I apologize beforehand for those who might expect some kind of rampant racist rant or endorsement of the obvious lyrical content of this album, since everybody knows that I'm likely to say anything. I've never been one to pay too close attention to lyrics and have always focused more on the music instead, although I will briefly state that I do believe you should learn the native tongue of whatever country you wish to live in and respect their laws and culture. I'm not fond at all of the Mexican flag being hoisted above the American one in California schools, but I don't think blind hatred is the answer. Not that these fellows intended to hate; I think they just felt like rattling everyone for fun.
Controversy aside, this is an insanely good thrash album, sprinkled with some fairly amusing odes to milk, ballads to Jimi Hendrix and other stupid topics that only concern those among us who care either very little for such things or never really bother to think of them at all yet find them superficially profound. Comprised of members from Nuclear Assault and Anthrax (fans will recognize some of these songs from Attack Of The Killer B's), the band indulges in an all-out speedfest of sorts, scorching through 20-odd songs in less than a half hour and never letting up. The riffs are aplenty, the attitude is brash and this is most certainly for any metal fan worth his can of thrashing beans. Not that silly sludge metal. Or doom metal. Or whatever sub-genres they have nowadays; I can't keep track. For me, it's either fast or slow, and I prefer fast. Ya gotta love it. Top tracks: "Chromatic Death," "Milk," "Freddy Krueger," Sargent D & The S.O.D." and "Pussy Whipped." And "Fist Banging Mania" and "Kill Yourself" and you get the point. B+
4 comments:
Ah yes . . . a brilliant disc of definitive thrash metal moments! You forgot to mention United Forces . . . another killer tune, which features Charlie Benante playing guitar.
Thanks for the memories!
Pope JTE
Yeah this was a doozy of an album. Even their follow-up back in '99 was pretty sick. Every time I put this on I get complaints, but complaining to a metalhead while he's listening to metal doesn't exactly inspire kindly return responses. That and I always look for excuses to tell people to fuck off.
I loved this back in 1985 and then I got sick of it a little later. That may have been due to Billy Milano trying to make a career out of joke bands or Scott Ian rambling on about thinking that this act created crossover. Okay, it's funny for a while and it has some good bursts of early thrash at a time when the genre was being established. It's just that I think there were better crossover albums at the time from the likes of COC, DRI and Agnostic Front. I also can't help feeling that if Anthrax's Spreading the Disease had not have hit around the same time that not as many people would have noticed this album.
Metal Mark,
Very true, very true. Spreading The Disease was a sick album, and probably helped this one out tremendously. COC's Animosity is even better than this, for sure. That album is crossover. Scott Ian was and maybe still is delusional sometimes.
"Bring The Noise" was a great song, too; but they were definitely trying too hard. I still love 'em, though.
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