I very much enjoyed “At War With Satan”. In fact, I regard it as my favourite Venom album to that time so I can’t say that I would have agreed with the common consensus that the band should return to their roots but I guess I lost out in that argument because, on the evidence of 1985’s “Possessed” album, the band were listening to the market & delivered a product that they believed would alleviate the concerns of those disgruntled fans. 

The cover artwork features a photograph of two young children sporting Venom singlets but it looks like they’ve just taken the negative of the photo which creates an eery & quite demonic looking result. The boy shown here is actually drummer Abaddon’s son while the girl is producer Keith Nichol’s niece & I think the image has the desired effect as it nicely ties in with the album title & the band’s evil image but doesn’t look too flashy. The record would again be released through Neat Records who front man Cronos had a strong affiliation with after working there for many years, & producer Nichols had been responsible for producing all of the Venom albums to date so it would have been a comfortable recording environment for the band.

But the result of the efforts would seem to be a strange outcome really. From the very first second of the opening track it becomes plainly obvious that Venom have returned to the dirtier, grimier sound of their first two outings, only this time they’d pushed the threshold a fair bit further as the production on “Possessed” could only be described as atrocious. The rhythm section is far too loud in the mix (particularly the drums) with Cronos seemingly struggling to find room for his vocals & Mantas’ fuzzy rhythm guitars being completely lost in the mix although his solos are often afforded far too much volume & come across as completely overpowering at times, despite the fact that there are no rhythm guitar tracks underneath them. All of this leaves a good portion of the tracklisting sounding like a complete mess with the unbalanced mix ensuring that Venom’s already fairly loose performances would struggle to obtain anything close to cohesion. But I don’t think that any of this was just bad luck mind you. I’d be very surprised if the band & their management hadn’t decided to employ as dirty a sound as possible in order to try to recoup some of their lost street cred following the failure of “At War With Satan” to fully capture acceptance from the underground metal market. 

As with the production, the song-writing has returned to the shorter, simpler style of the band’s early material with 13 songs being included on the tracklisting. Fans would have felt that the combination of Motorhead styles rock ‘n’ rollers, up-tempo speed metal bangers & more traditional heavy metal numbers felt quite familiar as it was nothing new for Venom. Drummer Abaddon still can’t play his instrument with his excessive volume in the mix helping to further highlight his obvious technical deficiencies. Particularly in the double kick work. It’s pretty surprising that he hasn’t improved more over the four years since “Welcome To Hell” but perhaps that’s been contributed to by the minimal amount of live shows the band had taken part in by this point in time. I’m not sure it really matters though as these inadequacies are half the fun of a Venom record. But in saying that, the improvement in Mantas’ lead work is quite striking. His solos are now much more accomplished & he doesn’t shy away from showcasing his newly found chops. Unfortunately for him, I do think that his more refined & melodic approach does clash with Venom’s overall image a bit. Cronos on the other hand, is his usual charismatic self & his overall contribution is high quality. Particularly his powerful bass playing which sees him portraying a new level of confidence in his instrument that’s only enhanced by his excessive presence in the mix.  Unfortunately his vocal performance is substantially nullified by the very same production flaw & this leaves Venom’s main attraction sounding noticeably muted. 

“Possessed” would receive mixed reactions from fans & critics with even the many die-hard fans of Venom’s earlier works struggling to get onboard with the new material. The common consensus online seems to be that the band had lost their mojo as far as the song-writing goes but I disagree with this theory. I honestly don’t think the quality of the song-writing is anything majorly different to what we’ve heard from Venom before. It’s just that it’s not presented in an appropriate fashion with the hooks being lost in an inadequate lo-fi production job which highlights Venom’s weaknesses over their strengths. I mean a lot of this material was actually written before “At War With Satan” ever hit the shelves so you shouldn’t expect any major overhaul of their traditional style here.  

Sadly, the failure of “Possessed” to make the commercial impact that the band had hoped would signal the end of Venom’s classic period & also erased any chance of them going on to be held in as high a regard as the thrash heavy weights they’d influenced. This was the critical moment for Venom’s careers & they blew it. It would appear that Mantas could see that because he left the band to pursue a solo career shortly afterwards but not before Venom could record one more studio album in the as-yet-unreleased “Deadline” record. Mantas would return to the fold a few years later but it’s well documented that he was unimpressed with the result of the “Possessed” record.

I was a reasonably big fan of the 1983 debut album “See You In Hell” from Worcestershire-based four-piece heavy metal outfit Grim Reaper. It was unfortunate that it came so late in the NWOBHM game really because the band had enormous potential. “See You In Hell” even reached number 73 on the US charts & went on to sell over a quarter of a million copies. But would Grim Reaper be able to capitalize on that early promise with their 1985 sophomore effort? Let’s find out, shall we?  

The “Fear No Evil” album was once again recorded at the Ebony Records recording studio in Hull with label founder Darryl Johnston handling the production duties. Ebony was a fairly underground label & had cut its teeth through the release of albums such Savage’s “Loose ‘n Lethal” & Chateaux’s first couple of records. It was a very small operation so it’s no surprise that Johnston had also produced “See You In Hell” & “Loose ‘n Lethal” himself. But the releases I just mentioned all had a fairly raw & brutal NWOBHM production with a big rhythm guitar sound that offered a fair bit of appeal for an old metalhead like myself. “Fear No Evil” sees Johnston veering away from that a little with a more professional production that places more emphasis on the vocals whilst still maintaining that gritty edge that the New Wave had built its reputation on.  

Unlike the striking image that adorned the debut, the “Fear No Evil” cover artwork is nothing to write home about as it portrays an awkward image of the grim reaper himself, riding a motorcycle through a plate glass window that’s presumably located in a church somewhere. It’s far more childish than it is intimidating.

Musically though, this is a very similar record to “See You In Hell” as it relies heavily on the same formula of simple, chuggy, mid-paced power-chord riffs & over-the-top falsetto-style vocals. It’s almost as if the band have intentionally limited themselves to a meticulously defined musical palate & in the process have sacrificed their artistic license for the sake of accessibility. This is about as meat-&-potatoes as heavy metal gets with straight-forward verse/chorus style song structures, simple bare-bones riff composition & a repetitive approach to the vocal hooks. Steve Grimmett’s vocal delivery is about as powerful as any you will find & I get the impression that Darryl Johnston knew full well thathe was only the only thing Grim Reaper had going for them because they really do milk him for all he’s worth here with the simply yet catchy choruses being repeated over & over again. Grimmett’s up to the task most of the time too although there are certainly moments when he can be overpowering & monotonous given that he’s often tasked with adding interest to an otherwise fairly generic musical landscape. And does he really have to sing the song title at the start of every song? Lyrically we see Grimmett swapping between darker occult themes & a Judas Priest party-time direction which isn’t half as interesting but seems to fit the band’s sound a little better as they’re not the most imposing of metal bands. I would love to hear what Grimmett could have done over a more professional backing track though. 

Despite the fact that “Fear No Evil” is a slightly tighter & more polished record than “See You In Hell” was, the rest of the band still have limited technical skills to be brutally honest. Original drummer Lee Harris had recently been replaced with new boy Mark Simon but this hadn’t made a huge difference to the end result given that Simon was only marginally more talented. It would seem that guitarist Nick Bowcott had only just discovered Eddie Van Halen’s two-handed tapping technique because he goes to town on it on almost every solo here. Unfortunately for Nick, he’s just not a very good guitarist so it all sounds fairly tedious to my ears. But Grim Reaper seemed to know their strengths & that was in making a fairly derivative brand of heavy metal that all sounds relatively similar. They were very much the one-trick pony & it’s hard to argue against claims that a lot of this material was built around ideas that had been rehashed from the debut. Even if that wasn’t the case, you’re destined to feel that you’ve heard most of these riffs many times before. They’re just not that distinctive & Grim Reaper rely far too heavily on Grimmett to pull them out of the fire. Thankfully he’s up to it for the most part with a couple of noteable exceptions. Particularly the corny Twisted Sister-style hard rock number “Rock ‘n’ Roll Tonight” which is as generic as they come & features a blatant rip-off of the opening riff to Iron Maiden’s “2 Minutes To Midnight” at the start. The tacky horror movie intro to closing number “Final Scream” isn’t much better although it would strangely be ripped off by US death metallers Dying Fetus on their “Grotesque Impalement” EP fifteen years later.  

Overall, “Fear No Evil” is an obvious step down from the debut as far as song-writing goes but it’s far from a disaster. It’s certainly a flawed piece of work but Grimmett’s talent & charisma is enough to keep me interested for the majority of the album. I’ve become a pretty big fan of his these days with his more unpolished work on “See You In Hell” & Chateaux’s “Chained & Desperate” albums having dug its teeth into me quite deeply. But there can be very little doubt that “Fear No Evil” suffers from not having differentiated itself enough from “See You In Hell”. It’s essentially a poor man’s version of that album so the band’s early fan base grew tired of it quite quickly & this was only exacerbated by the wealth of more exciting extreme metal that had exploded onto the scene in the time between records. Grim Reaper really couldn’t afford to come up with an inferior product if they were going to go with a package that sounds so familiar. But when taken on its own merits, “Fear No Evil” is certainly an enjoyable listen that should appeal to fans of Judas Priest, Dio & Twisted Sister. It’s just an inessential one if you’ve already got a copy of “See You In Hell” which does the same thing only slightly better. 

Up until 1984, South Yorkshire-based NWOBHM legends Saxon had released six full-length studio albums in as many years so fans would have felt pretty confident that they weren’t gonna go all Def Leppard on us & take five years mucking around in the studio before their seventh studio album would see the light of day. But having said that, the Def Leppard comparison would actually prove to be fairly apt in some ways. Possibly not the ones we're referring to here however. 

Saxon & their management had made very little effort to hide the fact that they were aiming their last couple of records directly at the US market with 1983’s “Power & The Glory” & 1984’s “Crusader” both showcasing an increasingly strong focus on radio-friendly radio anthems. I felt that the former achieved this very well & it’s still my favourite Saxon album to this point in the game while “Crusader” took things a step further & almost missed the mark, only being propped up by a couple of very strong highlight tracks. I still have a fair bit of time for “Crusader” however there’s little doubt that it represented Saxon’s weakest & most divisive album since their 1979 self-titled debut.  And that brings us to Saxon’s 1985 album “Innocence Is No Excuse” which features some pretty cheesy cover art that reeks of 70’s Scorpions with a close-up image of an attractive brunette seductively eating an apple.

Saxon’s management had been disappointed with the band’s French independent label Carrere Records following the failure of the “Crusader” album to make any real impact on the US market so “Innocence Is No Excuse” sees the band moving to major label EMI Records in the hope of reaching a greater level of exposure & there’s little doubt that they achieved that goal with the album going on to become the highest charting Saxon release ever in America. With the major label support came the inevitable increase in production budget & this is reflected in a fuller & clearer sounding album. Everything sounds a little bigger & more polished than Saxon have sounded before with the drum kit having been the recipient of plenty of reverb to give it that big stadium atmosphere. This record certainly sounds very much of its time & has much more of an American flavour than a NWOBHM one. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that I think it’s been over-compressed which isn’t terribly surprising when you consider that it was producer Simon Hanhart’s first big record & he’d never worked with a metal band before. Saxon’s sound has long been a combination of AC/DC, Judas Priest & Van Halen but Simon’s production seems to have dropped the band’s AC/DC crunch & replaced it with a more accessible sheen that clearly brings to mind the sound that Def Leppard had been championing in recent years. It’s actually uncanny just how much all three of the singles from the album sound like Def Leppard & that has undoubtedly led to this record becoming an extremely divisive release with the band’s fanbase. Saxon’s manager was apparently a big fan of Def Leppard & it was him that was responsible for pushing the band towards a production that was big on vocal harmonies, keyboards & big snare drums.

Don’t get me wrong. This is a more metal album than “Crusader” was & I’d suggest that it sits at about a 60/40 ratio of hard rock to heavy metal but it’s still a much more commercial sounding album than anything from the band’s early 80’s heyday & there’s unquestionably a case for the production having watered down what could potentially have been a heavier Saxon record. It’s almost like Saxon’s management have taken an each-way bet to try to renew the efforts at cracking the US market while also attempting to win back some of the fans they’d lost with “Crusader”. But when you look at the song-writing, it’s hard to argue that this isn’t a more consistent release than “Crusader” was. It may not have any obvious classics like the title track from “Crusader” was but there are far fewer failures here & for that reason it didn’t receive the same level of criticism as “Crusader” where fans claimed it was basically just two decent songs with the rest being filler. The song-writing is a little more memorable here despite the continued use of horribly cliched song-titles & lyrics. Bif Byford & the two guitarists have rarely sounded so potent & I’d argue that this might be Graham Oliver & Paul Quinn’s crowning achievement as soloists. There are a few ballads included of course which would provide further ammunition for those that wanted to ignore the stronger song-writing & focus on the glossy sheen of the album but they’re generally pretty well written & executed. Also, just like with “Crusader”, the record sports several blatant examples of Van Halen worship with songs like “Back On The Streets”, “Everybody Up” & the vey “Hot For Teacher”-esque “Give It Everything You’ve Got” obviously borrowing from the gods of US hard rock radio. The more metal numbers fall firmly in the 80’s Judas Priest camp though & are unsurprisingly my favourite tracks.

Interestingly, this would be the final Saxon record for original bass player & song-writer Steve Dawson who would be fired shortly afterwards. Steve had made his opinions felt with regards to the concept of using of a big name producer whose ears were completely shot for the next album & this didn’t go down well with Saxon’s management.  Neither did the fact that he pushed for the song-writing credits to sit solely with the primary song-writers instead of being shared across the whole band as they had been up until this time which saw him & Bif receiving most of the royalties for “Innocence Is No Excuse”. Unfortunately Saxon would struggle to recover from the loss of Dawson for many years afterwards. And here’s a bit of a fun fact for you... Dawson was actually the inspiration for big moustache wearing Spinal Tap bassist Derek Smalls. Spinal Tap creator Harry Shearer apparently went on tour with Saxon prior to writing the film & the result sees Smalls strongly mimicking Dawson’s on-stage mannerisms & look. Unfortunately Dawson never went on to anything substantial after being axed from the band & subsequently becoming disillusioned with the music scene but this isn’t a bad swan-song. It’s not on the same level as Saxon’s classic trio of 1980 & ‘81 albums but it’s a good solid heavy rock record nonetheless.