Review by Ben for Sacred Reich - Surf Nicaragua (1988)

While I find Sacred Reich's debut album Ignorance to be decent enough, it wasn't until The American Way where the band really got their stuff together. With the Surf Nicaragua EP sitting nicely between the two, I wasn't exactly sure which end of the spectrum this would sit. As it turns out, this is a bit of a mixed bag really, and not really a release I will reach for all that often.

With two new tracks, a cover, a re-recorded demo track and two live tracks, this is typical EP fare. The two new tracks are not all that amazing, with Surf Nicaragua ruining some perfectly good riffs by utilizing hugely recognisable and inappropriate surfing music midway through and One Nation not really doing anything to grab the listener. The cover is Black Sabbath's War Pigs, which the band also released as a promo vinyl. It's a poor version of a classic track, and one that would be completely outdone by Faith No More a year later.

Strangely enough, my favourite track off the EP is the re-recorded demo track Draining You of Life with its shredding riffs and supercharged energy. Finally, there are the live tracks which don't really add anything much to the original versions off Ignorance. Death Squad is certainly one of the better tracks off that album though, so its inclusion isn't a complete waste. This EP is a merely average release and doesn't really do enough to demand inclusion in any but the most loyal Sacred Reich fan's collection.