Review by Ben for Artillery - By Inheritance (1990)

I was pleasantly surprised by Artillery's prior release Terror Squad, but nothing prepared me for my first listening experience of By Inheritance. This isn't the standard thrash metal that I'd expected. I guess I thought they would have taken the already decent thrash of Terror Squad and given it a more polished sound. Instead, we have a technically proficient, culturally abundant, almost progressive thrash metal album that just keeps on giving.

Just about every track has awesome riffs and soaring choruses that are memorable, but it's the Middle Eastern influence that really floats my boat. Someone who reviewed this album a bit lower said "and I bet you thought Nile was the first band to do that" and while that's not necessarily true in my case (Orphaned Land gave it a fair crack), I certainly didn't expect to find it so successfully integrated into a 1990 thrash metal album created by a band from Denmark.

While I'm obviously impressed with this offering, I can't yet give it more than 4 stars. I still have some issues with the vocalist, although not as much as on Terror Squad, cover track Razamanaz doesn't do a lot for me (others seem to love it though), and the occasional track overstays its welcome. But with a few more listens I may be forced to reassess and give it 4.5. This album deserves the praise it gets!