Review by Daniel for D.R.I. - Full Speed Ahead (1995)
Crossover thrash & I have had a bumpy journey over the years. I generally like the big name releases but it's very rare that I genuinely love them. I think a lot of this is due to the overall simplicity of the song-writing & composition & this is never more evident than it is on D.R.I.'s sixth & final full-length. I first encountered D.R.I. through my best mate's older cousin via their highly regarded 1985 debut album "Dealing With It" when I was only about 13 years old. I have to admit that I didn't really get it at the time & I still don't today but as I ventured further into their back catalogue I found that their was a fair bit to enjoy in D.R.I.'s late 80's releases which were more in line with my thrash obsession so I kept a casual eye on them moving forwards with each successive release. I would guess that I haven't given "Full Speed Ahead" a listen since the mid-90's though so let's see if my gradually increased affection for hardcore-affiliated metal releases has finally allowed me to fully commit to a record like this one.
"Full Speed Ahead" may have been released in a decade that's regarded by many as a graveyard for thrash metal but you shouldn't expect D.R.I. to have gone all grunge/alternative on us because this record is exactly what you'd expect from them. The thing that I do notice is that it sounds much more restrained & controlled than their early material did. The thrash metal component was certainly very strong by this point in their career with the double-kick drumming being a primary feature. "Full Speed Ahead" is a hugely riff-based album that never tries to over-complicate things & leaves plenty of breathing room. This works a treat on the more up-tempo numbers which showcase the energy & vitality that D.R.I. made their signature over their decade-long reign but the slower, lengthier numbers tend to sound a bit flat & dull at times. D.R.I. are at their best when they're reminding me of the influence they had on Slayer (at least they are for me which is not surprising given my life-long lover affair with the band). Songs like "Drawn & Quartered" leave you with no doubt whatsoever as to where Slayer drew their inspiration for "Reign In Blood" from while the sub-one minute album highlight "Broke" offers up a searing ball of aggression that never fails to get my blood pumping. Front man Kurt Brecht has maintained every bit of his punk integrity with a charismatic (if fairly loose & unpolished) performance that won't disappoint fans of the band's previous work. But it's the drumming of Rob Rampy that's the key contributor here as he plays the most prominent role in the winning or losing of each individual track & shows himself to have a fair amount of chops in the process.
As with so many similar releases over the years, I've found this crossover thrash record to possess enough energy & fun to keep me interested without ever threatening to see me reaching for my higher scores. I find myself quite enjoying about two thirds of the tracklisting but the other third is pretty uninteresting to tell you the truth. The length of the album is also a bit excessive for a crossover release & I have to wonder whether D.R.I. would simply have been better off culling a third of the album & presenting a record of a more consistent quality. In saying that, I'm not actually sure that would have seen me scoring "Full Speed Ahead" any higher than I have as there simply aren't enough high-scoring highlight tracks for that. Ultimately, if you like crossover thrash then you'll probably find some enjoyment here but I'll be surprised if it makes too many top tens.