Cirith Ungol - King of the Dead (1984)

King of the Dead might not have hit peak Cirith Ungol for me, but this record was certainly meaner and more substantial than its predecessor, and even the younger Me appreciated it a little more right out of the box than the debut. Stylistically, it's not a lot different, there's still a lot of bluesy hard rock coursing through its 60s-70s fantasy veins, but Tim Baker's vocal performance here is a lot more evil and over the top and that alone gives the tunes a darker atmosphere. They still maintain that pop to the bass guitars which made them stand out against a lot of other heavy metal bands of the day, and the focus on memorable, simple rhythm guitars with plenty of groove to them, and melodic leads definitely stood alongside bands like Trouble and Pentagram to help the doom metal style evolve from Sabbath into a genre.

For many fans, this is the de facto Cirith Ungol experience, and while I'm an outlier to that idea, I can certainly understand why. It kicks your teeth in with steady blazers "Atom Smasher" and "Black Machine", but then after dispatching the minion hordes on the surface, creeps through the caverns in "Master of the Pit" with its bass line and leads, or the lumbering title track, which is both understated and epic in equal measures, Baker spitting out some of his most dangerous elongated screams to the slightly choppy, proggy grooves in the bridge. This also has a much mightier second half than the debut, with awesome pieces like "Death of the Sun", or the doomy power 'ballad' "Finger of Scorn" which once again features some of Baker's more eerie wailing dowsing it with atmosphere. The instrumental "Toccata in Dm" was something slightly different, a classical adaptation spun into a nice contrast of effected leads and spooky bass lines. They also pace this whole 46 minute journey quite well, and end on a strong note with their namesake track that exemplifies all their patient, pounding dynamics.

King of the Dead is more or less a template for One Foot in Hell, and that I appreciate, but it's also the perfect accompaniment for a night paging through your old epic fantasy paperbacks by Moorcock, Tolkien, Howard or Cook, or perhaps your Warlord comics. It's sword & sorcery writ into musical form, something not a lot of bands were doing at the time as the hair metal was starting to rage, thrash was in its infancy and a lot of Cirith Ungol's own Metal Blade peers were starting to eke out their own strains of what we'd now dub USPM. An umbrella they themselves might belong to, but has a pretty diverse palette...Omen and Manowar, Lizzy Borden and this band all sound quite different, with just enough overlap to interest a mutual audience. In the end, though, this sophomore just feels more committed to the sound established on the debut, slightly more consistent in production and songwriting and there's a pretty understandable reason why fans might hand you this first if you express interest in the band.

Verdict: Win [8.5/10]

https://www.facebook.com/cirithungolofficial

Armored Saint - March of the Saint (1984)

It's easy to forget, with the virtual floodgates at my fingertips for so many years now, just how vital 'access' was to forming my metal perspective and collection as a youth. If I wasn't lucky enough to be taken around to a Church flea market or the local mall, I had to find stuff on my feet. My bicycle. My skateboard. Fortunately, I had a department store about three blocks away with a music section, and while they didn't stock much beyond the obvious popular hard rock and metal releases of the time, there were a few lesser known bands (for the time) there due to their label distribution. This is where I first encountered Saxon, Grim Reaper, and Armored Saint, the last of which called out to me instantly with the bad-ass band name, and the Larry Elmore-like cover artwork which triggered the Dungeons & Dragons nerd within me, who had already settled in there for a few years since getting my Monster Manual and red box.

So I actually adopted the Saint fairly early in my metal adventure, probably not long after this very album was released, I'd have been about 10-11, and totally stoked for some Medieval or epic fantasy metal. It turns out that isn't quite what March of the Saint offers, though the lyrical subject has been broached a few times through their career; but rather some workmanlike, American heavy metal which does often dip its toes into more accessible hard rock terrain. That wouldn't have bothered me to begin with, since about half my collection consisted of KISS, Alice Cooper, Rush and Van Halen, but this stuff was nowhere near as intense as a lot of the band's California peers would become very soon after. These days, I sometimes look at this and think it appears rather generic, but there's also a timelessness to this full-length debut which is matched by both the aesthetics and production, and though it's not ultimately one of my favorites from this band, it's always been something reliable to spin when I'm just down for some legit 80s metal with very little to zero bullshit attached to it...except maybe the whiny "seduce me..." lines in "Seducer", which now feel like a foreshadowing towards Celtic Frost's Cold Lake, or the uneccessary abbreviation in the title of "Can U Deliver".

Where this album digs in, though, I can forgive and forget such quips, especially with the lead-in tracks on both 'sides' of my original cassette. The title track needs very little introduction, after the anthemic little Mussorgsky march it erupts into what is the most fast and ferocious tune on the album, with some of the better riffs, and my introduction to John Bush's gritty-yet-melodic vocal style, which has over the years become one of the most iconic and unique in the scene. He's got a lot of charisma there, often straining himself for an impish higher-pitched scream, but really excelling when he stays in that middle layman's range with all his gravely power. You could easily imagine this guy fronting a glam or hard rock band, and sure as I mentioned a little of that creeps through over their career, they aren't entirely detached form it, but I'm certainly he happy he wound up doing Armored Saint and Anthrax instead, because he just brings a different feel to him that flexes between the heavy, power and thrash metal. I can hear a few parallels with James Hetfield so it makes sense he was once considered for that group, but Armored Saint is absolutely his best vehicle ever.

This is also where I 'met' Joey Vera, and though his performance here is pretty standard compared to some of his later appearances, his lines cruise along in tunes like "Mutiny on the World", the other of my favorites on this disc, and offer just a bit more breadth when they curve away from the rhythm guitar, which in the hands of Phil Sandoval and the late Dave Prichard, is also pretty badass, with a clean and potent tone that highlights both the triplet-trotting and the meaner chords. Phil's brother Gonzo is also a long-time beast in this band, and while his playing is still fairly fresh here, it's solid, energetic enough for the basic tunes, and pops out nicely. The production is just phenomenal, which I might not have said years ago, but listening now it's just well-rounded and obvious why these guys were picked up by a label like Chrysalis, lots of potential. The track list isn't entirely stacked here, a couple of tunes like "Can U Deliver" are give or take, but with "Glory Hunter", "Mad House", "Envy", and many others in support, it's easily on the top half of their discography in terms of overall quality.

We're years away from when Armored Saint would hit their peak, but you can already hear some riff patterns that they'll later perfect on superior songs, and the attack between those guitars and John's pipes is well established here in a way that will only get better with time. There's a good amount of variety here, though that too will improve, and there was a cool distinction between this road-ready metal style and the harder hitting, faster and more technical thrash from that side of the country, where they both felt pretty badass and could breathe on their own. We could spin Kill 'Em All or Show No Mercy and then swap over this with no problem, never thinking we were wimping out as we sat on our Tony Hawk and Lance Mountain skateboards sipping the latest gourmet soda from the local convenience store on the corner. I'm dating myself...you could buy the drink and cassette back then and still have a couple bucks left over to change up for some arcade games, but I can assure you that March of the Saint is still worth whatever you'd pay today for the vinyl or CD. A darn good debut.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10] (clench your fist, a battle's on the way)

https://www.armoredsaint.com/

Darxon - Killed in Action (1984)

An album like Killed in Action is always an interesting one to approach because it's a veritable dead end...a black hole on the heavy metal landscape. Sure, the Germans would go on to produce another couple albums and an EP, and various members through its  active years would move on to other groups like Bonfire or U.D.O., but you just never hear anyone talking about Darxon at all. Heck, I've even had conversations specifically about unknown Teutonic traditional metal of the 80s and this group wasn't brought up. After spinning the album for myself, I think it's reasonable, as these guys were certainly not achieving anything that wasn't already available in spades by the middle of the decade in which it was released, just total straightforward heavy metal, molded almost entirely from its influences without a ton of personality of its own. I don't even know where the name came from, it sounds like some 8-bit import arcade shoot 'em up from Japan, or some generic evil wizard from a failed fantasy novel around the same era.

But none of that is to say Killed in Action is all that bad for an obscure debut. It gets the job done as long as you're expectations are little more than a standard set of energetic, rocking riffs that carefully straddle the border between cheesy hair metal and bad ass street chops. Vocalist Massimo de Matteis, who was with the group through all their recorded output (as far as I can tell), had a mildly distinct voice which felt like a fusion between the Scorpions' Klaus Meine and some of David Coverdale's higher pitched, emotive crooning, with a bit of an earlier Biff Byford Saxon attitude. Lots of blues in his intonations, not without some flaws but definitely putting some effort in. The guitars are super basic amalgamations of 70s Judas Priest, some Accept and maybe even a little old Van Halen for good measure, but almost unanimously lacking in the catchy department unless you're a true die hard who simply finds comfort and enjoyment out of this style. Admittedly, I do sometimes fall into that category...as much as I hoo and ha about progression and uniqueness, I've still got a steel heart for this sort of thing and did not much mind my listens through the record so that I could talk about it.

Rhythm-wise, there's not much to brag about the merely adequate bass lines and beats, they don't generate a lot of power other than keeping time and filling out the bottom end of the mix just enough so that you'll notice it's all happening. The leads on the album are also pretty barebones and not quite different than what you'd find on a lot of throwaway glam metal albums around the same time. I did notice that whenever Darxon tried to get heavier, or a little faster, they seemed like they could have been more exciting, for instance the closer "Stormbringer" with its vintage Saxon vibe; but then the band always seemed to check itself and ensure that what they were playing was fairly inoffensive, standard fare that might make it onto the radio. I'll give a few extra points for having tracks called "Simile of Evil" and "Holy Macho" (what?!?), and some sort of Yeti or Wendigo thing scowling at me from the cover, but Killed in Action is appreciably average by every sort of metric I can apply to it. That said, if you DO scour the backwaters of metal history for low-rent heavy metal I don't think this would take a piss in your ears, it's at least got the fundamentals down. I don't know if this is around in any official format today, it was released several times on vinyl but other than that you might need to grab a download or a bootleg.

Verdict: Indifference [6/10]

Headstone - Burning Ambition (1984)

Headstone is a band I automatically want to root for because they possessed all those 80s heavy meal aesthetics I so adored and still find myself turning back towards. Skulls and fire on the cover, a cool logo and album title, and, well, being, German, which was a seal of quality for roughly 25% of the metal I grew up with. That said, they made almost no waves whatsoever when they originally dropped their two albums, and a few listens through their debut Burning Ambition gives you a good idea why. Not because it's a poor showing by any means, but because they never really seem to stick to a tone or mood quite enough to come across coherent, and thus it doesn't give itself much of a chance to generate the catchy tracks or 'hit power' so important during those formative times.

The better cuts here are where they develop a drearier, atmospheric, plodding brand of metal falling somewhere between your garden variety NWOBHM band and the Scorpions. Straightforward, safe chord patterns augmented by sparse, more atmospheric little licks and groovy little fills during the chorus. The vocals are really the highlight though, a higher pitched, dramatic style with a lot of vibration to the more sustained notes, like a hybrid of Klaus Meine, Dio and Biff Byford, but he's unique enough that had Headstone garnered a following he might have gained traction as a pretty distinct B-list classic metal vocalist. He'll eventually burst into wicked laughter to sound like an Ozzy maniac impression, but I do like the emphasis put on the harmonies in the chorus to a tune like "Nightmare" which make it feel larger than life, there's definitely a theatrical bent to parts like that which reveals an influence from a band like Queen. On the flip side, the instruments are just not generated enough energy to really support the vocal style, so by comparison they often feel laconic or too laid back to really flatten you with the emotional impact a tune could have used.

Also, there are a lot of riffs here which feel like bland punk progressions, or bluesier hard rock that feels so mediocre it wouldn't have even been considered at a Van Halen jam session in the decade before this. "Still on the Race" sounds like an attempt to create a "Cold Gin" or something for the band, there's a nice atmosphere created by how the vocal mix cascades over the rest, but the riffs and structure are just so clunky and bland. There are some acoustic parts, which are fine, but the original tracks list (before the lukewarm bonus songs on the CD) is capped off by a piano-driven ballad called "Queen of Dreams" which is entirely too vapid and forgettable. There's not a lot of finesse on any of the instruments, which could have helped fill in a lot of the more threadbare, uninspired riffs, and the production is sort of boxy and uneven, to manage even these super simplistic patterns. In short, wherever Headstone focuses on sounding more mean, or mystical, they really start to earn some momentum, and certainly the handful of tunes that cling to this angle are ones I would happily include with a listening playlist of Teutonic obscurities from the mid-80s...but there just aren't enough of these moments to give Burning Ambition any staying power, and the title ends up seeming like a bad case of irony.

Verdict: Indifference [5.75/10] 

Razor - Armed and Dangerous EP (1984)

Though it's far from a representation of Razor at their best, I have a particular sentimental attachment to the Armed and Dangerous EP which I've never been able to shake off. For one, the cover art to this record is absolutely iconic, my favorite of their entire catalog. I managed to land a t-shirt of this some time ago (most likely a boot), and I've been wearing it sever since. I also bought the guitar, or at least a damn similar one. Plus who couldn't love the image of a razorblade being used as a proxy for a proper guitar pick? Fortunately, the actual sound of the seven songs here is just as dirty as the record looks, all spikes and cruelty and driving, molten metal with no apologies and no subtlety.

Granted, five of the seven tunes were also recorded for the debut, Executioner's Song, and those remain my preferred versions, since they've got far more of an atmosphere running than the rather dry mix given to what is essentially a glorified second demo. The guitars are on this are crisp and punchy, with a good bass tone for support and some poppy, snappy drums, but they don't possess the same level of resonance that fried their later brethren into my brain forever. Also, the vocals in cuts like "Killer Instinct" sound pretty sloppy when they vault into the sustained notes and screams, and overall there's a modicum of clutter to the performance which doesn't feel as fast, refreshing and violent as later incarnations. Of the two tracks which were unique to this at the time, "Armed and Dangerous" itself is the better, with some solid mid-paced mute guitars evoking melody, and lots of dynamic rush like a snare cadence and some flanged axe lines that help set up the thrust of the central verses. The chorus itself is not all that intense, however, and the best songs are "Take This Torch", "Fast and Loud", "Ball and Chain" etc which all appear again with more pep.

Those who first got into the later, more pavement chewing and chainsaw soaked speed/thrash records might also be a fraction turned off by the Canadians' earlier style, which was borne more of pure trad/speed metal circa Venom, Motörhead, and the darker side of Judas Priest. This was Razor at its most base. Simple. Unformed. For 1984, Dave Carlo was no slouch on his guitar, but the riffing has nowhere near the same level of intensity and velocity that many recognize on a Violent Restitution or Shotgun Justice. It's really just the setup for Executioner's Song, an album I happen to love a great deal, and one of the finest of that early Canadian scene that brought us Metal on Metal, Heavy Metal Maniacs, Metal Inquisition, or War and Pain. The vocals here carry straight through to the debut full-length, with the less interesting songs abandoned, and a better overall mix of timeless tension, steel and spikes. Armed and Dangerous was an adequate introduction to the band's no prisoners, leather and lust aesthetic, and I've got some obvious nostalgia for it, but its lasting value was substantially curtailed by the following album.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10] (we don't need any weapons)

http://come.to/the.razor.pages

Overkill - Overkill EP (1984)

In retrospect, fate has not been the kindest to the original, eponymous Overkill EP released in 1984, but then one must recognize that it's no more than a demo recording later pressed as an 'official' issue. Three of the four tracks available here would be later recorded for the first two, classic full-length records, and the entire EP is reprinted on the !!!Fuck You!!! and Then Some compilation which came out in 1996. Tracking down an original copy of this thing is undoubtedly a dire prospect which is best reserved for wheelers, dealers and collectors, so most fans today  will have heard it alongside the 1988 Fuck You EP, and probably after they already heard the constituent tracks on Feel the Fire and Taking Over in all their brazen, hostile glory...

To put it into a proper perspective though, Overkill was admittedly a fairly bad ass introduction to one of the East Coast's longest enduring thrash bands. One of the East Coast's longest enduring metal bands, period. It features two of what I'd consider the group's greatest ever tracks in "Fatal if Swallowed" and "Rotten to the Core", and it arrived early enough in the scheme of its sub-genre's evolution that it certainly deserves a cult respect. That said, every time I come back to visit it, I can't help but feel my time would be better spent listening to the later recordings of the material. The group's youthful, hostile energy is coursing through all the important tunes, and it's no wonder why they were able to shortly pick up a deal through Megaforce and Atlantic; but the production, while still clear enough to deliver each riff and chorus with appreciable impact, leaves something to be desired. Not that Feel the Fire was all that amazing in this department, but the recordings of "Overkill" and "Rotten to the Core" there remain the 'default' renditions as far as it concerns my own listening habits.

Then there's the fact that "The Answer" is just not one of their best songs. It's a bloated, 9 minute 'epic' coursing along at a doomed pace, heavily inspired by Black Sabbath where the faster tracks cull more of a Judas Priest/Iron Maiden aesthetic gone street lethal. Many listeners in the late 80s, 90s or 'oughts always seemed to mention how the band would tear off into tangents involving more groove or doom elements, but in truth the band has always played this hand as both a tribute to one of its influences and to help vary the pacing of their records. "The Answer" is perhaps the early example of this, but despite the fact that Blitz' charismatic inflection lends itself well to the more ominous, sluggish walls of riffing, the actual architecture of the guitars is quite predictable and dull to carry 9 minutes. There's a pretty good reason this was left off the ensuing full-lengths, for at best it would have been mildly curious filler which wears out its welcome after about 2-3 minutes...

Elsewhere, though, the EP was certainly a cause for some excitement. The guitar tone is choppy and not quite as bold as I'd have liked, but then that wasn't destined to happen until Taking Over. Also I felt like there was a lot of nuance in the vocals on the later versions, where here he seems more shouty. The actual patterns are largely identical, and he pulls off some nice screams, but Feel the Fire is far stronger in terms of his delivery. And that's sort of how I feel about this recording in general. Important for its formative value, but easily supplanted by the full-lengths throughout the 80s, and "The Answer" providing the only tangible exclusivity here is hardly a boon, especially as it represents about a third of the content. However, if you're a total sucker for primitive recordings or you don't wish to acknowledge the existence of metal music beyond the mid-80s, I cannot say that Overkill's bound to disappoint you.

Verdict: Win [7/10] (driven by the host of hell)

http://wreckingcrew.com/Ironbound/

Metal Church - Metal Church (1984)

My first encounter with California's Metal Church probably came around a year after their eponymous debut dropped, the band had achieved some visibility even at the dawn of their career and people were talking about them in my junior high and the neighboring high school where all the cool kids we wanted to be were hanging out. This is more than likely due to their proximity to Metallica, both geographically and by the fact that they were to become label mates once Elektra issued this record; not to mention that both groups wore their genre on their sleeve by picking incredibly obvious, cheesy band names. Though I admit, 'Metal Church' has a spiked hardness about it which resonates down through the ages, the moss-laden cruciform guitar image against the foggy backdrop an iconic cover despite the fact it looks like it popped out of some awful 80s horror film.

Another parallel to Metallica was that these guys were a bit difficult to pin down in terms of their exact style, but then they manifest right a time when the 'heavy metal' genre hadn't exactly splintered off into a dozen directions. Thrash was just shedding its baby fat, new artists were testing the waters, and Kurdt Vanderhoof and crew were no exception, exploring a hybrid of thrash, power and traditional NWOBHM not unlike Kill 'Em All, if a fraction less raw and vicious in its execution. The band had already cycled through a number of lineups on its earlier demos, but with the 1982 tape Four Hymns and this debut, they finally arrived at the 'classic' lineup of Duke Erickson on bass, Kirk Arrington on drums, Craig Wells and Vanderhoof slinging the six-strings and, perhaps most importantly, David Wayne on the vocals: the most important roster of the band's career, which saw the best results on their studio work.

Wayne was a particular selling point for me personally, because around this same time I had also been getting into some other little bands called Accept and Savatage, and for me David was a nice combination of Jon Oliva's mid-ranged, dirty rasp and Udo Dirkschneider's AC/DC-like air siren, though never quite so wild as the latter in terms of discharging a chorus. In fact, he's got this amazing control that I totally admired: just slather on some reverb in a tune like "Metal Church" and witness how expertly the guy howls off into the night. This is a time when metal riffing was so iconic, daring and for the large part inventive that a front man really had to possess a distinct personality to stand out against it, and I feel that with Metal Church, Wayne assured us he was every bit the genre paragon that an Araya or Hetfield would prove.

All around, I really enjoyed the production and the dark attitude persisting through the debut, even though it hasn't stood up to me as my favorite in their canon (that spot belongs to its successor, The Dark), and I rarely revisit as much as other classics of the period. The guitars are intense, busy and mightily structured, the ominous power/thrash riffing of songs like "Beyond the Black", "Battalions" and "Merciless Onslaught" sure to sate fans of other US acts of the mid-80s like Helstar, Omen and Vicious Rumors. There are a few more traditional pieces with simpler guitars in an early Priest/Maiden vein like "Gods of Wrath" or "In the Blood" that felt a fraction dated even by this time, and some straight speed metal like "Hitman" which one could compare to Canadians Exciter on their earlier efforts, but I tend to fancy the more atmospheric, 'epic' tunes on the album like the first two, including "Metal Church" anthem itself with the speedy bass lines and muted picking in the verse.

As an 80s record, you know what to expect in the mix: loud vocals engineered to stand on the shoulders of the instruments, but Metal Church was actually more even than most, with a great organic drum tone and a bold balance of the guitars that sounds crisp and clear even compared to modern studio works. Erickson is a strong factor in songs like "Metal Church" or "(My Favorite) Nightmare", though he doesn't stand out all that much elsewhere. The leads are appreciably frenetic and as a rhythm team, Wells and Vanderhoof provided a damned solid exchange, though every time Wayne opens that throat for some godlike howl the attention is immediately refocused elsewhere. Lyrics of war, murder and apocalypse ensured that the album would be taken seriously despite its 'looks', and the cover of Deep Purple's "Highway Star" was a decent touch molded well to the band's grimier execution: in 1984, it hadn't quite been played out to death yet.

Still, Metal Church often feels mildly uneven, with a few of the songs clearly grandfathered in from where the band were pursuing a more British, hard rocking course. There's a sense of timelessness to the recording, like many albums of the decade, but it doesn't have those insanely memorable chorus sections or constant riffs to blow your wad over. The sophomore had cuts like "Ton of Bricks", "Start the Fire" and "The Dark" which probably wouldn't evade my brain if I were lobotomized, but here the money shots seem a little low on spunk. Compare this to Powerslave, Don't Break the Oath, Defenders of the Faith or Ride the Lightning and there was a clear gulf in quality, so I had a notion that Metal Church were second stringers right from the startling line, though this and the followup are well worth owning, the crown jewels of this iron parish.

Verdict: Win [8/10] (it knows just who you are)

http://metalchurchmusic.com/

Lizzy Borden - Give 'Em the Axe EP (1984)

Lizzy Borden certainly struck when the going was hot in the mid 80s, but they had a bit of an issue in which their image and chops didn't exactly line up together, almost as if they wanted to mold themselves into the 'glam scene' in terms of stage presence and photo ops, but perform in a heavier melodic strain reminiscent of the NWOBHM bands that influenced them. Granted, bands like Motley Crue and W.A.S.P. managed to draw from both crowds on their earlier records, back when the distinction between image and genre was a blurrier reality, but Lizzy was quite different than either in their execution. This wasn't the angrier, bluesy hard rock those groups rode to fruition, but more in line with what you'd expect from the emergent sensations Iron Maiden, with driving axe rhythms and glassy leads and melodies strewn out all over the tracks.

'Lizzy' himself was obviously poised as a shock rocker, taking his stage name from the dual patricide/matricide of the New England woman in the late 19th century. But unlike a King Diamond or Alice Cooper, his chosen appearance wasn't cast in the gloom of black and white face paint, but a more outrageous, hair spray heavy look like a crossbreed of T. Rex and a serial killer circus clown. It was admittedly not that popular an image among underground fans of the period, and still serves as a hurdle to many would be followers retroactively. I recall having a very hard time finding other locals into the group, even in my commercial glam-metal obsessed high school: they might not be necessarily turned off by the photo spreads, but once they heard Borden's shrill, piercing tones and riffing more complex than Poison and Bon Jovi pumping out the speakers, they would lose all interest. Unfortunate, but in the end, their loss, because this was a fantastic band writing some of the best traditional/speed and proto-power metal in the US alongside groups like Omen or Helstar.

Give 'Em the Axe was the usual 'teaser' EP that the band put out as a feeler after their demo in '83. Metal Blade had snapped up the band fairly early on in their existence, and this was used to test the waters for the ensuing full-length Love You to Pieces. The material here is more or less a direct setup for that record, and thus understandably the songs are not quite so memorable or rounded, but at the very least they grant a taste of the band's bustling guitar work and strikingly serious attitude towards the songwriting. This is no frivolous tit rock circa the Sunset Strip, but some righteous and aggressive heavy metal with flowing, Maiden-esque leads scaling the walls of "Kiss of Death", and an admirable performance from the rhythm section of Mike Davis and Joey Scott Harges. Above all, though, this was the introduction for many to Lizzy's distinct, ear piercing cries, which would make or break the band's potential fan base.

Surely this guy came up on a diet of Freddy Mercury, Rob Halford and Ronny James Dio, but I find it more interesting to compare him to the falsetto screamer King Diamond, or a less controlled Midnight or Cyriis. His timbre is definitely one of those divisive, 'love it or hate it' styles, crystalline and unquestionable irritable if one were to look at it as some pandering to the negative stereotypes of metal screamers in the 80s. That said, I happen to side with the former camp, and I really enjoy the wavering edge to his tone, almost like it were the serrated edge of some savage blade. He's got great pitch, an obvious range to rival the giants of the 80s, and yet something uniquely fragile, like a wounded animal. Listening to these old Lizzy records in my bedroom used to drive my family absolutely batshit, which ended up in a never ending supply of headphones for Christmas and birthday gifts.

As for the songs here, there are three originals and one cover of Rainbow's "Long Live Rock'n' Roll", which, while a competent transformation, is hardly the highlight of the EP (I prefer their later rendition of "Live and Let Die"). The Lizzy Borden tunes are all reined in around the 2:30-3:00 mark, and provide an ample insight into the shredding potential and excitement, but despite a few impressive licks in "Kiss of Death" I just can't say that these are as memorable as a "Warfare", "Flesheater" or "American Metal". There is some variation, with the title track manifest in a more hard rock laced pace akin to Twisted Sister, "Kiss of Death" invested in a more epic, traditional metal swagger, and "No Time to Lose" reliant more on sheer velocity, but the chorus sequences simply never engraved themselves deeply in my memory.

That said, despite the brevity of the recording and the questionable pinkness of its bladed logo, there's not much complaining. It does the job, it sets you up to anticipate the band's next move and boy would they deliver. I'm not sure of the availability of the original EP these days; you're more likely to acquire it on the 1995 Metal Blade reissue alongside Terror Rising, but fans of Love You to Pieces or Menace to Society might not wish to live without it.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10] (you never, never know)

http://www.lizzyborden.com/

Judas Priest - Defenders of the Faith (1984)

Look! Up in the sky! Is it a cat? Is it a tank? Is it a cat-tank? A battle-cat? A cattle-tank? In any case, we've gone from mecha-avian to mecha-feline with Doug Johnson's second cover for Judas Priest, but this predatory juggernaut mascot is strangely appropriate for what was one of the band's heaviest records of the 80s, one I might have dubbed Painkiller, Jr. if Ram It Down were not slightly more aggressive, enough to steal that retroactive title away. Certainly this is a more ballistic effort than its predecessor Screaming for Vengeance, and even though it lacks a true breakout hit at the level of "You've Got Another Thing Comin'", it's pound for pound competitive in terms of quality for much of its playtime, disintegrating only when you've gotten pretty far in the track list.

By 1983-84, the rest of the metal world was starting to catch up with Judas Priest. In England alone, you had Iron Maiden riding on the success of albums like Number of the Beast and Piece of Mind, while Def Leppard was exploding with Pyromania, and the lesser known Venom had by this point forced and soiled the boundaries of the traditional NWOBHM. Across the pond, American bands were reaching new extremes as the thrash and speed/thrash generation was just then emerging through Slayer and Metallica. By contrast, a group like Priest was, frankly, starting to feel old. Or rather, they would have, had they churned out another Point of Entry right in the middle of the mass evolution taking place. Fortunately, Halford and crew managed to stave off any notion of irrelevance with a pair of fine albums, first Screaming for Vengeance and then the Defenders of the Faith, the latter of which proved they had the muscle to go the distance, and that there was no known limit to which you could push Rob's lungs and the syncopated headbanging of the ax men.

The first seven tracks on this album completely destroy, with pure power metal pacers like "Jawbreaker" and "Eat Me Alive" highlighting just how rich and lethal Rob's vocal lines had become. The guitar tones fucking crush here, meaner and fatter than they had been on Screaming for Vengeance but just as resonant. Of special note on the album are the leads, which are in my opinion among the best of the band's career. In "The Sentinel", "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll" and "Jawbreaker", they really let themselves dash all over the fretboards, whammy bars and all, with the sort of excess you'd expect out of a guitar hero like E. Van Halen. The dual melodies pop along to the beats, the rhythm tone is impenetrable. Dave Holland had gelled into a pure cipher of thunder. The slight use of atmospheric synthesized effects here like the intro to "Love Bites" is tasteful rather than out of control (as is often the case with the following album Turbo). What's more, just about every riff on the album up to this point, while often reminiscent of others they'd written in the past, is perfectly placed into a verse/chorus structure and immediately memorable.

Then, about the time we arrive at "Night Comes Down", the storm starts to subside. Not because this is a slower, near power ballad, because it's still pretty atmospheric and has a nice build into the chorus with some heavy riffs, but just because those leading up to it had been so much damned fun. "Heavy Duty", with its Queen-like steady rock beat and generic riffing sequence fares far worse, and I could completely do without the afterthought/outro "Defenders of the Faith" in which they just repeat the album title ad infinitum. Had Judas Priest clipped these last 8 or so minutes and included one more bridge burner, I'd likely rank this above Screaming for Vengeance and possibly up there with Stained Class in quality, but alas I can't ignore how the album just goes limp.

Either way, Defenders is still a ripper of a record that begs a question: why, after such a pounding as this, would they suddenly decide to drift oft into the more mainstream/electrified overtures of Turbo before Ram It Down (considering they were supposed to be a double album at first)? Granted, I still enjoy that album to a degree, but couldn't they hear the spark of something so intense here? They'd already given us the hard rocker albums like British Steel and Point of Entry, so even in my youth I was hoping they'd take the material on Defenders and take even further. Heavier. After all I was starting to get into the faster and more aggressive metal around this time where I could sneak dubs of it off older kids whose parents wouldn't ground them for buying the tapes (I was like 10, forgive me). Ram It Down would have been a far more natural progression from this, though I admit the songs there aren't quite this amazing. Alas, it would take until 1990 to get exactly what I wanted of Judas Priest, but get it I would. At last.

Verdict: Epic Win [9/10] (groan in the pleasure zone)

http://www.judaspriest.com/

Exciter - Violence & Force (1984)

Is it a zombie trying to break down the door? A severe burn victim? Well, at least the switchblade, wristband and blood seem consistent with Exciter's debut Heavy Metal Maniac, even if any chance for a persistent mascot was about to be cast to the wind with the followup album. Violence & Force was my first brush with the Canadian speed metal savages, and it remains a personal favorites in their catalog, though it does suffer from at least one relatively frequent flaw that held it back from a broader notoriety, and continues to prevents it from completely scaling the walls towards the realm of masterpiece. That said, this is still a cult classic, worth the time of anyone who enjoys traditional, dirty North American metal, and like Exciter's first album, it never seems to depreciate with time.

The one obstacle that I've always had to hurdle with the sophomore is Dan Beehler's vocal performance, which at times comes off incredibly strained, cutting out in volume and serving as a detriment to the energetic assertion of the music. Now, Beehler's never exactly been a prima donna, and has always taken an honest, workmanlike approach to his bleating and screaming, but there are points throughout Violence & Force where he almost feels as if he's losing his voice. The shrill shrieks in the title track seem even more sustained and mighty than those of Heavy Metal Maniac, almost at Lizzy Borden or Savage Grace levels, and I quite like the grit of his throat as he howls through the verses, but often the lines seem a little too schizoid ("Scream in the Night") without any one pitch taking control, and some of the notes he hits (or doesn't hit) in tracks like "Destructor" or "Saxons of the Fire" seem rather painful. Hardly a deal breaker, after all he's still got quite a lot of character to his timbre that matches the grime of the street ready music, but even to one such as I who often values a corrosive imperfection in a speed, heavy or thrash metal front man, feels dodgy.

Otherwise, Violence & Force sounds great. The guitars have an airy, abusive nature to them which lays out the punk-influenced smack-down of the titular "Violence & Force" and "Swords of Darkness", caveman grooves of "Pounding Metal" (which ironically sounds similar to countrymen Anvil in their formative years) and mid-paced hard rocking abandon of "War is Hell", which almost feels like an unsung spiritual precursor to the Beastie Boys' "You Gotta Fight for a Right to Party" sans the rapping. The drums are mixed better here, more full bodied than they were on the debut, and Alan Johnson's bass lines are groovy and entertaining without deriding the far louder, metallic bludgeoning tone of the guitar. The solos too seem stronger, or rather, just as frivolous, but more determined to rip out against the pummeling undercurrent and manifest a sense of excitement as opposed to just filling up space. Like Heavy Metal Maniac before it, this never feels like innovative or technically impressive, just a heavier edge on a lot of the sounds one heard coming from England in the early 80s.

It's also a really well paced album with some variation. Surprising for a band which is so often branded with that tag of 'speed metal' that itself implies a sort of one speed or no speed characteristic. You've got your faster paced blitzes ala "Violence & Force", "Destructor" and "Saxons of the Fire" and then a slew of strong, memorable pieces like "Pounding Metal" which just lay into you with such primitive and unforgettable, molten hard rock riffing patterns that seem like an industrial grade KISS. There's also the sparkling trail of haunting acoustics that lead into the bluesy, Sabbath crush of "Delivering to the Master". It might be sacrosanct to think of anything Exciter has done as even hinging on 'ambitious', but I liked the plotting of the longer tunes here ("Delivering..." or the closer "War Is Hell") moreso than the previous album's ugly stepchild "Black Witch". In the end, Violence & Force marked a positive shift over to New York's Megaforce Records, expanded the Canadians' audience in both the States and Europe, and remains another timeless window into an epoch of innocent rebellion.

Verdict: Win [8.75/10] (fire bombs & smoke)

http://listen.to/exciter

Celtic Frost - Morbid Tales EP (1984)

What I love most about the retrospective analysis of the metal music from my youth, that which I've matured alongside for decades now, is just how fascinating and divergent its evolution seems in the rear view mirror. How different nations and scenes contributed to parallel growth, structurally and lyrically. How particular releases launched a thousand ships like the fabled Helen of Troy, while others could not inspire disembarkation from even the scantest of flotilla. Funny then, that even among all of these coordinated fronts of competitive and emulous transformation, Swiss godfathers Celtic Frost stands as more or less an anomaly, an anthropological crossroads between the cultures of thrash metal, doom, hardcore punk, and the black and death metal scenes which had yet to fully embody their own identities.

It would be hard to take an accurate count of how many recordings have been directly inspired by Morbid Tales, because we're at a stage now where even its own aesthetic offspring are now at legendary status. Darkthrone is the perfect example. Both their death metal debut Soulside Journey and seminal black metal mutation Ablaze in the Norther Sky were openly, enormously inspired by Tom G. Warrior and crew, in atmosphere, attitude AND actualized riff structure; and I could name hundreds of shameless knockoffs of that enduring Norse outfit. Granted, Celtic Frost (and its prior incarnation Hellhammer) were not themselves without some precedent. Punk and hardcore music had by this point arrived and spawned a number of aggressive legends of their own (Discharge's Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing among them), while a not insignificant fraction of this band's relentlessness and filth might be attributed to UK demons Venom and Motörhead; lyrically the former and musically the pair. Tendrils of descent from the crushing pathos of 70s Sabbath are undeniable.

Even inclusive of these considerations, though, Morbid Tails is a distinct landmark on a trail of carnage that stems from the dawn of musical extremity to the ongoing struggle for attaining that next 'level' of aggression. By comparison to faster, more lethal contemporaries of the period like Bathory's self-titled debut, Slayer's Show No Mercy or Destruction's Sentence of Death, the material here often lacks finesse or the same knack for riffing complexity. Celtic Frost had cleaned itself up from Hellhammer, and the production values are noticeably more accessible and professional than the Apocalyptic Raids EP from the same year. That's not necessarily a positive, and I might personally prefer the earlier archetype to their first two releases under the new identity, but it makes sense for a band whose intent was growth alongside the emergent and diversified European underground of extreme metal. These days it's a badge of honor in certain scenes to produce the most amateur, afflicted and unwashed material possible, but by the mid 80s, that practice generally manifest as a symptom of having little to no budget.

However, fret not, heralds of grime, because Morbid Tales still retains the ruddy riffing texture and dynamic sensibility of its predecessors. Blazing, punk guitar passages are interspersed with slower palm muted hardcore/thrash sequences, the latter just as worthy of the primordial mosh pits as what the Stormtroopers of Death would soon start to build overseas. Of the five metal tracks on the EP (excluding "Danse Macabre"), there is a fairly even distribution of fast and slow material. "Into the Crypts of Rays", "Visions of Mortality" and "Nocturnal Fear" all feature rapt excursions into velocity, while "Procreation (Of the Wicked)" and "Return to the Eve" adhere to a plodding, crushing consistency which feels incredibly heavy despite the clarity and polish of the guitar tone. Martin Ain's low end and Stephen Priestly's drumming might not seem extravagant, but they add to the bruised ugliness of the music, in particular the syrup-thick bass which often competes with the guitar for attention, even if the notation runs a similar course.

I would like to spend some time discussing the signature components and techniques that these Swiss legends brought to the table. First and foremost, the corpulent and molten 'grooves' bear some mentioning. A strong example would be the opening for "Procreation (of the Wicked)", with its slosh of chords against strong palm muted chugging that is pretty much the default for how thousands of bands in various genres build a riff even today. Prior to this, I think only Sabbath could crush so hard ("Symptoms of the Universe", etc). But Celtic Frost also evolved a rare characteristic of opening and closing off certain measures with a simple, bended note that oozed torment while giving a false sense of 'incompletion' to the overall riff, a technique that progeny like Darkthrone would recycle for decades. They also stuck to a lot of very basic ascending and descending patterns or chords that helped solidify the grooves without scattering themselves over the fret board, like the incredible mosh riff in the lead-bridge of "Return to the Eve".

Most importantly, though, are the vocals of Tom G. Warrior, which sound like a man choking on crud while clearing his lungs, or some constipated, drunken drifter emerging from a bar in Zurich to take a squat in a dank alley of refuse. With the right amount of echo or reverb here, his bark sounds incredibly oblique, evil and memorable, and the guy's 'hoos' and 'has' and 'ooos' are just legendary, a clear remnant of his showmanlike, hard rock forebears. Surely there's a bit of Cronos and Lemmy in the 'spirit' of his delivery, but his thick accent ensures a unique quality that, to its day, I know I hadn't experienced. The lyrics are also pretty fucking impressive, paeans to the contrasted knight/serial killer Gilles de Rais ("Into the Crypts of Rays"), ritual magic ("Visions of Mortality"), the succession of original sin from the Old Testament ("Procreation of the Wicked"), the dreamstate ("Return to the Eve"), and even Lovecraft's Mythos ("Nocturnal Fear"). A pretty eclectic array of dark subjects delivered through thoughtful, image-thick prose that was well ahead of many of the band's metal contemporaries (internationally).

Despite all of its myriad qualities, and the many distinctions I've described herein, I will admit that Morbid Tales is not quite deserving of a bust upon the pedestal of perfection that others might claim. Its primal transgressions I take no issue with: not the simplicity of the songwriting structures, nor the predictable flow of the riffing. But, for example, I don't like the lead guitars, which are fleeting and messy but lack the energetic, unhinged pizzazz that bands like Slayer and Pestilence whipped up through the 80s. While consistent with one another, and the mood of both the iconic cover art and lyrical matter, I've never found all of the rhythm guitars to be that exciting ("Nocturnal Fear" and "Into the Crypts of Rays" have a handful I could do without). And then there are the experimental flourishes, not as eclectic and variegated as those later manifest to their sophomore album Into the Pandemonium, but not very interesting either. I like the wall of tortured howls that inaugurates "Into the Crypts...", but the 4 minute ambient ritual "Danse Macabre" sacrifices a little catchiness for its creepiness.

Screams, whispers, a piano here, a violin shred there, a morbid mantra. Acceptable for a Halloween evening, since it sounds like it might hail from one of those holiday CDs you buy at the grocery store; or as background noise for some obscure, Gothic seduction, but not something I would expressly seek out for its own allure... Fortunately, none of these minor mars can heavily compromise the surface area of the EP, and its importance as a cornerstone for the incessant thrash, death, doom and black metal lineage of the 90s and beyond still stands as it approaches its third decade of existence. It's not the peak of this band's repertoire (wait a year), nor a Lord of the Rings for extreme metal. I'd liken it instead to Robert Howard's original Conan stories: elegant but barbaric, crude but descriptive. But is the one really all that less influential than the other in the end? One final note: I was originally exposed to this and its successor EP (Emperor's Return) separately, so I'll review them as such. Today's crowd has the convenience of acquiring them on a single disc, which in no way decreases their individual worth, and makes for a rather consistent full length experience.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10] (obsessed by the nightmare's sound)

http://www.celticfrost.com/

Bathory - Bathory (1984)

To calculate the actual sum of influence perpetuated by the 1984 Bathory debut might prove inestimable to even the keenest of logisticians, because it's seething tendrils pervade numerous niches of the metal spectrum even today. I can't tell you how many bands I hear annually, via promos or research, that would be entirely content if the whole of their careers amounted to little more than an aesthetic tribute to THIS very album. To exist as nothing other than a shadow of the late Quorthon. Is Bathory the first proper 'black metal' record as far as the fundamental principles we equate to the genre today, disregarding the titular ownership via Venom? I do believe that a strong case could be made for such, at least as good a case as for any other particular work.

Of course, when I was young, and first experienced the Swedes' music, it was considered thrash or speed/thrash metal of a darker pallor than some of the popular Bay Area sounds. People had yet to kick around the 'black metal' tag as a proper sub-genre, and other favored progenitors like Destruction, Sodom and Kreator were clearly performing at a similar, vicious viscosity to Bathory's scathing inauguration. And yet the iconic, minimalistic cover, the classicist font of the logo and the repulsive timbre of Quorthon's youthful snarling best represent, at the very least, the birth of European black metal in its filthier format. That's not to say that Bathory was wholly unique even for its day. Clearly there are parallels to Slayer's rapid, hellish origins ("Hades" reminds me of "Black Magic") and a grimy punk rocking glaze redolent of the more extreme NWOBHM related acts like Motörhead, Tank and Venom. The Satanic/occult focus of the lyrics was also also not news by this time, as it featured prominently for several of the aforementioned acts. However, the fact that this was arriving from a non-German or American act was indisputably eye awakening.

Bathory was not an easy find for me at first. I combed the local import record stores with decent metal sections on a near weekly basis for such gems, squandering my paper route money on whatever was readily available rather than paying double for special orders. If they ever had the damn thing in stock, it was always gone before I arrived. I had to settle for a dub off a friend's cassette for years, and in fact I had purchased hard copies of Bathory's later efforts like Under the Sign of the Black Mark and Blood Fire Death before finally landing my grubby mitts on it (ironically, the only two albums in Quorthon's entire lexicon that I favor over this). Bathory was not a highly visible band in my neck of the woods. You heard mention in interviews or magazines, you saw a few of your favorite metal musicians wearing the T-shirt in photo ops. Metalians in my high school were busy sporting erections for Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax, and most had very little attention span or funds to explore the thrash genre much deeper. If you encountered a guy or gal with a Testament or Nuclear Assault t-shirt other than yourself, you were blown over by the prospect of a kindred spirit. Meet your new best friend.

Funny, then, that of any of the 'second tier' of speed and thrash in the 80s, Bathory has left one of the most enduring and massive legacies. Few metal bands can match their aesthetic imprint count for count, and even some of the 'big' names owe Quorthon a beer in Hell. For example, you could lie to yourself and then try to convince me that Burzum's "War" was not a spiritual rehash of the track "Necromansy" (not Bathory's "War"). The riffing pattern is very similar. Or that Witchery's explosive black/thrash cut "The Reaper" was not an atavistic nod to this previous Swedish "Reaper", which has a decidedly familiar chorus. And what of the vocals in general? Cronos might have had a crude and carnal mean streak coursing through his pipes, and Schmier a more pinched and nasal wrath on Sentence of Death, but Quorthon's biting vitriol is like a musical Genghis Khan, its seed spread through countless tens of thousands corpse painted progeny who only rarely rival the fiber of their ancestor.

As far as its production qualities, Bathory was far from a highlight for '84. Glossier 'mainstream' efforts like Powerslave, Metal Heart, Defenders of the Faith or even Ride the Lightning proved that metal had come a long way from the toiletry of its demo years. And yet, Quorthon and Boss wrung out a primal and methodic sound here that too transcend into aesthetic immortality. Not as messy, raw and reductive as Venom's Black Metal, perhaps, but equally sinister. Stefan Larsson's drums have a thinner, backing tone that never intercedes over the concentrated acid of the guitars or the wretching diatribes of the front man, played largely in a punk rock fashion with loads of tinny cymbal crashes (though the supporting bass drums are noticeably thick). The bass of Rickard Bergman isn't dowsed in a load of bold distortion, but instead threads moodily below Quorthon's rhythms and leads; only rarely breaking away from the guitar progression, but where it does ("In Conspiracy with Satan", for one) it creates a warmer, morbidly glorious atmosphere.

But most importantly, Quorthon showed himself a relatively accomplished guitarist early on, and some of my favorite moments on this debut are when his frivolous leads tear off the rhythms in the bridge of a "Sacrifice" or the rocking "Raise the Dead". There is some degree of amateurish sloppiness in a few of the solos, or the riffing in general, but in general you'll be too hypnotized by the sheer cruelty and velocity. The song structures are relatively primal here, rarely featuring more than 2-3 riff variations, but none lack for a thriving infernal energy, and the brevity of the tracks average around 3 minutes never allows the listener's interest to wane. In fact, alongside Slayer's Reign in Blood, this is one of the best short playing thrash albums of the 80s, in and out faster than a desperate drunken tango with a prostitute. Slam, bam, thank you ma'am, the cash is on the dresser and I'll try not to trip on the sticky jeans around my ankles while I fly down the stairs. 27 minutes of sinful pleasure beget a lifetime of damnation.

It's not perfect. Personally, I find that the windswept, distant chanting and tolling of the "Storm of Damnation" intro could have been clipped in half to better swell the anticipatory momentum for the first metal track, "Hades". The outro could have been snipped entirely. A few of the later cuts like "War" and "Armageddon" never really hit me with an ace riff like the rest, though they are no less despotic and relentless than their neighbors. The lyrics are all appreciably extreme for the time, but some of them seem better ordered and paced than others, and certainly they provided fuel for a great number of faux Satanists and provided ample fuel for the genre's Christian right-wing antagonists. I always got the feeling that Quorthon was just doing the whole 'evil' thing for show, and that he never really had his heart in it, a notion that was enforced by Bathory's later switch almost exclusively to Norse/Viking themes. But, that said, who the hell WASN'T doing it for show? Maybe King Diamond and Cronos were serious about it at some point, but Tom Araya's a bleeding Christian.

You don't get a chance every day to formally review something that has left such an enormous impression upon such a huge chapter of your life in entertainment, and Bathory is clearly one of the cornerstones. Rolled out of the very depths of the abyss for your amusement. A ripping rout, unapologetic in its backlash towards the mainstream of heavy metal that was making headway at the time of its arrival. Some bands burned churches to make a name for themselves, but some, like this one, just burned your fucking ears off.

Verdict: Epic Win [9.25/10] (where the cold and darkness meet)

Dark Angel - We Have Arrived (1984)

In lieu of the concussive, speed limit battering material Dark Angel would concoct for their later albums, We Have Arrived seems but a humble statement. An average speed/thrash metal album for its time, with obvious parallels to California locals Metallica, Slayer and Abattoir, but also to Canadian acts like Anvil and Razor, the latter in their purely speed metal incarnation up to Evil Invaders. Fast based, raw power guitars with wrenching and shrieking vocals circa Show No Mercy era-Slayer, only Don Doty was not quite as charismatic or memorable. The placement of his screams here can feel forced and awkward, and I'd much prefer his lower, snarling register on this debut.

Despite its age, We Have Arrived actually still sounds fairly brazen today, with that authentic, natural tone so redolent of the mid 80s which bands simply don't use today under the banners of modern studio engineering. "Merciless Death" is without a doubt the most punishing track here, so aggressive that the band would re-use it on the followup Darkness Descends, where it better suits the environment, but otherwise fans who know only their more popular efforts might be a little shocked by the more subdued compositions. Not that they necessarily lack for aggression. "We Have Arrived" and "Welcome to the Slaughter House" both writhe along with a promise of agony (haw haw), but the riff patterns are simply not all that memorable. "No Tomorrow" fares better, with a big of grooving swagger to the notation which recalls early Slayer; "Falling from the Sky" the most solid, dirty speed metal licks and gang shouts, and nice air raid siren intro; both "Hell On Its Knees" and "Vendetta" open with clean guitar passages before exploding to some of the finer guitars on the album.

Ultimately, though it feels fresh and potent, the debut just lacks for the memorable velocity and technically demanding riffs that dominate Darkness Descends and Leave Scars. Dark Angel have never exactly penned the most glorious of chorus elements into their tracks, but here they are at their least interesting. As I've mentioned, the screams can occasionally feel out of place, as if they were simply adding them because they thought it was 'cool'. They are managed far more fluidly on the sophomore album, which has already destroyed We Have Arrived in its entirety by the time you get to the bridge of "The Burning of Sodom". If you're not too demanding, and simply long for the sincerity of filthy speed/thrash smack dab in the central 80s, then this album does not leave a painful impression, but there were far more poignant efforts out there (Ride the Lighting, Executioner's Song, Strength of Steel, Show No Mercy) and this doesn't exhibit a songwriting finesse on a comparable level.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10] (the final damnation ahead)

Living Death - Vengeance of Hell (1984)

Living Death might be better considered a speed and power metal infiltration squad who latched onto the thrash medium a few years into their development, but there's no real argument that even this debut album, Vengeance of Hell, contained the raw and rugged guitars and aggression comparable to old Metallica or their closer kin in Destruction. Despite its crude standards, and the rather shaky presence of frontman Thorsten Bergmann, there's a certain curb appeal here that unquestionably takes you straight back to the early through mid 80s excitement of uncertainty and menace that was so prevalent before the days of Wikipedia, instant internet gratification and guttural brutes attempting to out stomp one another.

Bergmann is clearly the weak point to this recording, because half of the album is spent with him sounding like he's trying to clear his throat or evoke images of two old women bickering at the local market. It's particularly annoying in a track like "Living Death" or "Riding a Virgin", where it almost nullifies the music completely, but a little less of a distraction in the great "Heavy Metal Hurricane", "You and Me", "My Victim", or the crushing "Vengeance of Hell" itself, in which he actually creates some appeal through the siren-like wailing, though he still might have you hovering upon the precipice of outright laughter. When the band drops the faster, speed/thrash elements for a pretty straight up metal tune like the pumping, nasally "Nightlight" or "Hellpike", the results become more varied. Clearly the guy has a voice, and can hit notes, but he almost seems to be under the illusion that he's a comedian and that people might want to experience his absurdity over the scorching metallic undercurrent.

As far as the riffs, they're fairly comparable to Running Wild, Judas Priest or Accept of their day, with a few surges into ruthless power thrash that serve as precognitions for their later 80s, 90s fare. The album has never sounded very good, even when it was released, and this primacy is one nagging flaw difficult to shake, even if you can get past some of the more awkward vocals. Still, I have to say that I still really enjoy the album for its musical attitude and nostalgic atmosphere. It's not the jewel atop the Living Death crown, I could bestow that honor only on the far thrashier Protected from Reality, which makes this look like a shaggy, unkempt peasant guest at a regal Renaissance dinner gathering. But it's fun despite its glaring 'problem'.

Verdict: Win [7/10] (it was her death blow)

Destruction - Sentence of Death EP (1984)

The 'other' major release in the budding Teutonic thrash movement of 1984, the Sentence of Death EP marked Destruction's first foray into the theater of war, and a rather stunning piece that would help define the future sounds of myriad thrash artists. Similar to Sodom, they were a three piece, with Schmier on vocals/bass, Mike on the guitar and Tommy Sandmann performing drums, and the EP is about the same length, with five songs and an intro. However, where Tom Angelripper and crew derived most heavily from some of the dirtier NWOBHM acts and a clear forceful punk influences, Schmier and company were far more comparable to the early sounds of bands like Metallica and Megadeth.

In other words, they seemed immensely competent right as they blasted out the opening gates, and despite its rather crude atmosphere, Sentence of Death is already tense with the band's trademark riffing. Spry, dynamic guitars dance across steady, driving beats, and the tone is just incredibly meaty throughout, with great lead skills cutting through the writhing rhythms. Easily one of the more inventive bands to come along at this period, they put most of their peers to shame with their ability, and Schmier's vocals were some of the most insipid and violent out there, a nasty rasp that focused his accent into a cutting knife. Not to mention, the iconic cover photo pretty much helped to define the entire 'look' of extreme metal (thrash, black, and death), with the solid leather and bullet belt get-ups, don't give a fuck attitude and between the three, more hair than the devil's genital region.

It doesn't hurt that two of the band's most famous tracks, and arguably two of the best thrash/speed tunes in all of metal history, are present here. "Total Desaster" bursts in straight after the intro, with its ripping saw guitars, vocal and counter vocals in which Schmier initiates us with his mid range serpent spits into disheveled carnivorous shrieking, but "Mad Butcher" easily takes the cake for its stupendously memorable guitar lines that were easily the equal of anything a Hetfield, King or Mustaine could write during this same period. In fact, after hearing "Mad Butcher", I'm sure many other emerging thrash acts were scared for their very existence, because it's pretty much intimidation 101. Playful, aggressive and razor sharp, it is the very definition of the classic, and one can only imagine how many guitarists through the years have sat mesmerized as they learned the riffs.

The remainder of the EP is also quite good, though perhaps not so ultimately memorable. The 'intro' features walls of guitar shred, while "Black Mass" seems like a faster speed answer to Metallica's "Seek and Destroy". "Satan's Vengeance" is anointed with Schmier's schizoid laughter, fun and frenzied guitar patterns and a bridge blitz not unlike "Mad Butcher", though the chorus here is more like a breakdown that reminds me of their later "Eternal Ban". The final track, "Devil's Soldiers", is the worst of the EP, but it's constant cymbal crashing and sporadic, cystic guitars at least remain consistent to the rest of the content, and there's a nice outbreak in the middle over which a quality solo is slathered. The knife might be a little duller than "Mad Butcher" or "Total Desaster", but force it hard enough to the skin and blood shall still be drawn.

Sentence of Death is a superb opening chapter for one of thrash's eldest statesmen, and it's all too easy to forgive their fucking off from about 1991-1999 with just a spin of its contents. All said, this is perhaps one of the best EPs ever released in all metal, instantly addictive and consuming, the sort of game changer that instantly must have had many new European bands of the 80s rethinking and reworking their own strategies. It's impact is clearly felt in a lot of German thrash and speed metal to follow, and as the band even considered themselves 'black speed metal' at the time, you can imagine it had an even wider appeal. Dark, invigorating, and proficient, it remains one of the best Destruction releases to date, surpassed only by their staggering 2001 surprise The Antichrist.

Verdict: Epic Win [9.25/10] (come taste blood, our living grease)

http://www.destruction.de/

Sodom - In the Sign of Evil EP (1984)

Almost as an autoimmune response to the filth peddled by infamous British bastards Venom, Sodom was formed quite early on in metal's germination towards extremity. Birthed in 1981; before Slayer, before Possessed, and before the other 2/3rds of the German 'big three' (Destruction and Kreator), both of whom were also trios in their waking years, Sodom manifest like a bullet from oblivion with a pair of noisy and violent demos that spread enough buzz to get the acquire the attention of Steamhammer; who teamed up with the band to produce their In the Sign of Evil EP. Through the years, it has proven to be noteworthy not only for the punk undercurrents and venomous onslaught it gestates, but also its seminal influence upon the dire future of black metal.

These were the halcyon days of the band's stage names, and the line-up consisted of band leader Angel Ripper (bass/vocals, later Tom Angelripper), Witchhunter (drums), and Grave Violator (guitar), who had replaced Aggressor from the demos, and together they volley an intense barrage of Satanic warfare which lay somewhere between the showy, viral ministrations of Cronos and crew, gravel pounding of Motörhead and perhaps the riot toned chords of Discharge. Some regimen of the band's future, more complex metallic embellishments does rear its head from time to time, but for the most part, the songs here were written through simplistic structures that generally alternate between 1 or 2 riffs. "Outbreak of Evil", one of the band's most enduring songs, still being performed in their regular stage rotation, is a fine example of how they integrate some wailing, spooky leads, and then bludgeon through a pair of minimal effort, punk fueled rhythms while Tom's younger, retching vocals corrupt the surface.

"Blasphemer" breaks out a broken thrash melody before the drums charge forward, and I've always found it curious how similar the primary guitar rhythm in the verse feels to Slayer's "Chemical Warfare". Once more, an incredibly basic tune here, given character largely due to Witchhunters incessant storming and the bouncing of the vocals as if some sociopath were conversing with himself in a padded cell. "Witching Metal", one of the band's earliest tunes, having appeared on both demos prior to this EP, is possibly my least favorite of its contents, sounding heavily like a sloppy, charging Venom track with a swift kick in the ribs, but I do enjoy the lead sequence and I find it hard to fault lyrics like 'Metal War Sodom, Wildfire Sodom, Bloodlust Sodom, Witching Metal!' which seem forward and compelling enough. "Sepulchral Voices" and "Burst Command Til War" are just as brute, but the latter is pretty charming for its echoing chamber of voices and the sloppy but memorable construction of the chorus.

Obviously, this is only the infantile precursor to the technical, focused riffing of the band's legendary efforts Persecution Mania and Agent Orange, and there might not be such a memorable piece here as "Nuclear Winter" or "Agent Orange", or even "Sodomy and Lust", but the band's boundless energy is already in place, and "Burst Command Til War" serves as a fitting foreshadow to the band's later obsession with warfare and post-warfare themes. This is not so much about impressing the listener with the music, but showing just how far metal was capable of going in 1984, and though its speed would be surpassed, it remains a landmark in Germany's speed/thrash history (not to mention black metal on the world stage), and still sounds pretty good by today's standards, when compared to all the retro underground acts who trip over themselves to achieve the same archaic appeal.

Verdict: Win [8/10] (only believe in bad)

http://sodomized.info/

Talon - Neutralized (1984)

Talon whimpered onto a German scene in which they could damn well have exploded, given ideal circumstances, because they were a fairly solid entry into the field of melodic heavy/speed metal. Clearly drawing on the inspiration of NWOBHM acts (Raven, Judas Priest) and their countrymen Accept and the Scorpions, they possessed the hooks and the 'looks' to run in the circles of early Running Wild, Avenger, Sinner and Samain, but for some inexplicable reason they just never caught on, and now belong only in the province of treasure seekers and record collectors on and offline. Neutralized was their first and best offering, with a pretty potent slew of songs that balanced great guitar work and enthusiastic energy.

It starts off extremely strong, with the mighty mid pace gait of "Hatred Grows Slowly", huge Accept chords glistened with streaks of spry melody, as the bass pumps below and Peter Hader's resonant, accented vocals. Some might find it hard to get past the 'hand clap' in the chorus, but the chord pattern reminds me a lot of Running Wild, and I enjoy guitar riff in the bridge also. "Neutralized" picks up to speed metal territory, and this is probably one of the best on the album, with it's John Gallagher-like screaming and incendiary bridge melodies that hook you straight into that phenomenal mid-80s German bliss. These are joined the weighted hard rock of "Victims of Suicide", driving hesher force of "Backlash" and "To the Bitter Dregs", and two late bloomers "Hotter Than a 1000 Suns" and "Gale Warnings", for a fairly strong selection.

The album does have its weakness in the throwaway ballad "Time Could Not Heal", but there are also a pair of tracks here that remind me of Avenger (and Rage) that are quite good: "Overlords Supreme" and "Preacher of Evil", so overall, its almost completely consistent and enjoyable. The production here is airy and 80s, with the vocals loud and proud, but it still sounds good if you're accustomed to the period. The potential of the band was pretty obvious, though most of the songs don't quite compete with the band's peers. Talon could easily have drawn some appeal from the more commercial hard rock oriented scene that adored Scorpions or Bonfire, but they had heavier chops that compare more favorably to Zed Yago, and especially the band Samain, who had an even more limited career but were slightly superior to this.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

Samain - Vibrations of Doom (1984)

Sometimes when I reflect upon my life I think I must really be a German, though my adoption papers apparently state otherwise. Is Dutch close enough? I certainly hope so, because I have such a man crush on German metal of the 80s that I feel it's deep in my blood. Either that, or so much of it was just so fucking great that it draws out a connection in any listener of taste. Samain are one such example, a band long lost to the 80s in which they produced their sole full length, Vibrations of Doom, through Roadrunner, no less, before suffering a number of lineup changes and eventually calling it a day. Truly a tragedy, because this album is so great that I could easily have pictured the band alongside the ranks of Accept and Running Wild had they continued to foster their charismatic hooks.

Yes, Vibrations of Doom is perhaps one of the best one-shot German metal legacies in all of history, though some of you lucky old tools out there might have access to their later demos and videotapes, which contain material not heard here. There are 10 tracks here, one of which is an ambient keyboard intro ("Vibrations"), the rest of which are unmitigated excellence. Samain had a very laid back, road ready style that most resembles Accept, Saxon and Judas Priest. They rarely ever explode with energy, choosing instead to maintain a steady escalation into each chorus, with calmly plucked rock mutes and big chords that you will feel. There is obviously a decidedly 80s flavor to the mix, but like so many records of that period, it's timeless, and the heart grows fonder with age. Peter Ancaster's vocals were quite blue collar, like a poor(er) man's Udo Dirkschneider without the AC/DC screaming, but when his presence is fused with the consistency of the guitars and rhythm section, the album takes on this wonderful, street level appeal somewhere between Accept and Motörhead.

This is felt in "The Seal of Jidda", the "Straight Hammered Creed", "Seven Tears" and the bad ass "(Tale of a) Giant Man", all of which are enormous fun, but there is another side the band: the epic lyrics. Whilst many of Samain's peers were singing about the ladies and the cars and the booze and the hard luck and whatever else the mustache slinging hesher could so relate to in the 80s, this German band was incorporating lyrics about Norse myth ("Thor") and gladiators ("Gonna Swing My Chariot"). This is regulated with a healthy heaping of 'rock' and 'metal' related material, of course ("Straight Hammered Creed", "The Metal Breaks My Senses"), but it's a killer balance. Personal favorites, aside from those mentioned above, include the dire "Diamonds & Disgrace" and the boogied ballast of "Thank the Aerosmith", in which Ancaster scales some of the highest peaks his throat will allow him. The deep groove of "The Metal Breaks My Senses" is also impressive, and there is not a single power ballad on the entire album to break the steady momentum.

Vibrations of Doom is not the sort of album you would turn to if you want infectious speed like that of Avenger/Rage, and it's not as grimy as the Running Wild debut, but it's nonetheless one of the most reliable records to reach for if you want that pure, European sound so prevalent in Germany, Sweden, Holland and the heights of the NWOBHM. The songs often feel lazy, but tasteful, and possessing the atmosphere that so many of today's young, trendy throwbacks completely ignore in their inbred race to infuse the modern speed of power and technicality to satisfy the post-metalcore crowd that actually buys their shit up. Sure, there may be a few predictable chorus parts here, and the term relaxed might 'rarely' be applied to traditional metal with any degree of fondness, but Samain's debut is perfect for a day on the highway, or if you're just kicking back with a beer or a joint in your flat, wishing you were 2-3 decades in the past. A pity it had to end here.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10] (I'll make known the damned ordeal)

http://www.myspace.com/samainmusic