Reign of Thrash and Death Metal
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  All of Reign's Thrash reviews from R to Z. Enjoy! If you want see your reviews here, send'em to me at the email adress that appears on the Home Page

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SACRED REICH-IGNORANCE '87

Sacred Reich's first album is not only a great debut, it's a great '80s thrash album. True, 'Ignorance' did come a little late in the '80s to really make an impact, even still, this album is an often overlooked gem. Hailing from Arizona, Sacred Reich sought to approach thrash metal from a different angle. Trying not to focus on speed, technical prowess, or evil lyrics, but rather use raw agression and political commentary to dish out their metallic assault. The first track, "Death Squad", sets the tone of the album with a powerful opening riff that just sounds mean. Track three, "Layed to Rest" is a short, moody, sorrowful instrumental which serves as an intro to the title track. The band gets a little groovy on "Violent Solutions" and closes the album with a hostile tribute to high school administrations. A note of interest of this album is Wiley Arnett's inventive guitar soloing, which really compliments the brutish chugging of rythym guitarist, Jason Rainey. Lyrically, Phil Rind hits a number of targets. From government oppresion, to nightmares and murderers, to the fall of the Nazi's, he manages to keep his writing thoughtful and entertaining. His vocal delivery is also unique because it's not high pitched like most '80s metal bands, but rather a low shouting more like a hardcore punk vocalist. Overall, this album is a thrash success that is sure to keep heads banging and minds thinking.
Rating: 8/10
Phil Barker

SEPULTURA-SCHIZOPHRENIA '87

After the relase of the already reviewed death metal classic debut, they changed their way into technical, brutal thrash-death metal from the earlier death-black pure blasphemy.
Still this wasn't know greatly in the west, the brazilian metal scene knew about its existance, it wasn't that popular though, the next will be. Everywhere. Max says this is their best, i think the next one is. Both are fantastic with no doubt!
Vocals are turned down for sure, nevertheless the still sound brutal and wicked, one song has the vocals uniquely sounding: Sceptic shizo, he really seems even more of a mad man here(Max) than on the rest of the album.
Lyrics majorily improved, the satanic theme is left over, few interesting subject show up, well written and controversialy presented, like the main one, discussing such an issue as madmen in society(already discussed by Metallica a year earlier).
Music...the improve is so big over their previous effort you want to wonder if it is the same band, just a year later! They have really come up with nice riffs on these ones, the previous also had nice ones, but this one puts in a technicality in playing and a big complexity in writing process not seen from this band before. It makes it only better.
The solos are really very well constructed, sometimes just creating a good background for the rhymes, and sometimes(most) going out and making music by themselves, leaving the riffs outshined.
A real mix of ideas in a well arranged chaos.
Only lacks i can point out are simple riffs so well arranged you think they are complex, but after some listening they come up in an uglier way, there is a certain number of them. But that shows the focus not on the structures of the riffs, but on mixing ready structures into new and interesting layers of music. Musically a worse way, but in terms of technicality it is sometimes better. It depends from tastes.
Rating: 8/10
Marcin Michalski(Metal.666) - Admin

SLAYER-SHOW NO MERCY '83

One of the two most influential debuts in thrash metal along with Kill'em all by Metallica. This record had a mix in its thrashing Kill'em all didn't have, besides heavy and power metal, punk! That's why Metallica went more progressive, Slayer went more...violent! This is the beginning of their 4-records long increase in musical agression.
This album is all about satanism and...satanism! It was one of the first albums so insanely soaked with hellish fire(along with Venom and Mercyful Fate). All the songs have one and only general topic, with few differences on how to destroy the christedom by Satan's hands, sung(is that singing?) perfectly, agressively, brutally, sometimes desperately hungry.
From such a straightforward album you could expect a mediocre music, sufficient enough to fillout the lyrics with satanic melodies(?heh), wrong!!!
The music is really great, in some places, i admit, it is a bit too straight and not ambicious, but these are few moments on this album. They are totally overflowed with great riffs and rites, which are really original and unique, no laming.
These solos, so juicy, so bloodsoaked, you feel the hunger inside yourself and eagerly hope to have the possibility of drinking it! The music doesn't only make a background agressive enough, bith for the lyrics and vocals, it surpasses them and stands proud and tall by itself.
One hell of a album, one Hell of a debut for one HELL of a 4-records series!
Rating: 8/10
Marcin Michalski(Metal.666) - Admin

SLAYER-HELL AWAITS '85

Though Reign in Blood(also reviewed here) is their trademark and mostly mentioned as their best effort i will be original(not only for the sake of it of course), and i'll say: this is Slayer best ever album. The agressivness is also at a very high level, the speed is there, the heaviness is there. Already these qualities made already this album a standout in those times, as few efforts could come even close to it. But two additional things make this album a standout in the whole career of this thrash giant: the darkness of the music combined with its complexity.
The darkness is very notable, all the instruments showcase that approach, especially the drums sound very unique, i wonder if that was intentional or just went out so in the mix. The darkest song here is Necrophiliac, with vocals focused on making as sick impression on the listener as Araya could possibly do, the other songs follow that pattern as well, just not reaching Necrophiliac's results.
As for complexity, most of the riffs are written with truly intriquate structures, not losing its sheer agressivness in the way at all. And that's what, in my opinion, makes this work their best.
The songs are very long as for Slayer, reaching an average of 5min a song, with Crypts of Eternity being almost 7min which makes it an epical song, i'd call it even a progressive proto death, if that's possible.
Concluding Slayer achieved a thing they never neither did nor will do in their carrer, they combined extreme agressivness with extreme musicianship, both equally balanced into almost a perfection of a record, especially for the golden mid-80s thrash beggining scene.
Rating: 9/10
Marcin Michalski(Metal.666)-Admin

SLAYER-REIGN IN BLOOD '86

Massacre, slay, genocide and musical holocaust are the first things come to my mind when i think of this album, then a last one: a classic.
At that time there were only two LPs that had comparabile intensity as this: Possessed's Seven Churches and Sepultura's Bestial Devastation, both from '85. Neither of them reached the popularity and cult as this...musical statement.
Lyrics seem to most of the people straight about violence and death, nothing interesting by itself, wrong, they are interesting and some really well written. With heart(ahem).
When you can take a first breath after the sheer intensity(and i really mean it) of the record you can judge the music, by its complexity, orginality and effort put into it. It wins, almost everywhere.
After putting aside few(really rare) low moments on the albums, where there is some musical lowiness, you have one torment of riffs, passes, drum beats(and these are really beating!) and chaotic solos, well arranged with the background which leaves you speechless at first, earached few seconds later.
The technicality of this effort is pretty notable in some place, with its highs in such riffs as the main one in Angel of death, the famous and controversial Slayer's song.
Even putting aside the inluence on the scene it had, and its sheer agression, themusical value is still high. A real work was put into this.
Rating: 9/10
Marcin Michalski(Metal.666) - Admin

SODOM-PERSECUTION MANIA '87

I feel this band was always behind the other famous german thrashers previously mentioned, and though it's not their best(the next one is) it is worth mentioning because it is good by itself and it was released in those times of thrash masterpieces(ok, a year later).
There are 7 tracks in here, or even 6,5 as one is an instrumental about 2min long. Even though this is way better than there debut which was pretty miedocre, even if it was more black than thrash metal, and it had a big influence on the former, musically for me is just decent. This one is better.
From the first riffs of Nuclear Winter you know what path they chose, the thrash one over the black, good choice i'll say.
There are alot of interesting parts, riffs and plenty of nice musical ideas, especially the instrumental is very original, and i'd say a slow headbanging hammer. The vocals are closer to Kreator's than Destruction's and are typically german trashish sounding, which isn't bad only because it's not forced original.
The major mistakes i see here is the album being too short, some of the parts could be better written and arranged, nevertheless they are fullfilled out with good ideas. But sometimes it seems like they could be even better.
The production is way too silent, though recorded and mixed well if you turn it louder. I think the album hadn't had a big impact on the scene, as the other german classics, it was well-recevied, but never a popular cult.
It is still a good thrash album, from the golden times.
Rating- 7/10
Marcin Michalski(Metal.666) - Admin

TETAMENT-NEW WOLRD ORDER '87

This band reformed the already dead band Legacy under a new name, releasing the debut named justly The Legacy, and a year later aiming to release a new and a better release in the sight of a big and requesting scene.
These are 7 actual songs, 1 cover and 2 instrumentals(one all acoustic and one weird, all spooky soloing or such), so that is a bit too little, they should have waited few months more and come up with more matierial, it ruins the record a bit.
The case of this album is the similiar as in Overkill's Taking over mentioned above. A good thrasher, only a good thrasher, or as much as a good thrasher? Depends from different tastes, i like to listen it, you can find always good, new riffs or solos impossible to find anywhere else, but there isn't anything that would hold you up to listen it over and over like some few ones do.
The music here is good, interesting themes, riffs, solos, some parts create some good atmosophieries.
There is a bigger focus than usual on acoustic parts, there is quite an amount of them, they are nicely written, so it's appreciated.
They have to come up with something totally new, brutal, extreme, dark, tecnichal, complex or some other distinguishment on the scene. They come here with the old good portion of fine thrash.
For some enough, for some not, i don't complain but i wouldn't cry if it would be more originalin a way.
Rating: 7/10
Marcin Michalski(Metal.666) - Admin

TURBO-OSTATNI WOJOWNIK(LAST WARRIOR) '87

This is a great release from this long-term Polish band, their second having tharsh all over it. It is the response to all this explosion of thrash in the west. And what a response!
I am from Poland, but i won't close my eyes to any of their mistakes, i will give you a totally sincere review, the same with the rest of Polish bands found here.
The album has a big variety of good music, from some acoustic parts, well arranged and combined with drums, magnifing the impression, and with the rhytm parts make the progressive part of this album. And then we have these totally no let ups, franatic races of dual guitars, bass and drums, thrash parts, of which, even Slayer wouldn't be ashamed. The riffs are very technical in some parts, especially where is getting fast, on the slower and more progressive parts(like Metallica) they focus more on the combination of the whole instrumentarium, to make the listener stop for a minute, and think about the musical theme/pattern. That's what i love, the ambition, the musicianship, though obviously influenced by the major western acts, they haven't lost their own identity. Making the album a Turbo's album, original, unique and unmistakable with others.
The solos are nice, nothing outstanding, put they give you a nice portion of new melodies to keep in your head. The drums are sometimes truly astonishing, so fast, you can hear both of the foots working as in a death metal band, pounding as fast as possible, in '87! Poland had always great drummers!
Though their next record(Epidemic '89) is in my opinion their best musically, this has alot of ideas in it, all well arranged and combined.
Rating: 8/10
Marcin Michalski(Metal.666)-Admin