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
In a scene as crowded as the NYC one was, already boasting the likes of Overkill, Anthrax, Nuclear Assault and Carnivore, it must have been difficult for a band like Primal Scream who, while not awful, didn't exactly have it all put together like those other bands. Primal Scream were one of those meat-and-potatoes thrash bands, who thrashed hard and probably lived much the same way.
Like many of their New York brethren, Primal Fear had more of a punk vibe than their West Coast counterparts with Rob Graham (or was it Steve Alliano? I have no idea) bellowing Cro-Mags-style over some pretty quick riffs. Probably the most striking song on the album though, is when one of those aforementioned vocalists actually decides to sing over some more melodic instrumentation in "Kill the Light". At any rate, Primal Scream's one and only volume is an enjoyable enough experience, as pedestrian as it may be.
1. State of the State
2. War and Sin
3. Last Breath
4. Scream Til You Bleed
5. Kill the Light
6. Poisoned
7. Ignorance Is No Excuse
8. Megaton
9. Mr. McCreedy
10. Shot On Sight
Score: 6/10
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
