Deathrow - Deception Ignored [1988]

I’m sure many who first encountered the infamous ‘’Raging Steel’’ will be in for quite a shock when they hear this, their third effort, ‘’Deception Ignored’’.  Deathrow started as a speed/thrash group, adventurous and dynamic, and keeping certain aesthetics of the early Germanic thrash metal sound, hinted in the sublime savagery, or the crude malevolence, but never has a band been through such an anomalous change. ‘’Deception Ignored’’ is not a step up from its predecessor, it’s not two steps up, not three. It’s a hundred steps ahead its previous version. Over only one year, Deathrow enlarged their arsenal to the size of a modern army, going through a most dramatic change from what used to be an army no more sophisticated than Neanderthals, sharpening their crude weapons. Don’t get me wrong, I quite enjoy ‘’Raging Steel’’ (although I can’t say the same thing about the debut album) in its ways of simplistic butchery and dissection, lashing forth primal Teutonic speed/thrash, but this is something else entirely.

The year is 1988 and there already a far more complex band on the run: Megadeth. Even though Deathrow came later than the US giants and released two records that  were easily outshined by its peers, ‘’Deception Ignored’’ is a massive ‘’Fuck You’’ in the face of Dave Mustaine, making his skill with the guitar look like a chimp toying with a harp. It’s still very early, considering that the major influences that pioneered technical metal in general rose not until the early/mid 90’s. Deathrow manage to even surpass those guitar freaks at their own game. ‘’Deception Ignored’’ is an endless, prolific gate of riffs, keeping you busy for every second that passes, with any sort of trick, technique or strategy that you can think of. I’m flabbergast each time I hear the riffs, and I’m more amazed that they’re fabricated purely out of raw material and technical prowess, no pedals, no machines whatsoever; only savvy musicianship.

The riffs that ‘’Deception Ignored’’ spews are absolutely arduous brain bogglers. Each riff, each note is static flash of super-vigorousness, progressing simultaneously and incessantly, while both torturing your brain muscles and ripping, shredding through heaps and heaps of flesh, robotically slashing and trimming its way into who knows what. As fantastic as each riff is, they’re also enveloping and totally captivating, precise and decisive, and ridiculously melodious. ‘’Deception Ignored’’ houses many thundering powerhouses of crushing, vivacious thrash, but it’s the subtle fluctuations that go on in and above the strident bolts that bedeck the compositions. Each song is an even more tiresome composition yet it’s also one that’s even more entertaining, and the songs follow each other with no breaks (expect for the one minute piano intro on ‘’Tricton’’), keeping busy with rapid incursions all the time. ‘’Deception Ignored’’ is excessively decisive and direct yet at the same time it’s exceedingly tricky and deluding.

The melodious side of ‘’Deception Ignored’’ offer both the possibly most technical side of thrash metal as well as representing complex classical music. Many of the melodies that flow with the stream of chugs are classical music notes played on guitar, and they sound especially clever with the thin, metallic surface engulfing the tone. A hint weaker, and the record might not have given off the anger properly and consistently, and a bit more distortion only meant that the notes would have all tangled and drowned amongst themselves. The vocal work on ‘’Deception Ignored’’ is just as schizophrenic as the wonderful guitar patterns that adorn it. They’re vicious but at the same time high-pitched and passionate when need be and despite appearing at seldom amongst the current of compositions, they make the best of it. With the songs following each other consistently, and each song consisting of near a thousand notes(or even more maybe), it is naturally hard to carve out the distinguished features of each track, and I still have some trouble with it, but once you get to know the songs, you’ll see each has its own character, and each one is a different excursion of the many-faced apparition that is Deception Ignored.

‘’Events In Concealment’’ introduces a mere eighth of what ‘’Deception Ignored’’ has in store for the listener, channelling between verse and bridge structures with ease while formulating riffs that both reek of Slayer, Exodus, Metallica and Deathrow’s own traits, semi-technical barrages of strident lashes. ‘’The Deathwish’’ is all about sudden strokes and lighting crashes that come and go like a tide sweeping across a try beach – only much faster. ‘’Triocton’’ is the second opus of the album along with ‘’Narcotic’’, gnawing the listener’s mind with visceral technicality and superior rays of chaotic thrash melodies, with certain angular sections that highlight the drums, and their accent giving beats. ‘’N.L.H.M’’ is relatively concise and it fits harmonious, almost sombre melodies into the stubborn thrash texture, bringing us both day and night within just three minutes, and ‘’Machinery’’ is callous incursion of dynamic, exciting thrash madness, queer and jumpy rather than completely tangled, but the brain suffers yet another exercise with ‘’Narcotic’’ as it’s dominated with rhythmic stomps, bobbing you up and down, featuring almost bluesy guitar riffs. The fun parade is concluded with ‘’Bureaucrazy’’ yet another slab of brisk zig-zags and pulls, and with it, the hardest mind exercise you ever had ends.

‘’Deception Ignored’’ is musically supreme to any of its peers, and slam in the face of any who imagine they can make it more complex. It’s the highest calibre of technical metal, and even its fellow countrymen eluded it during the time it was released, it still reigns supreme, at least for me. Despite the fact that I love it, and cherish it, it’s still one test that I don’t frequently take, due it’s particularly tiresome nature, and its sweltering spasm of riffs. ‘’Deception Ignored’’ is absolutelt brilliant, flawless, overwhelming and inaccessible for those who are not esoteric or zealous about its way. It’s peerless, but in a far more brain tangling way than you think.

Highlights

''Events In Concealment''

''Triocton''

''Narcotic''

''Machinery''

''Bureaucrazy''

Final Rating

Legendary [10/10]

Halloween - Vicious Demo [1990]

After releasing their well-accepted debut record "Don't Metal With Evil" in 1985, Halloween wouldn't release anything new for five years. That new release was this five-track demo entitled "Vicious Demo." The title of the demo is a little misleading because Halloween plays some catchy heavy metal, but I would never describe it as vicious. Once you get past that, though, there is some top-notch music to be found throughout this 20 minute demo from the Detroit headbangers. 

The first song on here is "I Confess" which is definitely the standout on "Vicious Demo." The riffage is solid, but the vocals and guitar solos really take this track over the top. The chorus is incredibly catchy and it's sure to be burn inside the listener's head (even if it is kind of a love song). Next up is "Vicious Lies," which actually lives up to the title as it's the most vicious song on here (it's still not very vicious). The midpaced riffs throughout are heavy and the faster moments are terrific too. "Evil Nation" is easily the weakest song on the demo, but the next track "Agony" more than makes it up for it with some fantastic vocals that soar over the top with higher pitch yells, as well as some beautiful singing done in the chorus which has some brilliant riffs. "Black Skies" is a more epic song with its cool buildup that features stellar lead work that ends with some catchy riffs and more general awesome from Halloween. The main strengths of "Vicious Demo" are absolutely the vocals and guitarwork and that's why these songs are as good as they are. Not to knock the rhythm section of the band, but the overall product wasn't taken to another plateau or made worse by them either. If you're a fan of heavy metal, then Halloween and this demo deserve your time and if you're not a fan of heavy metal, leave the hall!

Highlights

"I Confess" 

"Vicious Lies"

"Agony"

Final Rating

Awesome [8.4/10]

Pentacle - ... Rides the Moonstorm [1998]

Fronted by Wannes Gubbels, who you may recognize as a former member of death metal legends Asphyx, Pentacle is an old-school death metal band that was formed way back in 1989 who combine the influences of early Celtic Frost, Death, Asphyx, early Pestilence and 80’s German thrash into a delicious melting pot of old-school metal.

Pentacles sound consists of razor-sharp thrashy death metal riffage with a Celtic Frosted guitar tone, mostly d-beat drumming that occasionally changes it up, Van Drunen/John Tardy-esque vocals and barely audible but solid bass work. The tempos are mostly mid-fast paced and rather thrashy with the occasional slow and heavy intro. The production is standard for mid-90’s death metal; thin and distorted guitars, not much bass and a decent but slightly dull drum sound.

Production flaws aside, and excusing the 50 minute length which tends to drag the album out a bit longer than it should, “… Rides the Moonstorm” is a killer album full of great songs such as; “Yielding to the Scepter of Flesh”, the opening title track, “Baptism in a Fiery Void” and “Raised by Nights Chaos”, to name a few. With a band motto like “Don’t forget the ancient feeling… it still rules!!!”, it’s pretty clear what Pentacle is all about and they do a good job at keeping the classic death metal spirit alive.

Highlights:
"Yielding to the Scepter of Flesh"
"Baptism in a Fiery Void"
"Raised by Nights Chaos"

Final Rating:
Awesome [8.5/10]

Ancient - Svartalvheim [1994]

Despite the fact that Norway is one of (if not the) most prolific countries, in terms of black metal output, I have never been very fond of a vast majority of the bands. Aside from the giants of the scene (Immortal, Mayhem, and Darkthrone), I've never been able to listen to the "grvm" stuff from that country because it bored the shit out of me. But, you've got to dig around and find some stuff, because there is some quality in that cesspool of a scene. One such album that has been a nice find is Ancient's debut full-length "Svartalvheim." While the band would later go on to turn into another shitty band, this record has some substance to it that's worth a listen. 

What really impressed me with the sound of Ancient was their ability to conjure up riffs and melodies that were entirely reminiscent of phenomenal bands such as Bathory and Dissection. After the intro is the track "Trumps of an Archangel" which is an awesome song. Plenty of Bathory worship in the riffs, with the occasional melodic moments, some nasty vocals, and plenty of vile. Seriously, this track is some great, disgusting old-school black metal and had the entire album consisted of material like this track, it would have been amazing. "Huldradans" is a cool track that's definitely more in vein of Dissection (Acoustics and all!), as there's plenty of melody in the riff throughout. "The Call of the Absu Deep" is a much more doomy track that should get anyone's headbanging. Unfortunately, the music aside from these tracks is plagued with mediocrity and terrible songwriting. 

"Det Glemte Riket" would have been a promising song, but too many random inclusions of acoustic sections kind of killed the song a bit. It would be one thing if the acoustic sections added some kind of dark sound or killer solo, but they were just randomly placed acoustic parts that didn't fit the song at all. This happens in "Paa Evig Vandring" as well, and "Ved Trolltjern" is an acoustic song throughout with some echoed vocals, nothing more. At the end of "Svartalvheim," though, the good outweighs the bad and keeps Ancient's debut from being another awful album in the Norway scene and I would definitely recommend it to fans of Bathory, Dissection, Immortal, etc. 

Highlights

"Trumps of an Archangel"

"Huldradans"

"The Call of the Absu Deep"

Final Rating

Awesome [8/10]

Stormtrooper - Armies Of The Night [1985] (EP)

The early and primitive aesthetics of many metal sub-genres were reached their climax during the time where they were first born, and no matter how much you enjoy the brickwall superiority and contemplating complexity of modern power metal bands, you can’t deny that the genre was at its best during the early/mid 80’s when it was dominated by pure raw energy, and the USPM scene always mustered some of the best metal around, brisk, tight, catchy, and even bedecked with carnivorous evil at times. Iron Cross’s sequential debut album is the best example to the early, evil-tinged power metal, and their fellow countrymen Stormtrooper is an act even more obscure, yet just as deadly and vigorous.

The year is 1985, and the USPM power metal classics have just been unleashed, with many more to come, and Stormtrooper’s debut Ep, ‘’Armies Of The Night’’ proves to be an especially original (for the time) five track barrage of early thrash savagery mixed with an energized portion of USPM a la Jag Panzer, and a dose of NWOBHM, since many genres haven’t culminated at that time. The production quality is also surprisingly clean, rendering the instruments audible, but a gritty tone is naturally unavoidable.  Stormtrooper even exploit a bit of punk to add some steam and intensity to the foray of riffs, but there’s also plenty of melody, not just bland chords played in an inexorable attitude, but a fresh breath of air every time another song kicks in. Another record that definitely contributed in the main structure of ‘’Armies Of The Night’’ is undeniably, ‘’Kill ‘Em All’’, but the music here is slightly more epic shrouded in fog than the genre defining masterpiece, and you can also be sure that’s it’s not as sordid, since this is after all power metal.

The rough, croaky delivery of the vocals is perfect for the music under it, raw, evil-natured and frantic, and even raspy when he tends to shriek out, a bit like Millie in his early days. But even though it’s raw and gritty, ‘’Armies Of The Night’’ is surely not dissonant and devoid of harmony, and ridiculously catchy, at that. Unfortunately, it Stormtrooper did last long, and shortly after this, their sole, release, the band disbanded, leaving us with only eighteen minutes evil power/thrash. Perhaps the Ep may not be on par with its peers that helped shape the genre, but it’s an Ep that any resident USPM fan should be zealous about.

Highlights

''Armies Of The Night''

''Steamroller''

''The Beast Within''

Final Rating

Awesome [8.3/10]

Heathen's Rage - Heathen's Rage [1986] (EP)

Even though Heathen's Rage released a demo (though it was more like a full-length, with ten tracks at 35 minutes) before this release, I have yet to locate it, but this three song, self-titled EP that followed is a nice little collection of music for fans of '80s US power metal. This EP doesn't have any material that could really rival earlier bands' outputs, which contains a small list of masterpieces that include "Metal Church," "Battle Cry," and plenty of others, but "Heathen's Rage" is still worth a moment of your time if not for "Knights of Steel" alone. 

"Knights of Steel" is the opening track for this EP, and it's a terrific song with a near-epic clean guitar intro that serves as the backdrop to a melodic solo. Then the bass and drums come in, before this song starts to pick up. Bob Pizzauro's vocals are a pleasant surprise, because they're very clean and soothing. There's not a hint of aggression like there usually is with other power metal singers. "City of Hell" isn't really a great song, but it does show how good the group's drummer is. His opening drum fills and solo moments are top-notch, and this can be said for his entire performance on the EP. "Dark Storm" is a thrashy number that will get your head moving, but not much else. Overall, "Heathen's Rage" is a decent three song EP that power metal enthusiasts are sure to enjoy. It's unfortunate that they never released a full-length album, because based on this performance, that record would have been awesome. 

Highlights

"Knights of Steel"

"Dark Storm"

Final Rating

Awesome [8/10]

Torchure - Beyond The Veil [1992]

Torchure were actually quite a promising death metal band, alongside some of their fellow countryman Jumpin’ Jesus, Morgirion and Atrocity (who unfortunately leaned towards Goth later on), but they were also one of those short lived bands, disbanding just a few years after  their creation. Civilisations become destroyed too, but their culture and creations live on forever, which just might be the case with Torchure. This, their debut album is probably the better known and the better of the two consecutive releases they unleashed, bringing Torchure’s prime elements on the last on table; a doomy cluster of unbridled thrash and death, joining to exhale a depressive bombard of riffs, doom-laden, yet surprisingly vigorous.

The album has queer song structures, and with such as mash up of death, thrash and somewhat melodious doom, they almost fabricate their own distinct sound, one that’s different from the US and Swedish old school death metal scenes for a change.  With such ambitious textures set, the band proves to be much more dexterous and experimental than many other groups who dwelled during the same time, but their efforts also effects the way the album moves, and with the subtle doom metal worshiping done and the nearly fifty minute album length, ‘’Beyond The Veil’’ turns into a laggard of an album, cauterizing and encompassing the victim very, very slowly. And due to its length, this record is something that you definitely have to spend your time with, so that you may fully comprehend the absurd structures behind the plain, comprehensible riffs.

The sluggish approach may be irrelevant at times, but it also relieves the listener from any sort of depressing, or moody need, like a recompense for the long, drudgy moments. The guitar tone is really a nice addition, because its somewhere between chubby, gritty and thin, and once the leads of melodies jump in, the tone blankets itself in an even nicer, warm, subtle and oozy tone with a little bit of cavernous melancholy even. And like I said, Torchure are more adventurous than many other acts of their time, and they’re unafraid to insert tons of drowning melodies on top of their crunchy riffs, serving as even more captivating hooks than usual, and of course, proving that the band isn’t at all inept in musicianship.

The percussion is well done, nothing more, but the vocals are exceedingly filthy and grotesque growls and rasps, and even gurgles when the vocalist drenches himself in repugnance. But the album as a whole is not really murky and even filthy for that matter, but doomy, ponderous and mighty, laden with musical prowess.  Throughout the whopping fifty minutes of doom-oriented death/thrash, you’ll find a fairly extensive amount of variation; sometimes you’ll feel the brisk attitude of thrash leaping in, like on ‘’Abysmal Malevolence’’ or ‘’In His Grip’’, while melody freaks will profoundly love ‘’Depressions’’, but the ultra opus of the record is the eleven minute doom metal epic ‘’Resort To Mortality’’, a transcendental slab of traumatizing riffs, and don’t forget that wherever you go, keyboards are always going to follow you. ‘’Beyond The Veil’’ stands out as a peculiar and gripping release, and for people who enjoy its dragging monotony more than me, it's a delicious feast. 

Highlights

''In His Grip''

''Resort To Mortality''

''Apathetic''

Final Rating

Awesome [8.5/10]