Class Thrash Review

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1. The Choice 2. Murder, Rape, Pilage, And Burn 3. Reformation 4. Redeem Deny 5. Possession 6. Suicidal Dreams 7. Life And Death 8. Victim Of The Future 9. Tunnel Of Damnation 10. Follower 11. Impending Doom

Paul Speckmann's thrash metal project Abomination was just one of those bands you'd like to appreciate more but simply can't find the music too great to start with. Abomination's sound on their debut release is fairly satisfying with good guitars and Speckmann's rough vocals, but the extremely bare and depressive feel of this music makes it just a bit too difficult to bear with it. Not only that, but the riffs manage to dodge all attempts at memorable hooks, which only ensures that you cannot really recall much about the thing afterwards. Some respect must be certainly given for the band's honest style and dedication to avoid any gimmicks, but if the goal was to catch some long time attention then at least on this debut the outcome was not too successful.

1. Blood For Oil 2. They're Dead 3. Pull The Plug 4. Will They Bleed 5. Industrial Sickness 6. Soldier 7. Kill Or Be Killed 8. Oppression

It seems that somewhere between their first two albums Abomination found the magic to actually create some good music. While the band's debut album certainly left something to be desired, Tragedy Strikes shows vast improvement in all areas. With these tracks the band sound heavier, stronger, and simply more credible by tenfold. The difference between dull and powerful riffs can really be very narrow - while the style of this album is not that much different from its predecessor, the level of power is definitely something else. Suddenly even the lyrics appear perfectly fitting with strong feelings of fear, hate and pain, not just something taken from a thrash metal textbook. A lot of credit must be given to Paul Speckmann's intense vocals on this album; when the man roars into the chorus of Pull The Plug, the hair on your neck stands up. It should be noted that Abomination's output is still essentially very raw and unfriendly, and those looking for a bit more accessible style might not consider this too attractive - but those who give Tragedy Strikes a try may find that it wipes the table with a whole lot of other recordings.

1. Victim Of The Future 2. Social Outcast 3. Rape Of The Grave 4. Possession 5. Doomed By The Living 6. The Truth 7. Over The Edge 8. Reformation 9. Impending Doom 10. Curses Of The Deadly Sin 11. Tunnel Of Damnation 12. Follower

It may be only inevitable that a band's sound would wear off in almost a decade, but it was still something of an unpleasant surprise to find how lacking in content Abomination's Curses Of The Deadly Sin turned out to be. For some reason the band saw it best to abandon all the previous achievements in both production and songwriting areas, and the result is bare and terse to a near hardcore-ish extent, making it virtually impossible to distinguish these songs from each other. Abomination's sound on this album is nearly as dull as on their debut, and it is practically one and the same kind of banging that goes on here, with no slightest variation whatsoever. Maybe Curses Of The Deadly Sin was meant to serve as a reminder that the band were still active, but compared to Tragedy Strikes this thing is almost an equivalent of being dead in the water.

1. Face In The Crowd 2. You Could Be Next 3. Take A Sip Of Power 4. Man Created God 5. Mistaken Reality

The Final War marked the end of the nineties for Abomination, and you can say that the band could have done better than this. The style of this mini album is very similar to Curses Of The Deadly Sin, which is not a great surprise since there was only a short time between these recordings. The most distinctive feature of this release is without a doubt the production that is awfully bass-heavy. With the bass brought way too up front, it is very close to dominating the mix over everything else. Occasionally you cannot even hear the guitar properly except for some undeniably stylish solos. If the bass sound on Overkill's W.F.O. sounded quirky enough to you then this is going to be a tough one to bear. For other than that, pretty much the same points apply to The Final War as the previous release - this album is as raw and unapologetic as it gets, and it really takes an acquired taste to consider it a masterpiece.

1. Evil Liar 2. Sadistic Terror 3. Down By Law 4. Law Of War 5. Accuser 6. The Conviction 7. Screaming For Guilt

Despite having their origins in Germany, Accuser did not play your most stereotypical German thrash metal of the time. While the band's debut release The Conviction consists of energetic and straightforward thrash metal with a fairly dark sound and snarling vocals, it is varied enough to maintain some interest. The music still sounds a bit rough around the edges, especially the vocal delivery is quite nasty at times and can take some time to get used to it. Nevertheless, the band keeps up some respectable speed and the rough delivery sort of matches the intensity of music at this early stage. The Conviction may not be the most refined Accuser release, but it is no less an essential document of the band's style in the beginning.

1. The Persuasion 2. Black Suicide 3. Terroristic Violence 4. Technical Excess 5. F.H.W.C. 6. Ratouli

Experimental Errors is not radically different from Accuser's debut release, but the production is slightly better and also the style is more consistent. Actually this mini album feels even a bit more one-dimensional in comparison to its predecessor, which may explain a few stale moments during the first half of the recording. The band sound more technically proficient, but the material as a whole has less variety than The Conviction. The frantic run of Technical Excess and F.H.W.C. manages to catch some attention despite the rather simple style of these tracks, therefore giving the latter half of this album a fair boost. Even though Experimental Errors was not too bad for another heavy release from Accuser, the content still could have been more memorable.

1. Master Of Disaster 2. Who Pulls The Wire? 3. Elected To Suffer 4. Symbol Of Hate 5. Who Dominates Who? 6. Bastard 7. Called To The Bench

Who Dominates Who represents logical continuation of the style of Accuser's previous release Experimental Errors. The music does not exactly differ too much from your basic thrash metal, but some original technical touches and intense delivery manage to make it pretty satisfying. The band pull some notably fast tracks like Symbol Of Hate which, while not actually too special in themselves, become quite impressive due to the sheer speed alone. On a few tracks the hyperactive, layered drumming draws some serious attention, even resembling the sound of Holy Moses on the classic Finished With The Dogs. While Accuser's output is not nearly as creative, some memorable tracks are created as a result. Still, as a whole this album is a bit tiresome as the music is just not quite strong enough. Who Dominates Who has its moments but does not really compare to the better albums of the time.

1. Double Talk 2. The Freeze 3. Money 4. Flag Waver 5. Why Me 6. Indistinct Articulation 7. Revolution 8. Alcowhore

With little actual differences from the preceding albums, Double Talk is pretty much another typical Accuser release. The production is slightly heavier than before but the general sound is very familiar from the past. It's the same basic thrash metal with some light technical touches, though this time the outcome starts to get a little tedious at some point. It's not like Accuser ever sounded particularly fresh or innovative but on this album the repetitious and occasionally even preachy style starts to get old pretty fast. Despite the effort certainly spent on this album, no tracks are really distinguishable from each other. Somehow the earlier releases had at least some more energetic feel to them. In the series of consistent Accuser albums Double Talk remains faithful to the band's original style but lacks some power of its predecessors.

1. Rotting From Within 2. Repent 3. Get Saved 4. Sacrifice Machine 5. The Living Dead 6. The Drones 7. Judgement Gone Blind 8. Nosferatu 9. Metal Machine Music

Accuser took one more draw in a traditional vein in the form of Repent, an album that proves the band still had some respectable energy left. It is certainly less worn out than Double Talk, also grittier and more focused while sometimes almost monotonic in comparison to Accuser's older releases. Except for one experimental piece (Metal Machine Music) which is just a throwaway, the music is unarguably quite consistent and stylish for what it's worth. It must be emphasized that this album is a notably heavy effort, therefore it is sort of an achievement in itself that the outcome does not collapse under its own load. You must have heard better than this, but considering the band's whole discography Repent is far from the worst of its kind.

1. Goddess 2. Suspended Sentence 3. Freedom Of Speech 4. Motherly Love 5. Respect The Dead 6. Chaos (Lambs To The Slaughter)

For a short period of time Acid Reign were one of the more interesting groups in the British thrash metal genre. Granted, they were not quite as creative and original as Sabbat, for example, but they were enthusiastic enough to stand out of the crowd. The band's debut mini album Moshkinstein is an energetic recording though the lesser quality of the production makes the impression somewhat lacking. The incredibly thin and rough guitar sound in particular tends to distract you from the music a bit too often. This kind of lousy guitar might have felt natural on some punk band's album, but thrash metal standards required something different. The band pumps up the speed in a respectable manner and the songs are not too bad if fairly forgettable, but it's the poor production values that really leave this album behind.

1. You Never Know 2. Reflection Of Truths 3. Insane Ecstasy 4. Humanoia 5. The Fear 6. Blind Aggression 7. Life In Forms 8. All I See 9. Lost In Solitude

Acid Reign's first full-length release The Fear featured notable logical development over the preceding mini album. Even though the musical approach in itself is already more advanced than on Moshkinstein, the improved production alone makes the earlier effort pale in comparison. On this album Acid Reign's song structures became clearly more ambitious than on average, resulting in compositions that you could call even stylish at times. Although a lot of the music is still not too memorable even after several listenings, the overall impression is fairly positive and makes you want to get back to the album every now and then. While The Fear still leaves room for improvement, it shows some serious promise and makes a satisfying piece of old British thrash metal.

1. Creative Restraint 2. Joke Chain 3. Thoughtful Sleep 4. You Are Your Enemy 5. Phantasm 6. My Open Mind 7. Codes Of Conformity 8. This Is Serious

With their final album Acid Reign took a step into a more technical direction. Obnoxious is a bit slower but musically more refined effort than the band's early works. There are some noticeably sinister overtones in the music, and with a couple of particularly long, complex tracks the sound of this album is very focused and heavy (excluding the cranky joke track This Is Serious, of course). The added technicality doesn't mean that the songs would have got boring, in fact quite the opposite. Obnoxious has an original, intriguing feel that helps it to carry on through even some less inspired moments during the latter half of the album. The Fear may be faster and more immediately accessible release, but based on its obvious strengths Obnoxious is bound to have some more long-lasting appeal.

1. Choose Live Or Die 2. Scourge Of The Gods 3. Terminator 4. The Madness 5. Why?... Dirty War 6. Never Renounce

Of Brazilian origins, Acid Storm played speed/thrash metal in a fairly typical but energetic vein. Why?... Dirty War manages to capture the authentic sound and feel of the scene at the time although musically it is an ordinary effort with no reason for big praise. Basically Acid Storm end up sounding almost like another run-of-the-mill band in the beginning of their career, with few distinctive features to differentiate them from the horde of other bands from the same period. Admittedly the output is formally adequate and the album plays rather unobtrusively in the background, but if you expect to get anything more out of it then you may be in for a slight disappointment. As the music doesn't really stand out of the crowd in either good or bad, it's just the lack of true character that makes Why?... Dirty War a bit forgettable in the end.

1. Intro (The Beginning) 2. Metal Beasts 3. Hungry For Life 4. Symbiotic Love 5. Last Days Of Paradise 6. Galactic Holocaust 7. Biologic Mechanization 8. Star Host

More ambitious than Acid Storm's debut release, Biotronic Genesis is something of a sci-fi concept album - clearly more diverse than what you might expect from a typical release in the genre, although far from the most classic implementations of the style. The music is all quite professional sounding and occasionally even semi-innovative with some additional technical touches and flashes of competence above the average level, therefore it's a slight pity that most of it escapes memory even in the long run. The first couple of tracks are compact enough to leave a mark, but some longer and more complex pieces later on do not quite make the same kind of impression anymore. The album is still worth a listen, though, even if only for the fact that it represents a slight departure from the most standard ways of thrashing out.

1. Beyond 2. The Verdict 3. Exist In Misery 4. For Freedom I Cry 5. Countdown To Terror 6. Denied Right 7. Lethal Idol 8. Nothing Held Sacred 9. Vigilante

Apparently originally recorded already in 1988, this delayed release of Acridity's only full-length album is certainly not too groundbreaking. For Freedom I Cry is somewhat fair thrash metal that stays too much on the generic side. Technically the band sound just as capable as anyone in the scene, but somehow they manage to avoid all attempts to breath some life into their music. The riffs are absolutely bland, which renders this album totally unmemorable. The production lacks heaviness and together with the undeveloped vocals gives the album a slightly thin sound. Maybe it's partially due to the release issues, but in some way For Freedom I Cry seems a bit unfinished. Based on this album only it is hard to really say anything about the actual talent Acridity potentially had.

1. Intro To Corruption 2. Corrupt Minds 3. Slaves Of Sin 4. From The Depths 5. Lifeless Image 6. Crowd Distress 7. Crime For Living 8. Holy Spirit 9. Living In Today 10. Ceremonial Slaughter 11. Warped Illusions 12. Forgotten Faith 13. Victims Of The Holocaust

In the beginning Acrophet were nothing more than a full-fledged speedcore band, which shows on their debut. Corrupt Minds is total speedcore with little in the way of straightforward, hasty riffs and simple shouts for vocals. At first this album sounded so narrow and one-dimensional to me that it wasn't even funny, though later on I learned to bear with its plain style. Except for the short instrumental Intro To Corruption, the music doesn't really offer too much to catch a hold of, which makes this album sound pretty much the same. Only after careful listening one can pick some characteristics from the songs to help to differentiate them from each other. Although speedcore/hardcore fans may treat Corrupt Minds as a solid offering, I must say this kind of thing is not really my cup of tea.

1. When Time Stands Still 2. Dependency 3. Silent Insanity 4. Legend Has It 5. Dead All Day 6. The American Zone 1990 7. Independence At Its Finest 8. Return To Me Life 9. Innocent Blood 10. Forever The Fall 11. Haunting Once Again

With their second album Acrophet introduced some more diverse elements in their music, which in this case was only a good thing. Faded Glory is mostly standard thrash metal with some speedcore features still left around. The band sound more convincing than before, though despite the added variety and some decent riffs the music is still not too exceptional by any means. On the other hand, even the more hardcore-ish pieces blend smoothly with more advanced tracks (Dead All Day is actually one of the most memorable songs on this album). With a little more evolution and time Acrophet might have been able to create something truly interesting, but as Faded Glory was to remain their last album, this never really happened.

1. Get Out Of My Life 2. Come Before The Storm 3. Boiling Point 4. Sonder Kommando 5. The Forge 6. What Ward R.U.In? 7. Echoes Of The Mind 8. Addictive Friend 9. My Foe 10. Pity Of Man

Of the few Australian thrash metal bands, Addictive appear to have been among the heavier and also better ones. Pity Of Man has a very good, thick and crunchy sound, which suits the band's heavy but rich style very well. The tracks are pretty heavy stompers, not exactly too imaginative but with some nice details appearing throughout. Somehow the band sound a bit more varied than your average thrash metal act although the music is certainly not too experimental or anything. Despite the convincing delivery and very consistent style this album is strained by some dullness in the songs which sound a little too samey. Still, Addictive deserves some respect for putting out a fairly interesting album with Pity Of Man even though the result is not quite there to become really great.

Note: The CD release of this album has different cover art than the original vinyl.

1. Distemper 2. Waiting For Yesterday 3. Kick 'em Hard 4. You're Perfect 5. Towards Extinction 6. Wacked 7. You Never Know 8. Man Made Act Of God 9. Serves You Right 10. Bitch

With their second release Addictive continued almost directly in the style of the band's debut. Supported by some very good and heavy production, Kick 'em Hard maintains the characteristic crunchy sound not unlike Pity Of Man though the music here is generally more varied. At first this album sounds highly promising as Waiting For Yesterday and the title track are some of the fastest and heaviest pieces around. However, the album on the whole is more diverse than the first few tracks and does not fully succeed in sustaining the initial intensity. All tracks still carry the customary, even original Addictive sound, it's just not as consistent as on Pity Of Man though certainly not without its moments either. While not providing anything too remarkable, Kick 'em Hard still has some special appeal that makes it a bit more distinguishable from your average pack.

1. Weird Visions 2. King Of Pain 3. Lost Generation 4. Sacrifice In The Ice 5. Mystical Warfare 6. Fortunetelling 7. Behind The Mirror 8. Sign Of The Time 9. Trouble 10. Invasion 11. Kill The King

Although ADX must be one of the better known French speed/thrash metal bands out there, their recordings in English consist of this one album only. As the band had already released several albums before this, it is no surprise that Weird Visions features very refined if quite conventional speed/thrash metal. The first half of the album is pretty satisfying with some fairly effective riffs, but the second half contains a few tracks that are simply not quite as powerful. Probably a bit more energetic approach might have helped the result as now a couple of songs still carry some more mellow influences from the band's past. Nevertheless, the major instrumental pieces Mystical Warfare and Trouble are particularly stylish and well done. With a little more aggressive feel this album on the whole could have been more memorable, now it's pretty nice but definitely not too remarkable.

1. Funeral Parlor 2. The Day After 3. Tombs Of Forgotten Souls 4. Fundamental Mental Derangement 5. Raping Mother Nature 6. The Damnation Of Humanization 7. Methamphetamine 8. Peace Through Violence 9. Pit Of Ignorance 10. Severance Pay 11. Trying To Be Cool

The band is called Affliction, the album The Damnation Of Humanization, and just by seeing the cover and not hearing a single note beforehand you could already be dead certain that the music is going to be straight-out thrash metal and maybe not too original for such. Indeed, the record starts out pretty flat and boring and doesn't really change its course during the lengthy tracks. To add to the textbook feel, even the lyrics cover seemingly serious topics in quite a stereotypical way. It's only the fastest thrashers like Tombs Of Forgotten Souls and Trying To Be Cool that provide some refreshment among the less distinctive and more tiresome stompers - too bad there's only a couple of these moments on the whole album. Affliction's sound is laudably heavy and technically there is no reason to complain, but with such a generic offering it was clearly too little and too late.

1. The Calling 2. Agents Of Steel 3. Taken By Force 4. Evil Eye / Evil Minds 5. Bleed For The Godz 6. Children Of The Sun 7. 144,000 Gone 8. Guilty As Charged 9. Back To Reign

Agent Steel were undeniably one of the most classic speed metal acts in the eighties, whether you liked their style or not. Skeptics Apocalypse has a certain raw edge over the band's later recordings, which gives this album some additional boost. The first half is essentially faster and more furious than the second, therefore resulting in something of a dual nature. In addition, the vocals of John Cyriis are pretty much in the love-it-or-hate-it category, with an extremely squeaky tone that you may find either perfectly fitting or downright terrible. Anyhow, Agent Steel's vintage sound remains kind of appealing even today, featuring some great riffs and first class guitar work, and the most unrestricted and ultra-fast tracks like Agents Of Steel and Bleed For The Godz are still second to none in all their rage. Although Skeptics Apocalypse shows its age, it is still a highly noteworthy release in many ways.

1. The Swarm Is Upon Us 2. Mad Locust Rising 3. The Ripper 4. Let It Be Done / The Day At Guyana

Mad Locust Rising feels essentially like an aftertaste of Skeptics Apocalypse. This short mini album is still firmly in the high-speed realm except for a cover version of Judas Priest's The Ripper, and there are no signs of reduced intensity at this stage yet. Excluding the short intro and the cover song, there are only two actual original pieces on this release, but they are almost guaranteed to satisfy anyone who found the fastest tracks of the band's debut album enjoyable enough. For better or worse, the vocals are still bound to divide opinions, but you cannot deny that Agent Steel's sound was easily distinguishable as well as stylish in its own particular way. In this sense Mad Locust Rising just provides more of the same in a tested and tried format.

1. Forsaken Survival 2. Frozen Aggressor 3. Green Goblin 4. One For The Woods 5. Dripping Flesh 6. By The Reaping Hook 7. Demolition 8. Rotten By Torture 9. The Final Massacre

Not sure if it's the production of the original recording or the pressing of this re-issue by Old Metal Records, but the sound quality of Aggression's The Full Treatment leaves a lot to be desired. It's a real shame because this Canadian band surely lived up to their name as far as the sheer energy of music is considered. The whole album is extremely fast, heavy and raw, with little attention been paid to other than nearly mindless thrashing. The sound of The Full Treatment is so brutal and without compromises that it may actually be too much for some listeners - I must admit that at first this album sounded like a total mess to me, too. However, after some careful listening with patience, one cannot help but start to appreciate the undisputed attitude of this music. This recording essentially makes 95% of everything else out there sound like jazz in comparison. I only wish there would be a decent re-release of this album some day, as now the poor sound quality lessens the full impact.

1. Storm Of The Apocalypse 2. First Defiance 3. Execution Of Mankind 4. Mass Manipulation 5. Night Of The Emperor 6. Shadow Of Fear 7. Madness Reigns 8. Deadly Legacy

Agony's The First Defiance, the only release from this Swedish band, starts and ends with some very fast and furious tracks but features also some less frantic material. The main issue with the music is that it's rather generic and unoriginal though this was a common problem with many other bands in the scene as well. The songs are very well done and the production is good and all, it's just that this band pretty much failed to make themselves distinguishable from countless others. Only occasionally do some riffs hint of some genuine ideas but these moments are quite rare after all. The band sound professional and the music is up to any thrash metal standards out there but the neutral, even clinical feel of the music tends to leave the listener pretty bored. As an example of technically well-done thrash metal The First Defiance certainly serves its purpose, but the lack of true character and spirit somewhat weakens the result.

1. Paralytic Disease 2. The Unknown Spell 3. Elemental Decay 4. Voices From Below 5. Bloodfeast 6. Neverending Destiny 7. Prince Of Fire 8. Dark Power 9. The Arrival 10. Brainstorm 11. Bloody Corpse

Agressor's long lasting career in French death metal circles was based on strong thrash metal roots which still prevail on the band's debut album. Neverending Destiny can be best described as an unstoppable riff machine running at ultra-speed. From the very first moments, this album is characterized by amazingly fast but mostly quite distinctive riffs that weave an unsurpassable wall of sound. Complete with your typical but fitting death-ish growls for vocals, these tracks are like one long thrash metal epic divided into shorter sections. At some point it starts to seriously repeat itself, which is kind of unavoidable, but when you evaluate this album as a whole the strengths of the consistent style compensate for the weaknesses. Initially I didn't think too much of Agressor's output, but Neverending Destiny has grown on me over time.

1. Give Up 2. Helluva Noise 3. Another Day 4. White Lies 5. Spit Your Guts 6. Without It 7. Reaper 8. Thank God It's Monday 9. Eat Shit

Together with Stone, Airdash were probably considered a pioneer thrash metal act in Finland. The band's debut album Thank God It's Monday is your typical minor release in every sense - very ordinary, straightforward thrash metal with few highlights. The production is pretty stale and the sound of this album leaves a lot to be desired. Even some better production values wouldn't help the music too much, as with the undeveloped, annoying vocals that border on monotonous, and mostly generic, unmemorable riffs, this thing is far from impressive. A couple of songs like Helluva Noise and Spit Your Guts are not too bad, especially the former may as well be the best track on the whole album. Still, this debut release from Airdash is mostly remarkable only for possible nostalgic reasons, certainly not for the quality of music.

1. If... 2. Youth Hostel 3. Jungle Jim 4. Decent Citizen 5. Vengeance Through Violence (No Bullshit) 6. Trigger Happy 7. Forbidden Thoughts 8. Sleepwalk 9. Thank God It's Monday (live)

With their second release Hospital Hallucinations Take One Airdash improved over their debut just a bit. The music is notably more polished and fluent but rather emotionless speed/thrash metal, this time with some surprisingly classy vocals. The album sounds very consistent but almost completely lacks any memorable individual tracks, which makes it a bit hard to remember anything from this album afterwards. Not only that, but the band sound strangely restrained, which leads to a somewhat generic feel of the music. A little more aggressive approach might have helped the result a bit, now most songs sound more like technical exercises than really enthusiastic thrashers. Nonetheless, this album bears a certain touch of quality on it and the music is quite stylish in its own particular way. It's just that compared to a number of other albums in the scene Hospital Hallucinations Take One is too much on the bland side.

1. Liquid Bliss 2. Hollow Men 3. Savage Ritual 4. So It Goes 5. Soul Of A Renegade 6. Silent Wall 7. Deeper Shades 8. Letter Of Indulgence 9. Choking Child 10. View 11. Take A Look At Me 12. Got No Blues 13. Eat Shit

Airdash really took an ambitious step with their last release. Not nearly as dull as its predecessors, Both Ends Of The Path can be best described as highly technical thrash metal positioned somewhere between Coroner and Death Angel with its style. It's still pretty easy to recognize the band's sound even based on the vocal style alone, but this time the music contains some particularly rich elements and even progressive touches that make it somewhat extraordinary. Tracks like Liquid Bliss and Silent Wall are some prime examples of this captivating style whereas Choking Child proves that Airdash could also put out some highly effective straightforward thrashers when they really wanted. A couple of tracks appear a bit too "high" for my taste, but as a whole the result is surprisingly good. In the end, this is one of those albums that can leave you rather puzzled at first - the best way to get into it is just to give it a few spins one after another until the music either proves itself totally meaningless or suddenly becomes fully understandable in a splendid way. In this case I found the latter option to be closer to the truth.

1. Introduction 2. Go Away 3. Ides Of March 4. The Time Of Judgements 5. Epitaph 6. Adrian's Son 7. Emily 8. O.N.A. 88-10-21 9. Syndroms Of The Cities 10. 46

Certainly not the best known example of Polish thrash metal, Alastor must be among the more obscure bands at least from today's perspective. On the other hand Syndroms Of The Cities doesn't really provide much of reason why the band should have been better recognized anyway. Alastor's sound has some slight technical tendencies, and attempts at creating a characteristic style with some semi-creative touches are obvious, but the result never really takes off. Maybe this is due to quite unmemorable riffs or rather thin vocals, but most songs here simply lack all substance. It goes without saying that the album as a whole does not exactly catch your attention in the long run. While Syndroms Of The Cities is not a complete put-off and has something like a few interesting moments after all, in the end this album tends to disappoint more often than not.

1. Intro 2. Chaos Dies 3. One Step Beyond 4. Hate Frenzy 5. Torn Between Two Worlds 6. Destitution 7. Morally Justified 8. Path Of Lies 9. Dealt The Cruel Hand 10. Downward Spiral 11. Twisted Minds 12. Tranquillity

Allegiance's D.e.s.t.i.t.u.t.i.o.n. is a fair slab of vintage thrash metal from Australia. This album got a production of nice quality, heavy and stomping, and generally the band sound fairly good even though the vocals can appear quite pretentious at times. Musically the outcome is not too bad, just quite unsurprising to say the least. While it may be difficult to point out any blatantly copied elements, you cannot avoid a recurring sense of deja vu every now and then. It is not only due to some external influences, but most of these tracks tend to repeat the same kind of formula which effectively contributes to the slightly derivative feel of this album. Allegiance had it technically well done, but that does not quite compensate for some obvious lack of credibility.

1. Intro 2. Immortal Entity 3. Yesterday We Feel 4. Dimagra 5. S.O.Y.F.A.S. 6. And Then The Silence 7. Samba Death 8. Bog Of Horror 9. In My Dreams

Among Italian speed/thrash metal albums, Alligator's Immortal Entity is not the most memorable release. In fact, you could call it quite dull as a whole. Alligator's sound is not exactly weak but not really powerful either, and while these songs probably cause no great distraction, there is not much reason to give the album a second thought after you have been through it a couple of times at least. The music has a fair deal of variety for sure, but it is no great help when you tend to forget most of it with little effort, no matter whether trying hard to concentrate on the thing when it is playing. Immortal Entity contains some very unsurprising basic elements, and without any really original or even moderately appealing details a lot of it is bound to appear just too pointless.

1. Cerebral Implosion 2. Beyond The Reach Of Fate 3. The Cage 4. Decimation 5. Help 6. Lullaby For The Unborn 7. Skeleton's Beach 8. Tarantula 9. Drinking Milk From My Knees 10. Fetching Fear 11. Natural Victims

Cerebral Implosion was obviously something of a turn into right direction for Alligator. While the band's style remains quite similar to their debut release, this second album appears a tad heavier and also stronger when compared to Immortal Entity. The outcome sounds generally more convincing and credible than before, although musical differences are not huge. Despite some advancements, it is still not unreservedly distinctive enough to completely avoid an occasional bored feel. The songs make a consistent bunch, but the quality is nowhere near the top class, and you cannot help wondering what a Beatles cover (Help) is doing here. Maybe just not as striking as one might wish for, at least Cerebral Implosion can be called a fair improvement over its predecessor.

1. Solution 2. Memories Of Me 3. The Final Revelation 4. Epitaph 5. Unknown Entity 6. No More Tomorrow 7. One Below Zero 8. Perish

Based on Unknown Entity, Amnesia had something of a distinctive sound among the other British speed/thrash metal bands. The band's style is something in the Megadeth/Metallica vein though with cleaner vocals and a less heavy production. Despite the overall feel being not too aggressive, this album builds up some decent speed. Occasionally the songs remind me of Bitter End and Dyoxen with their fairly technical feel though Amnesia are definitely more listenable than either of those bands. However, mostly the songs flow without leaving a mark anywhere, and while The Final Revelation and Perish are a couple of clever tracks they are not quite enough to make the whole album appear impressive. Amnesia's relaxed sound is kind of nice and the band apparently had some style of their own, but as a whole Unknown Entity sounds somewhat bland with only a few slightly interesting moments.

1. Present Tense 2. Imprisoned 3. R.O.T. (Reign Of Terror) 4. Butcher's Block 5. A World To Gain 6. Frigid Bitch 7. Fighting Evil 8. Twisted Cross 9. Annihilation Complete / Disemboweled

Let it be said that while the later recordings of Anacrusis can be pretty unlistenable in the conventional sense, the band's debut album fortunately has a lot more common with the pure thrash metal realm than their later explorations into the progressive swamp. Suffering Hour is a relatively rough dose of thrash with fairly catchy riffs and only some intricate touches hinting at more ambitious developments to come. Actually it is hard to find anything seriously faulty in this album, except maybe a few quirky moments in the vocal department. While Ken Nardi's vocals are more original than the norm, occasionally their balance between rough screams and clean, even melodic bits is not too well adjusted. Regardless, with several hard-hitting pieces like R.O.T. and Twisted Cross this album shows that Anacrusis could have pretty successfully filled a thrash metal niche of their own just by sticking to the style of Suffering Hour, without any urgent need to seek into more complex directions.

1. Into The Dark Past 2. I'll Come Back 3. Legions Of Destruction 4. Gambler 5. Fighter's Return 6. Atomic Roar 7. Victims Of Madness 8. Marching For Revenge

Better not let Angel Dust's reputation as a major power metal act fool you with this one. Done with the original line-up before the band decided to seek less extreme directions, their debut Into The Dark Past is a classic piece of German thrash metal filled with steady high-speed riffs throughout. The consistent speed is really a major aspect of this album - although the riffs are mostly not too distinctive, smashing fast thrashers like I'll Come Back and Legions Of Destruction hardly leave anyone cold. Just listen to Fighter's Return and try to stand still while this whirling wind unavoidably blows your socks off. Granted, as a whole this album is a bit one-dimensional and after the initial impression the overall effect starts to wear out little by little, however, the best moments make you get back into it again and again. While not a perfect album by any means, Into The Dark Past has a lot of special appeal for the fans of old school thrash metal.

1. Anialator 2. Nuclear Destruction 3. Extermination By Dawn 4. Mission Of Death

Pick a random thrash metal band from the eighties underground scene, and you might end up with something like Anialator. This band's debut mini album is short and simple, the production being sufficiently rough around the edges, and you only need a glimpse of the song titles to see what the whole thing is all about. But it is actually not that bad - the band's attack is relentless, and you are easily convinced that they gave it everything, even if it wasn't really much on a global scale. Sometimes it can be refreshing to just abandon all thoughts and let this kind of energetic pack of fury to ravage around you for a moment. One thing you are guaranteed to remember from Anialator's debut is the violent feel of it, and even that is certainly more than in many other occasions.

1. Filicide 2. No Future 3. Fatal Decision 4. Anialator (live) 5. Mission Of Death (live)

Anialator's second mini album marked a slight deviation from the band's original style. Although this release may look very cheap at the first sight, the music is not terribly bad - just so typical and sometimes even bland that it is difficult to miss anything of it afterwards. In essence, the new tracks tend not to appear quite as uncontrolled and wild as earlier, which leads to an impression of more average quality. Something worth a special note is the guitar sound that is a lot more slick and almost surprisingly modern in comparison to the rough sound of the band's debut release. All things considered, these songs play in a fair but quite forgettable manner, and there is really not much reason to dive into the depths of this album in search of a hidden gem, simply because there is none to be found.

1. Chase The Dragon 2. Slaughter 3. Power Is The Path 4. Anihilated II 5. Final Dawn 6. Nightmare 7. Aftermath 8. Seventh Vial

At first it might seem that Anihilated's Created In Hate plays like a blatant Slayer rip-off. But while it may apply to this British group that individuality was probably not their most important asset, the result deserves some credit for having been done in a genre-savvy manner. Actually, ignoring the most obvious similarities with other bands, there are some honest, even sympathetic aspects in Anihilated's music. Based on the sound of this album, one cannot deny that the band certainly gave it all they had. The production is awfully spartan, though, reducing the level of power from its fullest potential. But as far as the music is considered, Created In Hate is something more than just an ugly duckling. Sure, it seriously repeats itself and is not exactly an exercise in originality, but somehow this album catches something essential from the sound and spirit of the thrash metal movement in its most pure form.

1. Desolation 2. Into The Flames Of Armageddon 3. Skinned Alive 4. Lost Souls 5. Lethal Dose 6. No Rest For The Wicked 7. Internal Darkness 8. Legacy Of Hate 9. Enter The Realm 10. Exeunt

Compared to Anihilated's debut, The Ultimate Desecration is fairly well produced and played though still not exactly an examp