Detente - Recognize No Authority - August, 1986

Dawn Crosby is the fourth female thrash vocalist we've heard from and is definitely one of the more intriguing ones. Somewhere between the melodic shouting of Sentinel Beast's Debbie Gunn and the proto-death metal stylings of Holy Moses' Sabina Classen, Crosby is somehow more pissed-off sounding than Classen. She comes off like a female Paul Baloff -- very little real singing talent, but all attitude, and just fucking livid-sounding. Indeed, she did have some issues, dying about 10 years later due to liver failure.

What about the rest of the band? The album itself? Well, it's not awful, but it's pretty unspectacular. The band struggles to find an identity, mashing together some pretty decent, catchy choruses with verse riffs that just don't want to go together. The band definitely sound better when they're doing more mid-paced epic-sounding stuff, as opposed to the speedy, crossover parts they tend to fall into more often, but really the whole recording lacks intensity, so much so that it makes Crosby's vocals sound almost comical or tiresome. There are some bright spots, but they're mostly during the choruses when the whole band comes together with solid riffs and hooky vocals. Being that this is 1986, and we've already heard a large amount of truly classic thrash, well that just ain't gonna cut it.

1. Losers
2. Russian Roulette
3. It's Your Fate
4. Holy War
5. Catalepsy
6. Shattered Illusions
7. Life is Pain
8. Blood I Bleed
9. Widow's Walk
10. Vultures in the Sky

Score: 5/10