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1. Brain Washing
2. Magic C'R'Cl
3. My Last Words
4. Merry Sinner
5. Traces Of Dreams
6. Final Mission
7. The Eyes Of The Blind Man
8. Slammin' Boys
9. Pariah
10. Still Have To Pray
There are many bands like Iceland, relatively unknown outside small circles
but musically not too different from the majority of performers in the genre.
This French group's full-length release starts out promising enough to raise
your interest fairly high - the band's sound is very sharp and even fresh, and
ultimately the album gets somewhat weary just because the rest of it is not
quite strong enough to meet the initial expectations. In other words, Iceland
promise a bit more than they are actually able to deliver. The song structures
are varied enough and the band's presentation is powerful and all, but a bit
more than that would have been needed in the end game. This album is still
capable of giving a carefully favorable impression based on the sound and feel
of it alone, but there is a certain lack of more persistent quality as well.
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1. In The Flesh
2. Take The Pain
3. Kill On Kommand
4. When The Evil Takes Its Course
5. It's The End Of The World
6. To Your Death
7. Legacy Of Violence
8. Knowledge Is King
9. P.O.W.
10. Plaque Of Death
11. Erosion Of Will
As their name implies, Impact were to deliver just that, underground thrash
metal with a genuine impact. From the opening moments of Take The Pain,
you are in for a relentless running flow of thrash metal at its keenest -
In The Flesh is totally in your face, and it doesn't end there. The
production more than fits the content with a ripping sound and feel. The
initial premise doesn't quite last through the whole length of this album,
though, as there are no essential differences between these tracks by and
large. In practice, it is one and the same idea that is being recycled here.
It is a refreshing dose of no-nonsense thrashing that you hear, more so than
on average actually, but it cannot be denied that despite all the good factors
Impact's means of making their way forward were rather limited at best.
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1. I.N.C.
2. The Grip Of Death
3. War Not Words
4. Anarchy (The Pursuit Of Happiness)
5. Razorback
6. Fists From The Mighty
7. Fear
8. Passageway Through Purgatory
Indestructible Noise Command's albums must be nowadays some of the rarest
things out there, deservedly so or not. The band's debut Razorback is a
piece of technical, dry-sounding thrash metal with off-note vocals that
sometimes give it an almost Voivod-ish feel although I.N.C. did derive their
music from a more conventional thrash metal base. The almost academic sound of
this debut album doesn't inspire any particularly positive comments although
there are some genuine, even original touches on it. The band occasionally
throw in some interesting riffs, but on the whole this album doesn't quite cut
it. Although Razorback shows some promise here and there, eventually it
fails to provide anything truly remarkable in the musical department.
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1. Dry Heave
2. Bed Time Stories
3. What Are You Looking At?
4. Thunder Struck
5. The Visitor
6. Scammed Again
7. Hypo-Dermic Coastline
8. Just What I Needed / Candy-O
The second and last release of I.N.C. has some of the dry feel of
Razorback left, but otherwise it succeeds notably better in catching
the listener's attention. The Visitor is heavier and also better
produced than the band's debut while it still retains a certain customary,
slightly quirky I.N.C. sound. No matter what, at least one can be sure of
recognizing the band quite easily even from a short sample. The opening Dry
Heave and the title track are probably a couple of the most accessible and
also best tracks on this one, but the rest is not too bad either. In fact,
I've learned to like the band's unique, pounding guitar sound and sometimes
funny vocals on this recording, and even the more unordinary riffs are quite
interesting at least. Extra points must be given for the funniest "no thanks"
note in the album inserts ever (incidentally, the track Scammed Again
is based on the same topic). Somewhat original and even surprising at times,
The Visitor is not your most typical thrash metal album out there.
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1. The Battle Of Armageddon
2. Voices From The Grave
3. Sadistic Sinner
4. Incubus
5. Blaspheming Prophets
6. Hunger For Power
7. Serpent Temptation
8. Underground Killers
Incubus made a strong start as one of the heaviest bands in the eighties.
While their later recordings are more firmly in the death metal territory,
Serpent Temptation is an example of pure thrashing rage in its finest
form, with barking vocals and rampaging guitars. When Incubus play at
reasonable speeds, they produce some of the heaviest riffs you can ever hope
to hear. However, some tracks really test the limits of speed and occasionally
go beyond. It's not like the band couldn't hold it together, sometimes you
just really have to concentrate to be able to follow with the riot. Especially
the ultra-fast guitar solos on this album often sound downright rushed, making
even bands like Slayer sound almost progressive in comparison. But it's the
overall impact that matters and that's where Serpent Temptation really
makes its mark.
Note:
The CD release of this album features re-recorded vocals (in a dull death
metal vein) and guitars, also some track titles are different.
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1. The Gate
2. U.S.S.A.
3. Ground Zero
4. Dead Girls (Don't Say No)
5. Fatal Sin
6. Brain Damaged
7. Justice Sucks
8. Shadowlord
9. A.I.M.L.E.S.S.
10. Dismembered
Indestroy were possibly one of the most interesting and original bands on the
New Renaissance Records underground label. Therefore it's a pity that their
debut suffers from an awfully muddy and unbalanced production that really
takes away from the listening experience. This is particularly sad because
many songs on this album are actually quite good, if somewhat unpolished. For
example, Dead Girls (Don't Say No) is a fast and hilarious piece with
some punkish influences that are apparent also on many other tracks. There
would be enough originality and energy in the music to make it rise above the
average level, if it just weren't for the poor production.
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1. Tortured By Fire
2. Living In Filth
3. Terminal Choice
4. Senseless Theories
5. Sam The Butcher
6. Instant Insanity
By this mini album Indestroy's music had gone through a major change in the
sound department. Forget the bad production and simplistic arrangements, now
Indestroy sounded like a totally different band with sharp, scathing guitars
and roaring vocals. Starting from the vicious Tortured By Fire, these
tracks are highly effective, crushing pieces of thrash metal that make the
debut look like a rehearsal tape of a lesser band. There's not a single filler
track on this album, and actually the only negative thing about this release
is that it's pretty short. As a result, Senseless Theories is easily
better than most full-length albums out there.
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1. Intro
2. Media Control
3. Dark Century
4. State Oppression
5. Brutalities Behind Your Back
6. Old No. 7
7. Headless
8. Backstabbing Small-Talk
9. Conditioned Minds
It is not too difficult to get Orwellian associations when Infected's Dark
Century is playing. The band's style is more than fitting for the theme,
cheerless thrash metal with very gruff vocals. While the songwriting formula
is rather effective and the output remains equally consistent, all tracks
admittedly sound quite similar to each other, and more often than not you
could even call this album downright monotonous. It is only very small details
that make tracks like State Oppression appear a bit more striking than
the others, but the impact can vary a lot depending on personal preferences.
Infected definitely knew how to stay focused for a full-length album, but if
you are not well prepared in advance then Dark Century can be a
tiresome listening experience in all its bleak approach.
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1. Overlord
2. R.I.P.
3. Night Of The Living Dead
4. S.O.S.
5. None Shall Defy
6. Skeletons In The Closet
7. Anthology Of Death
8. Path Of The Psyco
Infernal Majesty were one of the more notable Canadian thrash metal bands in
the eighties. None Shall Defy provides some heavy, dark thrashing very
closely in the vein of Slayer's Hell Awaits in both good and bad. At
their best, like on the title track and Skeletons In The Closet, the
band play reasonably fast and tight thrash metal. When they drop some speed
and intensity, the result can be downright flat and boring. The music is full
of satanic imagery similar to early Slayer releases, which of course is
nothing special. Based on this recording Infernal Majesty were actually among
the heaviest Canadian bands, although musically the others were usually more
interesting. In any case, None Shall Defy is a decent thrash metal
album even though personally I'm not overly impressed by it.
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1. Cover Up
2. Turn Back
3. Victory In Disguise
4. Live To Die
5. Kiss Of Death
6. Cold-Blooded Killer
7. Blind Rage
8. T.M. (You Paid The Price)
For having been released originally on an underground label, Intruder's debut
album got a surprisingly crisp and clear production. Live To Die is a
versatile and fairly heavy piece of speed/thrash metal that involves even a
small amount of originality. The vocals are rather high-pitched but aggressive
enough for this kind of music, and in comparison to some later releases of the
band, the songs on this album are more memorable and energetic. You probably
cannot avoid a recurring feeling that some of Intruder's antics were not too
novel even at the time of this release, but the band's powerful performance
helps to overcome this kind of thinking. Live To Die is nowhere near
the most classic or meaningful albums of its kind, but the fresh and lively
sound still makes it a decent one indeed.
Note:
The CD release of this album features different cover artwork than the
original vinyl.
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1. Time Of Trouble
2. The Martyr
3. Genetic Genocide
4. Second Chance
5. (I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone
6. Killing Winds
7. The Sentence Is Death
8. Agents Of The Dark (M.I.B.)
9. Antipathy
10. Mr. Death
Having moved to a bigger record label Intruder continued in a more streamlined
and slightly faster style on their second album. A Higher Form Of
Killing is somewhat more coherent when compared to Live To Die, but
the music is also a bit less catchy and the riffs have lost some of their
hooks. As a result, some of these lengthy tracks just flow through your head
without a trace. The band certainly sound professional but also lack some
character, and except the constant high speed there's little in this album
to make it fully stand out of the crowd. However, I've learned to like the
fast and consistent style of this release after all, and the ending track
Mr. Death has some special humorous appeal of its own. While A
Higher Form Of Killing is not quite as memorable as Intruder's previous
release, it has some other merits of its own, too.
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1. 25 Or 6 To 4
2. Escape From Pain
3. Cold-Blooded Killer
4. Kiss Of Death
5. T.M. (You Paid The Price)
After a couple of full-length albums, Intruder released this mini album as a
preparation for their coming tour. Although Escape From Pain is rather
long for its format (about a half hour), only the title track is actually of
new material. 25 Or 6 To 4 is a cover song, and the last three tracks
from the band's debut are re-recorded versions - not surprisingly, they are
the best tracks on the whole thing. The long title track is pretty much in the
vein of A Higher Form Of Killing, in other words, well-done but
somewhat forgettable. For those who already have Live To Die, Escape
From Pain is practically an unnecessary release.
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1. Face Of Hate
2. Geri's Lament
3. The Enemy Within
4. It's A Good Life
5. Invisible
6. Traitor To The Living
7. Final Word
8. N.G.R.I.
The feel of Intruder's last album is heavy and pondering, also somewhat slower
than on the earlier efforts. Psycho Savant adds some diversity to the
band's tested sound though musically it still doesn't quite match Live To
Die. Although this album is slightly more versatile than a couple of
previous releases, the songs are generally a bit too long for their own good,
which makes the album unnecessarily plodding at times. The most memorable
track is definitely Geri's Lament (When) which must be lyrically one of
the most original songs in the genre ever. As a whole, Psycho Savant is
like most other Intruder releases - well executed but not particularly
interesting or ground-breaking.
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1. Excursion Demise
2. (...To A Twisted Recess Of Mind)
3. Forsaken Ones
4. The Persistence From Memorial Chasm
5. Absurd Temptation
6. Schismatic Injective Therapy
7. Occurrence Concealed
8. Beyond Insufferable Dormancy
9. Inner Contrarieties
10. Alterations (bonus)
The other remarkable Danish thrash band besides Artillery, Invocator started
with a ferocious debut album. Excursion Demise is an outburst of almost
non-stop extreme thrash metal with harsh vocals and some death-ish touches.
The production is quite good and gives some additional boost for the music
that occasionally tends to sound a bit repetitive. Although the high-speed
efforts pay off fairly well (take the title track or The Persistence From
Memorial Chasm as examples of better songs), sometimes the thing just
drifts a bit off the target, making a few tracks sound too samey. But it's
Invocator's uncompromising style on this album that holds the pieces together
and makes Excursion Demise a strong album with some rude charm. After
all, I've found myself giving this one more spins than one might expect based
on the initial impression only.
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1. Through The Nether To The Sun
2. From My Skull It Rains
3. Desert Sands
4. Condition Critical
5. Breed Of Sin
6. Doomed To Be
7. Lost At Birth
8. Land Of Misery
9. The Afterbirth
10. Weave The Apocalypse
While Weave The Apocalypse is essentially different from Invocator's
debut, the result is perfectly convincing in its own right, with an even more
emphasized musical vision and style. Compared to its predecessor this album is
heavier and not so fast anymore. At this point Invocator's sound had quite
clearly become one of the nineties, something that makes a notable distinction
from most other albums here. With a more compact and mature style than before,
these tracks are some of the heaviest you can find, and they feature some
totally stupendous riffs. Although Excursion Demise had a distinctive
style of its own, Weave The Apocalypse got a definite edge over it due
to the more original and innovative sound. It's albums like this that make it
worth wading through the mass of more average recordings.
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1. The Metallian
2. Sinner
3. Black Mass
4. The Church Of The Lost Souls
5. Hunter In Chains
6. Rush Of Power
7. Legions Of Evil
8. Wife Of The Devil
9. Nightmare
10. Heavy Metal Soldiers
Iron Angel deserves an honorable mention already for having been one of the
earliest German speed/thrash metal bands in the eighties. Not only that, but
the band's debut is a classic one in its own right. From today's perspective,
Hellish Crossfire has even a surprisingly good production with a very
heavy and thick sound. The songs are fast and heavy stompers, backed up by
nasty vocals and a good deal of catchy riffs that make the whole thing a
memorable listening experience. This album really has some great old-fashioned
appeal which many of the newer releases out there lack. On the other hand,
some sense of nostalgia is certainly needed to be able to bear with such
examples of cheesiness as Heavy Metal Soldiers. But even with some
apparent signs of its old age starting to show up, Hellish Crossfire
has a lot of good points and easily remains one of the better releases from
the early years of the thrash metal genre.
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1. Winds Of War
2. Metalstorm
3. Son Of A Bitch
4. Vicious
5. Born To Rock
6. Fight For Your Life
7. Stronger Than Steel
8. Sea Of Flames
9. Creatures Of Destruction
10. Back To The Silence
Iron Angel's second release turned out to be somewhat less focused than
Hellish Crossfire. In comparison, Winds Of War is not quite as
heavy or energetic, and while the band's distinctive sound (especially
considering the vocals) is still there, it doesn't fully compensate for the
shortcomings. In particular, the increased tendencies towards more traditional
heavy metal make this album a slight disappointment. Sure, tracks like Son
Of A Bitch and Born To Rock are uplifting (and utterly cheesy)
pieces, but it is not old hard rock we are supposed to get here. With only a
couple of tracks approaching the previous intensity, the result is unavoidably
a bit lacking. Fans of old eighties metal regardless of the genre will
probably still find this one interesting, it is just not as strong and
consistent as Hellish Crossfire.
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1. Getting The Most Out Of Your Extinction
2. Neurotica
3. World War Three (Crack Party Weekend)
4. Mechanized Emotions
5. Equilibrium
6. Cyborg
7. Contusions
8. White Plague
9. Inheritance
10. Intermission
Every now and then a musical genre could use a good kick to avoid stagnation,
and Ironchrist's Getting The Most Out Of Your Extinction is one of
those albums that can deliver it. While this release has a certain hardcoreish
tinge, it actually works for the benefit of the whole thing. The absolutely
shredding guitar sound is little short of perfect, and in terms of thrashing
out these songs just put many others to shame. Despite a notably wild
attitude, Ironchrist's music is far from simplistic - in fact, there are
touches of variety, including two fully instrumental pieces, that make this
album rival even the productions of some officially more technical thrash
metal bands for good. Most important of all, the music is rarely dull in the
slightest. Getting The Most Out Of Your Extinction may be a less known
chapter in the history of thrash metal, but it is worth the time and effort to
check it out.
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