Apocalypse - Apocalypse (1987)Release ID: 19510
The Swiss thrash metal scene may not have been terribly prolific during the mid-80’s but it was certainly a case of quality over quantity. Zurich had birthed a trio of bands that could only be described as a thrash powerhouse in blackened thrash pioneers Hellhammer, their more refined & mature younger brother Celtic Frost & their prodigal (& substantially more technical) sons Coroner. Zug had also played a supporting role through aggressive thrash outfit Messiah however the city of Geneva had been relatively quiet up until 1987 with thrash fans having to wait patiently for their first homegrown heroes to produce a record of any note.
Geneva’s initial nomination for thrash metal glory would go to talented five-piece outfit Apocalypse who first formed in the mid-1980’s with an untitled demo tape being produced shortly afterwards in 1985. Following the demo, the band would spend two years honing their craft before deciding that enough was enough. Apocalypse would start their own label through which to release their music & Crash Records was born. Crash’s only release would be Apocalypse’s self-titled debut album which would finally see the light of day in 1987. It was a self-produced effort too & was recorded locally at Aquarius Studios in Geneva. Given the DIY nature of Apocalypse’s initial undertaking, one would imagine that the band must have seen very few available options for releasing recorded music through more qualified third parties however Crash Records would end up being a short-lived venture with “Apocalypse” being picked up by not only fellow Swiss label Out Of Tune Records but also Music For Nations subsidiary thrash label Under One Flag in 1988. Under One Flag had already been involved in the release of several notable underground metal releases from artists like English Dogs, Onslaught, Possessed, Holy Terror & Sacrilege so Apocalypse would likely have felt that they were in good hands.
In a time when ultra-raw production jobs were par for the course for young thrash bands, Apocalypse seem to have dodged a bullet with their debut. Or maybe that’s not giving them enough credit because for a self-produced debut record this production job has exceeded expectations by a fair margin. The rhythm guitar sound is beautifully tailored to precision thrash riffage while the drums are vibrant & in your face & the solos are shredding & exciting. If I’m being particularly picky I might suggest that the snare drum is a touch too loud & the bass could be a little more prominent in the mix but as far as self-produced debut productions go “Apocalypse” sits pretty comfortably on the top shelf.
Musically we have a fairly sophisticated brand of thrash metal on offer here with a strong progressive attitude being evident in much of the material. The basis for the Apocalypse sound clearly resides in your Metallica/Testament style of US thrash however there are also some quite technical sections included. In fact, tracks like “A Tale Of A Nightmare” & the old instrumental track “Dark Sword” (which was originally included on the 1985 demo tape) fit very comfortably alongside Coroner under the technical thrash metal tag. We even see them pushing further out into progressive metal territory on darker, mid-paced number “The Night Before & I get the feeling that Queensryche may have been a strong influence on the band here. Despite the clear musical talent on display during some of these parts of the album though, I do have to say that they’re not always presented in a particularly fluent fashion & can be a little jarring on the ears with the complexity being more disorienting than the smoother execution of the bands that inspired them. There’s also a noticeable melodic element to most of this material & the influence of speed metal & power metal is very clear. The thrashiness of the riffs is not in question however this strong focus on melody often leaves me drawing comparisons to bands like Metal Church or Savatage while the Maiden-esque guitar harmonies that are consistently employed across the album wouldn't feel out of place on a Helloween record.
It has to be said that the musicianship on display is exceptional for a European debut. Momos Domenjoz’ performance behind the drum kit is fantastic throughout with his cymbal work being particularly interesting. The twin guitar attack of Pierre-Alain Zurcher & Julien Brocher is very tight indeed with their riffage reminding me a lot of James Hetfield in its precision attack & their shredding solos being a key element in Apocalypse’s arsenal. Front man Carlos Sprenger goes for a more traditional & classic style of delivery than most of his Swiss thrash counterparts with his tone sitting somewhere between Diamond Head’s Sean Harris & Metallica’s James Hetfield. Carlos' voice resides mainly in your higher registers & seems to be very highly praised by fans but I don’t think he’s quite in the class that some people seem to claim. Perhaps a little more consistency in the song-writing is all that’s required as I do find the two speed metal tunes “Fuck Off & Die” & “Back To The Fire” to be pretty tough going along with closing track “Cemetery” which also sounds a little flat to my ears.
The inclusion of two instrumentals amongst the nine tracks is worth mentioning & despite both being very well executed (particularly “Crash” which sits amongst my album highlights), I have to wonder whether this is a sign that Apocalypse weren’t quite ready to record their debut. I mean the album jumps around a little more than I’d like stylistically after the first few tracks & this seems to me to be an indication that Apocalypse were still defining their signature sound. I could certainly have done without the drunken attempts at humour that taint the end of “Fuck Of & Die” & the otherwise particularly strong opener “Digital Life”. This sort of stuff is both unnecessary & annoying in the context of an otherwise very professionally presented thrash metal record. Thankfully its impact can be overlooked fairly comfortably.
At the end of the day, “Apocalypse” is a pretty enjoyable way for the band to kick off their recorded music career. It has its wins & losses but leaves me feeling predominantly positive despite a third of the tracklisting being a little bit subpar. The sophistication & professionalism with which Apocalypse conduct themselves is impressive for a purely self-financed debut & you can understand why Metallica would have chosen to take them out as supports for their European tour. Sadly for Apocalypse, they’d fail to capitalize on such a wonderful opportunity with their sophomore album “Faithless” not seeing the light of day until 1993, by which time the grunge movement had completely eradicated the commercial relevance of the classic 80’s thrash sound. Apocalypse’s musical careers would unfortunately peter out shortly afterwards but thankfully we have this reasonably enjoyable debut record to remember them by.
For fans of: Testament, Xentrix, “Master Of Puppets”-era Metallica
