Desaster - Hellfire's Dominion (1998)^{Release ID: 8623}

Thrash was in a sorry state in the late 90’s. Most of the old guard had fizzled out or changed genres, and it had absolutely no place in the mainstream world. It was up to the underground, then, to keep it alive, and most of those bands did so by mixing it with more extreme styles of music.

Desaster were one of many bands going for a Blackened Thrash style, going back to the roots of the genres by worshipping the infernal overlord and reigning hellfire upon the world. By ’98, nothing on this album was particularly new or inventive, but it was done well, and that’s what matters. Songs traded places between aggressive Thrash beats and Blackened chords, leads and blast beats. The production, the style, the lyrics, they all sounded very 80’s, and for Thrash fans, there’s no better era to be. However, the music itself, especially the guitar playing and vocal approach, leaned far more towards the Black Metal style. In fact, so much so that I don’t think I could truly call this a Thrash album at all; it sounds much more like Thrash-influenced Black Metal (or plainly said, first wave Black Metal).

The band is at their best going full speed aggressive assault and focusing on darker riffs. When they slow down into more Blackened Heavy Metal territory, or play at a goofier, medieval sound, the material doesn’t work as well.

Hellfire’s Dominion wasn’t enough to revitalize either genre, nor did it add anything new to the mix. However, the album is great fun and full of competent songwriting, playing, and of course, riffs. I do find it a bit overrated, though.