At War - Ordered to Kill - 1986

At War were pretty standard fare for a 1986 thrash band. They were the thrashing everyman -- hard-working, full of attitude and enthusiasm, but a little short on originality and songwriting acumen. The album starts off well enough with the title track, then lulls for a couple songs before breaking into "Rapechase", a song that would be controversial if anyone ever heard it. It also sounds a lot like Motorhead which is funny since the next song is a Motorhead cover. At War do a great job on "The Hammer", which is a good thing but it kind of hurts their cause. It's obvious that "The Hammer" is head-and-shoulders a better song than any of the originals here and it kind of just makes me want to go listen to Motorhead.

1. Ordered to Kill
2. Dawn of Death
3. Capitulation
4. Rapechase
5. The Hammer
6. Mortally Wounded
7. Ilsa (She-Wolf of the S.S.)
8. Eat Lead

Score: 4.5/10