Sacrilege BC got lost in the shuffle when the big thrash bang happened in California, which is a shame because these guys played an extremely fast & violent brand of thrash. In fact, Party With God comes close to Reign in Blood in that regard, albeit with more of a punk vibe and much, much shittier production. It's not all speed though, with songs like "Skinned Alive" crushing the listener at a much slower pace before getting back to ludicrous speed for the guitar solo. There are times when the songs blend together a little bit, as Sacrilege BC were probably still honing their songwriting chops but songs like "Words of God" snap you back to attention. Judging by this album, Sacrilege BC deserved a better fate than to be a mere footnote in the history of thrash but it's gems like these that keep this crazy retrospective interesting. 1. Azemeroth 2. Crucified 3. Fun with Napalm 4. Born of Hell 5. Time to Die 6. Skinned Alive 7. Cancer 8. Judge Death 9. Death Toll 10. Words of God 11. Final Rites 12. Slaughterhouse 13. Victimized Score: 7/10
I somehow left Onslaught's debut album, Power From Hell off of my review queue, and I made sure not to make the same mistake with their second kick at the can, The Force. The Force picks up where the debut left off, except that there's a different vocalist and a more classic thrash metal sound to it. There are riffs aplenty here, and things start off very well but the album really gets going with "Fight With the Beast", continues with "Demoniac" and smashes you in the face with "Flame of the Antichrist". The sound is very aggressive and mosh-friendly, not unlike some of the better Bay Area output like Bonded By Blood or even Kill 'Em All but there's nothing really new here. With The Force, Onslaught solidifies themselves as yet another band in the seemingly endless army of blue collar thrash bands -- good enough to headbang to, not memorable enough to make a dent in your skull once the music is over. 1. Let There Be Death 2. Metal Forces 3. Fight With the Beast 4. Demoniac 5. Flame of the Antichrist 6. Contract in Blood 7. Thrash 'til the Death Score: 7/10
Back in the 90's, there used to be this commercial for light beer that this Necronomicon album made me think of. It went "If I wanted water, I'd ask for water." In this case, substitute 'water' for 'Destruction', and that pretty much sums up how I feel about this one. Necronomicon, at this point, are a poor man's Destruction, as they are sloppier than and not nearly as good at writing songs as those card-carrying members of the Teutonic Trio. In fact, there's really not one single song that is totally solid -- just when you think things are looking up, a weird guitar lead comes in or the vocalist does his best castrato impression. Necronomicon is a forgettable affair, and best left to idiots like yours truly to discover. 1. Dark Land 2. Possessed By Evil 3. Bloody Revenge 4. Insanity 5. Blind Destruction 6. Hades Invasion 7. Magic Forest 8. Iron Charm Score: 1/10
While Nasty Savage's debut was campy, goofy heavy metal with thrash metal influences, the band's second full-length on the other hand, is thrash-fucking-metal! They don't make you wait for it, either. The opening track, "Stabbed In the Back" kicks things off right with a downright dirty (maybe even nasty?) thrash riff. The rest of the album continues in much the same vein, with fast, twisting riffs offset by slower, groovier pieces. Nasty Ronnie's vocals have also improved. While he still hits those King Diamond-esque high notes, he mostly sticks to a lower register, snarling and shouting his way through all eight tracks (track nine is an instrumental). The subject matter has gotten more serious as well. While the debut album had song titles like "Dungeon of Pleasure" and "Metal Knights", Indulgence tackles heavier subject matter with songs like "Distorted Fanatic" and "Incursion Dementia" (which is a fucking monster, by the way). All in all, Indulgence is a hands-down winner, and if nothing else, signalled to California, New York & Germany that Florida was listening, and thrash metal's influence was growing. 1. Stabbed In the Back 2. Divination 3. XXX 4. Indulgence 5. Inferno 6. Hypnotic Trance 7. Incursion Dementia 8. Distorted Fanatic 9. ? Score: 8/10
Mortal Sin's debut is a bit of a throwback, as the band channels Metallica's Kill 'Em All with some Motorhead thrown in for good measure. The material here is neither very evil nor heavy, but it would definitely make for some good fun in the pit. Had it been released earlier, it would garner some higher marks but as it is these Aussies are just recycling what they've heard from their American counterparts. 1. The Curse 2. Women in Leather 3. Lebanon 4. Liar 5. Blood, Death, Hatred 6. Mortal Slaughter 7. Into the Fire 8. Mayhemic Destruction Score: 5.5/10
