It's funny the way you place things in your mind when you haven't put a whole lot of thought into where those things go... I always thought Taking Over was a bit of a step down from Overkill's brilliant debut, but upon further listening and really doing a hard comparison of the two, it's a real tough call. Taking Over is at least Feel the Fire's equal, and maybe even a couple points better! The overall sound on Taking Over is the same as it was on the debut, which is no surprise given that a lot of these songs were written around the same time as those on Feel the Fire. The guitar tone on Taking Over is heavier though, and the band sounds tighter as a whole while retaining Overkill's already trademark reckless snarl. Songs like the opener, "Deny the Cross" as well as the eyebrow-raising tandem of "Use Your Head" and "Fatal If Swallowed" string neck-snapping riffs together in an almost organic fashion, making this one of the more complete and developed albums in the major growth period of the genre. There are some weak points of course, like Blitz's vocals at times which seem to be just too clean, most notably on "In Union We Stand", though this is certainly not the rule but the exception. Overall, it's a very solid thrash album, and if nothing else, listening to it a few times with such a critical ear made me realize that my favourite band is even more awesome than I originally thought! 1. Deny the Cross 2. Wrecking Crew 3. Fear His Name 4. Use Your Head 5. Fatal If Swallowed 6. Powersurge 7. In Union We Stand 8. Electro-Violence 9. Overkill II (The Nightmare Continues) Score: 9.5/10
Enthusiasm. Blood Feast does have that going for them, at least. They play heads-down thrash, fast and dirty with vocals just about as shredded as Possessed or Kreator, but the material presented here is just not that good. The songs blend into one -- a blur of furious riffs, over-the-top vocals, and their best attempts at Slayer-inspired guitar solos. The band snaps you out of your thrash-haze every now and then with slower, darker riffs but it doesn't last very long. Heavy and fast this is, important or worthwhile, not particularly. 1. Menacing Thunder 2. Kill for Pleasure 3. Cannibal 4. Vampire 5. Suicidal Mission 6. Venomous Death 7. The Evil 8. Darkside 9. RIP Score: 3.5/10
If you were to put me in a time machine and send me back to say, March 1987, and then ask me who I thought was the best German thrash metal band at that point, I'd be hard pressed not to say Vendetta. While their brethren in bands like Kreator and Destruction were pushing the boundaries of extreme metal, Vendetta were clearly paying attention to what was going on across the Atlantic as they sounded much more like bands playing in California rather than Germany. Right from the start, there is a clear emphasis on riffs. With a crisp and clear production, there are passages that are as fast as any, but the band also demonstrates a clear understanding of dynamics with chugging, grooving parts that echo some of the better offerings by bands like Metallica and Exodus. Vendetta even border on prog at some points, keeping the listener wondering with riff and time changes throughout the album's 38 minutes. It's baffling that Vendetta didn't make a bigger name for themselves, because this is a very excellent addition to the thrash metal story. Sure, the vocals aren't anything special but certainly don't take away from the music, and while some songs seem to meander or lose their way at times, they are definitely well-executed for the most part. This is probably the best yet of those diamonds-in-the-rough that have made this exercise so damn enjoyable. 1. Suicidal Lunacy 2. Go and Live... Stay and Die 3. Traitor's Fate 4. System of Death 5. Drugs and Corruption 6. Revolution Command 7. On the Road Score: 8.5/10
