The thing that immediately jumps out at you when you first spin Holy Moses' debut is Sabina Classen's absolutely shredded vocals. Up to this point, the only female thrash vocalist we've seen is Znowhite's Nicole Lee, who is a fine vocalist in her own right, but Classen is trying stuff that very few men have tried up to this point! I mean, this is 1986 and this chick sounds downright rabid at times!
Unfortunately, the music accompanying Sabina's inhuman cries is not quite up to snuff. The music rarely rises above mid-paced, and unlike a lot of other German bands of the time, it's pretty melodic stuff too. In fact, there are times when an actual melodic vocalist would match the instrumentation much better than Classen's growls -- so much so that they sound almost comical at times. The riffing is really standard stuff for the most part, although there are some tasty leads thrown in from time to time. All in all, this album is only a must-own if you're a die-hard completist, because there are much better examples of thrash out there, like the band's next one.
1. Necropolis
2. Don't Mess Around With the Bitch
3. Devil's Dancer
4. Queen of Siam
5. Roadcrew
6. Walpurgisnight
7. Bursting Rest
8. Dear Little Friend
9. Torches of Hire
Score: 4.5/10
This is Razor's third full-length, and fourth official release overall, and their sound really hasn't changed much over the course of their short career, except for the fact that they're stuck in full-speed ahead mode full time now. This is a problem. While there are good songs to be found, they all kind of blur into one because the speed and overall feel of each song is nearly identical. Not only that, but the drums are way too high in the mix. Every time M-Bro starts humping that ride cymbal, it drives me a little nuts.
It's not all bad though, in fact this isn't a bad album at all, it's just that Razor's sound is starting to get a little stagnant at this point, even though they've gotten slightly more aggressive here with more tremolo riffs and mainly faster tempos. The star of Malicious Intent (other than Dave Carlo, who is the star of any Razor album) absolutely must be vocalist Sheepdog, who is truly starting to live up to his name, howling and growling like... a... dog.
The problem with what Razor are doing at this point is that they aren't advancing their sound, while their peers are. Metallica, Slayer, Overkill, Possessed, Anthrax & Megadeth have all released at least one (arguably) landmark album. Razor has not. They've remained more or less the same since their 1984 EP and at this point seem in danger of being left behind. Of course, with the benefit of this being 2013 and not 1986, we know this isn't the case, but you know, like, humour me.
1. Tear Me To Pieces
2. Night Attack
3. Grindstone
4. Cage the Ragers
5. Malicious Intent
6. Rebel Onslaught
7. A.O.D.
8. Challenge the Eagles
9. Stand Before Kings
10. High Speed Metal
11. K.M.A.
Score: 6.5/10
Exumer are a lot like a German Exodus circa 1985 -- ultra-aggressive thrash with an over-the-top vocalist who doesn't possess a whole lot in the way of real singing ability. It's easy to get swept up in the sheer speed of Exumer's attack here, and the band goes through riffs with reckless abandon -- which is part of the problem on this album. There are some really great fucking riffs here, but for the most part they just don't know how to put them together. In a lot of cases it seems like they've just hammered a lot of different riffs together that just don't want to fit. If Exumer possessed just a little more songwriting skill, this could really be one of the all-time greats. It's still a good album, and will get that head banging but it's not particularly memorable or iconic.
1. Possessed by Fire
2. Destructive Solution
3. Fallen Saint
4. A Mortal in Black
5. Sorrows of the Judgement
6. Xiron Darkstar
7. Reign of Sadness
8. Journey to Oblivion
9. Silent Death
Score: 7/10
I've never understood why Voivod's early work is regarded as legendary. Their first album is a sloppy mess of punk and metal with a drunken French-Canadian ranting about being a fish over top. Upon revisiting their second release though, I realized there is some promise here. The overall sound is still sloppy and the vocals are still largely incoherent, but the band benefits greatly from much better songwriting. Songs like "Slaughter in a Grave" and "Thrashing Rage" are good excercises in punky Motorhead-tinged thrash. There's still not enough here to convince me that this album should stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the likes of Feel the Fire or Bonded By Blood, not to mention that it might be the worst album title ever, but it's a definite improvement on the first and I'm kind of intrigued to listen to Killing Technology again...
1. Korgull the Exterminator
2. Fuck Off and Die
3. Slaughter in a Grave
4. Ripping Headaches
5. Horror
6. Thrashing Rage
7. The Helldriver
8. Build Your Weapons
9. To the Death
Score: 5/10
I always find it a little more difficult to review an album that I've listened to about 3000 times than one that is fresh to my ears. It makes it all the more difficult when it is one that evokes such strong emotions as Master of Puppets. I've read a lot of differing opinions on it, from it being the best album in thrash/metal/popular music to that it is the album that killed heavy metal. I'm in neither camp, but if I had to pick one I'd be closer to the former.
The main gripe I have with Puppets is that it's a near clone of its predecessor, Ride the Lightning. Did they get lazy? Did they just go "hey that worked really well, let's just do it again!" There are differences of course. The album doesn't sound quite as deadly as Lightning did, but it's still very powerful. The songs have also gotten longer for the most part, almost to the point of ridiculousness in some cases.
I'd be lying to myself if I didn't give this album a favourable review though. Just like with Ride the Lightning, Metallica still seem like they're a couple steps ahead of the competition. Songs like "Disposable Heroes", "Damage, Inc." and the title track are all time thrash classics. "Orion" is a step down from "The Call of Ktulu", but it's still one of the best metal instrumentals I've ever heard. This is a controlled, very structured effort, much more so than anything Metallica had done before. In the grand scheme of things, Master of Puppets is a transitional album, setting the stage for what would be Metallica's thrash metal swan song.
1. Battery
2. Master of Puppets
3. The Thing That Should Not Be
4. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
5. Disposable Heroes
6. Leper Messiah
7. Orion
8. Damage, Inc.
Score: 9/10
It's finding albums like these that make this little 'journey' totally worth it. I mean, who the fuck is Mysto Dysto (one of the worst band names ever, they would later change it to Mandator) and what does their only full-length sound like? Well, it's pretty fucking good! I mean, the vocals aren't great, the production is about what you would expect for some random band from the Netherlands in 1986 and there are some kind of 'WTF' moments, but this is some very nice thrash metal with a classic melodic European sound. The other cool thing about this album is that most of the songs go into these lengthy instrumental passages with blazing guitar solos. This is good stuff. I'd recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the more melodic, speedy side of the genre.
1. Power of the Law
2. Confused
3. Tarantula
4. Atilla the Destructor
5. Full Speed to Hell
6. Indenter
7. One Night Stand
8. Visit of the Vikings
Score: 7.5/10
Znowhite's first EP didn't do a whole lot for me. It wasn't bad, but it was kind of primitive, if not competent thrash metal. Their second EP finds them still searching for their sound, but they've definitely made some improvements. While All Hail To Thee was more fun and light, this one is decidedly meaner -- not as mean as say, Overkill, but maybe like a less catchy Anthrax. Of course, it's not all good; album closer "Turn Up the Pain" is a snooze and "Run Like the Wind" finds Nicole Lee singing out of her range. The band is at their best when they're playing quick, dirty thrash, with the clear winner being "All Hail To Thee" (I know, it's the title of their previous EP, confusing) which is carried by an excellent verse riff. If nothing else, this EP makes me very interested to hear what their lone full-length, 1988's Act of God sounds like -- I've heard good things.
1. Live For the Weekend
2. All Hail to Thee
3. Run Like the Wind
4. Too Late
5. Turn Up the Pain
Score: 6/10
