At War - Retaliatory Strike (1988)

At War's opening volley of mortar fire went noisily into the night, but went it did, and was very quickly dismissed by the majority of the 80s thrash fanbase, if they ever even had the chance to hear it. The sounds were raw and the hearts were in the right place, but the music was severely lacking. So the three generals met in closed tents and rehearsal spaces, regrouped and returned two years later, still with the promising New Renaissance Records, for their Retaliatory Strike, a more significant effort in all departments. In fact, though the band has recently reformed and put out a new album (Infidel), it is this sophomore which remains the peak of their career, waiting to be toppled like some obscure South American dictator beneath the fire of commandos and mercenaries.

The band still maintains that aura of a dumbed down Slayer ala 1983-1985, but the riffs are fucking lethal here, and the vocal reverb reminds me a great deal of early Voivod, though he's got a much deeper voice. After a brief intro, "Conscientious Object" arrives like a mix of Sacred Reich, Slayer and D.R.I. riffing with a powerful lead segment and bridge. This track alone is better than anything the band offered on the debut, and instantly one gets the impression the band will be playing for keeps with the listener's memory here. This is enforced with the choppy, more technical riffing of "Creed of the Sniper", which seems to excel to the point at which it becomes comparable with Bay Area and German thrash velocity of its day. "Covert Sins" is pretty vile thrash/speed metal with a great use of dual thrash and demonic pitched vocals, riffs splashing across the battlefield like the afterbirth of bullet wounds.

"Crush Your Life" highlights an excellent verse riff akin to something Vio-lence or Exodus might have written, but laden in At War's meaty, raw tone which feels almost live, and "Gutless Sympathizer" continues to exude barbaric force, with a great little chorus shift where the bass goes up an octave and the vocals follow: You're the gutless sympathizer! Stand on both sides even wiser! I really liked this one. "Church and State" thrives off a dirty, spatter rock rhythm like a war metal Motley Crue before the chugging of the verse erupts. Not the greatest track here, but the chorus is cool. The vocals in "Felon's Guilt" are extremely entertaining, even if he just repeats the same bustling pattern in each verse, and the guitar riff at the breakdown is also quite kickass. The brief "Thinkin' " develops into some of the faster picking on the album, but it's under a minute in length, and lastly "The Example" is a blur of competent riffing with some Megadeth like speed grooves wound through it, but the vocals suck and it's not one of the better tracks.

I've always gotten the nagging impression that had At War survived to release a third album in around 1989-1990, they might have had a minor cult hit on their hands, but Retaliatory Strike, despite its general quality, would go almost as unnoticed as its elder sibling. The band's no horseshit, dirty production might have turned off some where by 1988 were expecting every album to sound like State of Euphoria or ...And Justice for All, but really it was more of a lack in marketing, which would put the entire label under. People worked on a rather limited budget for music in those days, and even though some diehards like myself might have bought up every thrash album they could afford on paper route money or leftover beer funds, there was no easy means like the interwebz for the majority to even become aware of the Virginians.

Thus, like about 90% of the thrash bands to arrive at the mid to end of that decade, At War would sink rather than swim through the trenches. It's a shame, because this is a good, if not essential album which oozed bullets and promise. One complaint I must register is that the CD cover on the re-release is fucking horrible. Camouflage and a band logo? Boring as all shit when compared to the original with the helicopters. Regardless, Retaliatory Strike might be well worth checking out if you like the more aggressive, brute thrash bands from Arizona or Texas like Sacred Reich, Exhorder, Rigor Mortis and Gammacide, or old Slayer and Hallows Eve.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10] (One shot! One kill! One way!)

http://www.atwartheband.com/

At War - Ordered to Kill (1986)

John Rambo. First Blood. Chuck Norris. Delta Force. Such are the products of the 80s craving for warfare and bloodlust, huge action films with unforgettable firefights and dialogue, all conveniently and ironically to coincide with the end of the Cold War era. But where was the thrash equivalent? Well, it was actually quite common during the 80s to include some gas-masked or muscular, vested, grenadier with a bigger arsenal than most small nations, struggling against injustice before or after the bomb dropped. Virginia's long lost and now found thrash cult At War represent a little less foolery in their brand of war metal, and a more honest, if underwritten depiction of violence and other topics, like the horrors of rape or experimentation at the lethal and lovely hands of a female S.S. officer...

Ordered to Kill was the trio's first entry into the arena, and like so many other New Renaissance Records releases of its time, it brings back fond memories. Who were these three men strapped with machine guns and camo emerging from this North American logo beneath one of the more distinct, if simple logos and military title font? They were Paul Arnold, Shawn Helsel, and Dave Stone and they were about to deliver one of the more blunt and hammering sounds of East Coast thrash metal. The writing on this debut is hardly perfect, and the band's second effort would be a step up in quality, but it's still decent enough if you like the crude sounds of a band like early Slayer, Hallows Eve, Sacred Reich or even Maryland's obscure Indestroy, who were on the same record label.

The title tracks opens with a few capable artillery rounds of smooth, rugged riffing, Paul Arnold's voice sounding quite like Tom Araya's lower end capacity in the 80s, without the swerves into a middle range or the bloodshot screaming. The solo is quick and forgettable, the entire experience rather cheap, but who cares? This was the 80s and you were banging your head, because you spent the $6-10 on the cassette or LP. "Dawn of Death" is mildly faster, but a little messier as it shifts from the momentum riffing to the war drum breakdowns. "Capitulation" is one of the weaker pieces on the record, with the song title being bludgeoned to death in the chorus to the loss of all affectations. Next we break into the Motörhead section of the record, beginning with the original "Rapechase" with its rolling punk-fueled aggression, and followed by an actual cover of "The Hammer" from Lemmy and friends. Both of these are actually pretty good, and one wonders if the band had followed their influence more closely for the entire album, if it might have made more of an impact.

But the final tracks return to the straight thrash sound, with some dirty, spent round casing riffs in "Mortally Wounded". I'm not a fan of the vocal breaks in this song, they get a little dull and again, the rather poor writing steals the potential power of the track. "Ilsa (She Wolf of the S.S.") opens with a Hitler sampler, not unexpected, and breaks out some of the finer musical moments on the album, with some deadpan thrashing rhythms and an excellent chorus which burns with a little of that Lemmy NWOBHM flame. Unfortunately, the finale "Eat Lead" is simply not that tolerable, with a mix of basal thrash 101 riffs and rather sloppy lyrical presentation. I don't mind the brief melodic guitar riding between the verses, but the rest is pretty dull.

At War were certainly not firing complete blanks on this debut, and I do find the raw production of the record endearing to this day, but the actual composition was somewhat lacking. If you're looking for a sound similar to Motörhead or Tank, updated for the new era of harsh, warlike thrash guitars that were exploding in the 80s, then this album might have some value to you. Otherwise, this was clearly left in the dust by Master of Puppets, Peace Sells..., Reign in Blood and many other albums of its day. The Virginians received their orders to kill, but this first mission was not a success, and casualties were high.

Verdict: Indifference [5.75/10] (tyrants, take heed)

http://www.atwartheband.com/

At War - Infidel (2009)

It's official...just about every obscure thrash band from any neck of the woods has now reunited and released new material. At War was a pretty unheard of thrash band when they released two albums in the 80s, Ordered to Kill and Retaliatory Strike. The latter was a meaty, barbaric war metal record with some fairly catchy tracks. 21 years after the fact, At War have created Infidel, an album that sticks entirely to their roots even if it benefits from a slightly denser, brutal mix.

It's good to hear a thrash band unafraid of being patriotic in the face of our wimpy times, but this is not to say At War is some kind of insanely violent neocon band. The warfare theme dominated their old material, and it is retained here. It's the bread on their butter. Style-wise there is a brutal honesty to this band which reflects the earliest work of Sacred Reich. Like a combat boot to the face, the band treads over 9 new tracks, some of which are catchy, some of which are average. "Semper Fi" is one of the best, which a memorable refrain reminiscent of the songs on Retaliatory Strike. "R.A.F." has a classic metal leaning which recalls Motorhead. "Vengeful Eyes" is a great thrasher with some infectious riffing, and "Rapechase" is a perfect lead-out with some fist pounding vocals and filthy speed.

Infidel sounds better than their old albums, but only slightly. I think this was a great conscious decision to create a respectable continuity in their material. This isn't the thrash album of the year, and it's not going to impress a lot of people (personally, I still enjoy Retaliatory Strike the most of their material), but if you enjoyed the band's earlier albums then I see no reason why you wouldn't also like this, a worthy legacy.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

http://www.myspace.com/atwartheband