Review by Daniel for Deathwish - At the Edge of Damnation (1987)

The UK thrash metal scene has always been a little bit of an under-achiever in my opinion. When you consider that the Brits not only perfected hard rock but also invented & then reinvented heavy metal in the space of a decade, it must have been a rude shock for them when the rest of the world finally caught up, stole the reins & charged off into the distance. Locals will try to maintain that B-grade thrash band X or C-grade thrash band Y were unlucky not to have blown up to the same levels as the Big Four but those sort of claims are very ambitious in my opinion. That’s not to say that all English thrash is inherently bad or anything. You just won’t find anything as timeless or genre-defining as the Americans & Europeans would produce. Despite this fact, some people will tell you that thrash metal was first created by the English with the infamous Venom often being touted as the point of origin for that particular subgenre along with speed metal, black metal & extreme metal in general. But if you actually examine Venom’s music in detail, you’ll soon discover that there’s almost no legitimate thrash metal in their sound at all. If you really want to find out where British thrash came from, you need to start with Bristol’s Onslaught & a little known four-piece from Brighton going by the name of Deathwish, both who began life way back around the time that Metallica would change the metal world forever with their debut album “Kill ‘Em All” in 1983.

Onslaught would jump out of the blocks with a slew of demo tapes before releasing their debut album “Power From Hell” in 1985. It would be the first proper release to come out of the English thrash scene & would be promptly followed by records from bands like Sacrilege, English Dogs & Concrete Sox. Unfortunately for Deathwish, it would take them a full three years to produce the three song “Sword Of Justice” demo tape in 1986 with their first proper album release not coming until 1987 which meant that the horse had somewhat bolted by that stage. The band had been picked up by short-lived English thrash label Metalworks Records which was only in operation from 1987 through to 1990 & Deathwish’s “At The Edge Of Damnation” album would be by far the label’s most noteworthy release. The record would be produced by an experienced campaigner in fellow Englishman Pete Hinton who already had the production credits on a number of quality NWOBHM releases on his resume by that stage including Saxon’s classic “Wheels Of Steel” & “Strong Arm Of The Law” albums, Demon’s “The Unexpected Guest” & Witchfinder General’s seminal “Death Penalty” record as well as the “Diamond Dreamer” & “Eternal Dark” releases from Dutch heavy metallers Picture, so one would have thought that Deathwish were in good hands.

Unfortunately for Deathwish, the resulting recording sessions would produce mixed results. There’s good separation between the instruments & vocals which are all well balanced & easily identifiable however it would be the sound of the down-tuned rhythm guitar tracks that would prove to be the source of most conversation around the quality of the production job. Sure, it’s not the most metal of guitar tones but it does give the “At The Edge Of Damnation” album a unique character. It very much reminds me of the more underground & lower budget early 80’s NWOBHM releases which gives it an almost endearing quality not afforded to other thrash bands of the time. There is definitely a case to say that it’s not distorted enough for thrash though. It’s got more of a punky feel to it & that wouldn’t have been a surprise to anyone with a passing knowledge of Deathwish’s roots as the band first came together because of their mutual love of Black Sabbath & hardcore punk bands like Discharge & GBH rather than your Metallicas or Slayers. There’s no doubt that the guitar tone contributes to “At The Edge Of Damnation” sounding a bit too much like a C grade release but to my ears it also creates a point of difference that gives Deathwish their own unique sound.

Musically, I have to say that I find myself sitting on the fence as to whether “At The Edge Of Damnation” is a legitimate thrash metal release or not too. Sure it has its thrashy moments like the very “Kill ‘Em All” sounding opener “In The Name Of God” or the re-recorded demo track “Sword Of Justice” but I don’t think too many fans would argue that this is not the thrashiest of thrash releases. In fact, most of this material sits more comfortably under the traditional heavy metal banner than the thrash one in my opinion although if Deathwish were American I wouldn’t hesitate to label them as US power metal as they kind of have a foot in both camps. A lot of the time we find Deathwish opting for simple but effective NWOBHM style riffs that don’t necessarily utilize the obsessive palm-muting which was very much a trademark of the thrash metal sound. You can easily see the hardcore influence here. Particularly during the faster tracks like “Demonic Attack” which sport a dirtier & looser punk vibe. This is often very straight forward stuff but it’s well organized & confidently executed which was perhaps the result of having spent four years paying their dues in a market dominated by heavy riff-oriented bands like Diamond Head, Grim Reaper & Angel Witch prior to recording their first record. The guitar solos of Dave Deathwish also show off a more traditional pedigree than most thrash shredders. The vast majority of Dave's licks are based on the pentatonic scale & therefore have a bluesy feel that reminds me of Motorhead’s Fast Eddie Clarke, Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi & Metallica-period Dave Mustaine. There’s not a lot of technical flair on display & Dave is heavily reliant on simply sounding ballsy which doesn't always work for him it has to be said.

The vocal performance of front man Jon van Doorn is a major component of the Deathwish sound & is also another contributing factor in Deathwish being associated with classic heavy metal. His voice has an epic quality to it with a lot of confidence & strength in his lower & mid-range delivery & the ability to scream like a banshee when the opportunity calls for it. In fact, I actually find myself being reminded me of a number of classic heavy metal singers at various points with Manowar’s Eric Adams, Iron Maiden’s Paul Dianno, WASP’s Blackie Lawless & Blind Guardian’s Hansi Kursch all popping into my mind at various stages. From the look of that list it’s not surprising that I mentioned the US power metal term earlier in my review & it could be argued that it’s Jon’s contribution that’s the most important element in Deathwish’s sound given that the instrumentation is often quite basic. I mean some of these songs really don't have any right to be as catchy as they are & it's largely thanks to a strong emphasis on quality hooks & confident & energetic performances.

When you take a look at the tracklisting holistically, there’s no denying that there’s a lot of consistency about "At The Edge Of Damnation”. In fact, there’s not a weak track included here as far as I'm concerned. It’s just unfortunate that, as unique & character-filled as it is, the production job does limit the appeal that the album is ever likely to offer. There are a truckload of familiar sounding but very solid & enjoyable metal riffs on offer but I can’t help but think that they would have benefited from a more thrashy guitar tone. As it is though, Deathwish have given us an interesting & enjoyable first-up effort that probably deserves a little more attention than its gained with fans of UK thrash.

For fans of: Onslaught, Exciter, Omen.