Despair - Beyond All Reason (1992)

Though it arrived and departed with as little fanfare as either of their prior efforts, it was Despair's third album, Beyond All Reason, that I feel finally manifested the band to their full potential. A curious waltz of elegance and aggression, it has this beautiful balance to the mix that drives home the nigh on endless barrage of melody being evoked through the guitars of Marek Grzeszek and Waldemar Sorychta. Below them, the rhythm section of Klaus Pachura and Markus Freiwald excelled at creating a gut punching experience that perfectly complemented the more aggressive, Bay Area styled riffs that dominate most of the songs (think Forbidden or Testament).

Andreas Henschel also surpasses his prior performance on Decay of Humanity. His work here isn't perfect, but he at least tries to come up with catchy chorus parts and verse lines, and that's more than I can say for so many of the other thrash bands of the 90s. Just check out the lines in "Deaf and Blind", the album's first pummeling beyond the wondrous instrumental intro "Beyond Comprehension", and you'll hear his thin but soaring stab. This sets the standard in quality for almost every song on the album, and titles like "Rage in the Eyes", "Son of the Wild" and the incredibly evocative "Burnt Out Souls" with its frenetic, flighty guitar passages, are certainly the best this band had ever written. I'd also point out the more adventurous "In the Deep", which opens with beautiful acoustic guitars and synthesizers and arrives at a measured, prog/power thrashing frenzy with almost as many cute riffs as you could count.

Some might find the production of Beyond All Reason to fall on the side of 'too clinical', but there is plenty of reverb thrown in over some of the guitars that it creates this feeling of an abandoned asylum or laboratory in which classical scales and intellectual anger collide to produce a spark of beautiful abomination. This is probably the least 'German' sounding of the band's catalog, and I will once again bring up a comparison to Forbidden (Twisted Into Form) or perhaps Helstar (Nosferatu) in terms of the tone and level of riffing density and fine plotting. It's unfortunate that this is also the final Despair album. The band didn't think they could do much more to survive through the 90s, so they went their separate ways, with Sorychta forming the rather crappy groove/thrash act Grip Inc. who would ironically experience more success. But for those seeking out rare and impressive acts within the field of tech-thrash, I'd easily recommend this. In fact, explore their catalog in reverse order. You shouldn't be disappointed.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10] (I crush you from below)

http://www.myspace.com/banddespair

Despair - Decay of Humanity (1990)

With Robert Kampf leaving the band's affairs to focus on his fledgling Century Media Records, Despair acquired a new vocalist in Andreas Henschel, who was clearly a more practiced front man with a melodic tone capable of both aggressive thrash and flighty power metal, even going so far as to emulate James Rivera's Helstar howling on a number of the tracks here. The band also picked up a dedicated bass player in Klaus Pachura, and a more technical, melodic direction was initiated in the compositions. Decay of Humanity is mildly superior to the debut in many ways, but probably the most notable would be the production, which is glossy and clear throughout the entire album, letting the thin, labyrinthine processions of the guitars to truly shine.

It's best to think of this as tech power/thrash in the same school as Realm, Toxik, Watchtower and Mekong Delta, but Despair aren't necessarily as explosive or well thought out as any of those bands, and as such there are very few individual tracks that really engross me. However, the sophomore is extremely consistent, never slumping as it weaves through a metric fuck ton of guitar riffs, all delivered in a discourse of cerebral force that is rarely broken with a falsetto cry or surgical tech flurry. Tracks like "Cry for Liberty" and "Victims of Vanity" have their pure, thrashing moments, while Henschel soars across the crest, but I prefer the more progressive elements found in the shifting of "Radiated" and the epic crawling of "A Distant Territory", which segues into tasteful clean guitars and almost Ray Alder-like vocals between bouts of surgical momentum.

It's not quite as good as 1992's Beyond All Reason, but it definitely sets the stage for that career highlight, not to mention it's one of those rare albums which you can just sit straight through, 40 minutes of thought craft, decent lyrics and variation that should most appeal to the prog/thrash sect. Despair didn't exactly strike gold here, but the album is good enough that it should have brought them a little more attention, especially when you consider that their former singer was running their label. But in the end, the multitudes so rarely pay respect to anything that requires even a tint of ponderous observation, and smart and 'semi-smart' records like this wind up in the clutches of but a few open souls.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10] (brains filled with equations)

http://www.myspace.com/banddespair

Despair - History of Hate (1988)

Despair is a band best known for a few of its alumni, who would move on to (arguably) greater things. Original vocalist Robert Kampf, who appears on this album, would become the chief of the now colossal Century Media records, and in fact Despair was the first European act signed to the label. Guitarist Waldemar Sorychta would later become a famed producer and play in some reasonably higher profile bands like the (crappy) Grip Inc. Lastly, Drummer Markus Freiwald has recently become the drummer for Sodom. Alright, so perhaps none of them have quite become legendary, but the success stories are impossible to deny, so it's all the more curious to examine their roots.

They are strong roots, and History of Hate is the sort of intense, technical thrash/speed album I tend to enjoy, with some similarities to Deathrow, Living Death, Vendetta, Destruction and a number of others. Notable effort was spent in composing the 8 tracks here, and each instrument is given a chance to shine. The guitars are choppy and adventurous, splicing together moments of tranquility with surgical, cutting melodies and beefier backing rhythms. I really enjoy the acoustic moments, like the intro "The Enigma" or the early segue in the 8+ minute epic "Constructing the Apocalypse". There was an artful deviousness to Despair, and Kampf's rough, constipated presence seemed the perfect pilot. That said, besides the obvious qualities and care in its craft, there are very few tracks here that really blow you over. Even the versatile, manic exhibitions of "Joy Division" and "Outconditioned" are not quite as knockout as the clinical nuance found on Deception Ignored, The Music of Erich Zahn, or Release from Agony, but they walk a similar path.

It's a good debut effort, and still sounds viable by today's standard, especially the airy guitar tones and the progressive patterns being woven through the thrashing glaze. The bonus track "Never Trust" turns out to be one of the strongest on the album, though it is borne of a more standardized chugging thrash blockade with some stumbling grooves. If History of Hate is lacking in any area, it's just the lack of killer chorus lines and truly destructive riffs that might edge it past a lot of the other second tier German bands at the time. The band would improve with their subsequent output, but Kampf's sole full-length performance was nothing to scoff at. Now, if only the Century Media suits would break this out from time to time, remember what made them so important, and take out all their shitty metalcore bands with next week's waste disposal (but don't recycle them, please).

Verdict: Win [7.25/10] (the cross was taught by the sword)

http://www.myspace.com/banddespair