Review by Daniel for Mortal Sin - Mayhemic Destruction (1987)

While Metallica's classic fourth album "...And Justice For All" may represent my gateway into extreme metal back in late 1988, the ability for a local Australian band to create a genuinely intense metal release still seemed a little unattainable to me for a while, that is... until I picked up the first edition of a new Aussie metal/hard rock magazine called "Hot Metal" from the local news agency in May 1989. It came with a cover CD that included a collection of sixteen tracks from a variety of artists, mostly on the popular glam/hair metal end of the metal spectrum. Amongst them were great inclusions from acts like Ozzy Osbourne & Yngwie Malmsteen that saw me exploring their back catalogues extensively over the coming months but the track that stood out from all the rest was a song called "Mayhemic Destruction" from a young Sydney band by the name of Mortal Sin whose vicious attack appeared to sit on the deathlier side of thrash metal. I was a complete Big Four nut at the time with Slayer being my musical gods so the sheer intensity of this song offered me massive appeal & saw me quickly reaching out to the older skaters at my high school to see if I could secure a dubbed copy of the "Mayhemic Destruction" album. Thankfully, they were able to oblige & I'd spend a bit of time with Mortal Sin's debut record over the next couple of weeks before leaving it behind to explore ever more extreme forms of metal music over the next few years. Regardless, Mortal Sin would remain with me as a constant presence during my early time in the Sydney metal scene until I'd take a self-imposed decade-long hiatus from metal altogether in 1998. I'd see them play live on a number of occasions which could inevitably see my blood boiling with a desire to fulfil my own dreams of playing extreme metal on stage. I've even gotten to know a couple of the band members a bit over the years with drummer Wayne Campbell (Baltak/Grungeon) booking my death metal band Neuropath for a number of live gigs & vocalist Mat Maurer's daughter becoming a gig buddy of mine which would see Mat tagging along to some of the shows we'd attend during the 2010's after my return to metal. It was an interesting exercise to return to "Mayhemic Destruction" a couple of years ago now though as it gave me a new perspective on the legacy of Mortal Sin & the Australian metal scene in general & this week's second revisit has only provided further justification for my existing position on it.

I believe "Mayhemic Destruction" was originally intended to be a demo tape which stacks up when you consider that Mortal Sin hadn't released any recorded music at all at the time. It was recorded at Studio 301 in Sydney (which is where I mastered my own solo CD in 1999 interestingly enough) during the middle of 1986 with the recording process taking just three days & the mixing amounting to forty hours. A gentleman by the name of John Stitch-Darwish was responsible for the production & he was a relatively unknown entity in terms of metal although he would later go on to produce Armoured Angel's sole 1999 full-length "Angel of the Sixth Order". Despite his lack of experience in the field though, Darwish's production job does the job nicely here, particularly for a release that was only intended to be a demo. All of the instruments are presented with clarity & separation with the powerful bass guitar of Andy Eftichiou being the main driver in Mortal Sin's thrash metal attack. The guitars having an incisive tinniness which wasn't uncommon in late 80's thrash while Campbell's drums are full & offer plenty of depth. Maurer's vocals are given plenty of room to boom out over the top too so "Mayhemic Destruction" was afforded every chance to make an impact with a local metal market that hadn't received much in the way of well-produced & executed thrash metal at the time.

Mortal Sin's early sound wasn't the most technical or sophisticated you'll find in thrash metal, even for the mid-80s. The riffs were generally very simple with the tempo rarely exceeding mid-pace & the structures relying heavily on the tight execution & decent Darwish production job for appeal. Eftichiou's bass lines are the main driver that gets your head banging & I feel that he was probably the most accomplished musician here too. Metallica's 1983 debut album "Kill 'Em All" was very clearly the main source of inspiration though & there's even a case for claiming the majority of "Mayhemic Destruction" as nothing more than a Metallica clone if I'm being perfectly honest. Just listen to tracks like "Women in Leather" or "Into the Fire" & tell me you don't hear the obvious references to "Seek & Destroy". I'll give you the tip that you won't be able to & the same can be said for speed metal anthem "Blood, Death, Hatred" & Metallica's "The Four Horsemen" because the inspiration is blatantly obvious & when combined with Maurer's extraordinarily Hetfield-ish vocal delivery it's easy to simply cast Mortal Sin aside as a poor man's replica of the Californian gods of the thrash metal movement. I can't say that I'm not onboard with the way of thinking either but there are moments on this album where Mortal Sin manage to cast aside that stigma to produce some excellent thrash in their own right.

The tracklisting isn't without blemish mind you with a couple of songs not doing much for me at all. "Liar" & "Mortal Slaughter" just seem to be a little bit basic & lacking in depth & substance to me but the remainder of the album is all enjoyable enough. The closing title track is the clear highlight in my opinion & it stands out like a sore thumb as it's sound is simply so different to the rest of the material. It's a lot more extreme than the other seven tracks with the intensity of the riffage having been upped significantly & sounding a lot more like the Teutonic thrash scene than the Bay Area one the other material is centred around. The vocals are also delivered in more of a death metal grunt which blew my mind upon first hearing it on the "Hot Metal" compilation, particularly given the glammy nature of the remainder of the artists on that CD. The other track that stood out to me was the chunky "Lebanon" with its lyrical themes having a potent effect & its riffs representing the high point for Mortal Sin's mid-tempo thrash sound. It's a shame that these two songs stand out so much from the rest of the material though as it leaves me feeling that the overall package sits closer to the third tier of the thrash metal spectrum than it does to the first or second. I mean, we're talking 1987 here which was still very much at the peak of the genre so there was a lot of competition floating around &, looking back now, it's hard not to feel that "Mayhemic Destruction" has been overrated by an Aussie metal scene that was simply starving for good content. Personally, I can't deny that this is my position on it these days if I'm being honest which it pains me to admit given just how big in influence Mortal Sin had on me as a bright-eyed young metal musician looking to crack into the local Sydney scene.

While "Mayhemic Destruction" may not be the game-changer that a lot of Aussies might have you believe it is, I'd suggest that most members of our The Pit clan will gain some enjoyment out of it because it definitely reminds me of the fun that could be had in getting drunk with your mates & moshing around someone's backyard. Its simplicity is also its biggest asset in many ways as it remains accessible throughout but I don't think Maurer's vocal skills were quite enough to overcome the band's limitations, at least not yet. In fact, I've never been much of a fan of his performance here if I'm being honest. 1989's "Face of Despair" sophomore album would also frequent my tape deck in 1989 & it offered a similar level of appeal although I think I've always slightly favoured the debut over it as the better representation of the early roots of Australian thrash. It's just not the unheralded thrash classic that so many of my Aussie peers would have you believe it is.

For fans of Xentrix, Stone & "Kill 'Em All"-period Metallica.