Cocteau Twins "Victorialand" (1986)

 Having recently split a subpar album into two EPs in the previous year, the Cocteau Twins return with a full release that on paper you'd suspect would be more likely to suffer that fate. With bassist Raymonde tied up with other commitments, Victorialand strips out percussion and bass in a bold, experimental move that actually turns up gold. Initially it stands apart for lacking what is seemingly a core part of the groups music and ironically the focus on guitar and vocal alone forge a beautiful chemistry between the two, something their recent string of EPs seemed to lack all too often.

Guthrie refines a sound heard before, often intermittent between his echo delay experimentation with ambiguous guitar texture. With a touch of roomy reverberation his focus lands on lush, bold acoustic guitar chords and plucked strings. Dreamy, bright and glossy they flow lavish and oozy as the melodies vibrate and resonate in soft feedback loops. Although a little hazy and foggy they dance in the Ethereal wash, swaying with a timeless dreaminess the band yield, somehow unlike anything before.

Fraser finds a stride heard many times before with the best of her spirited singing. She leans in on the unusual pronouncing and annunciations that put emphasis and feeling in the unconventional spots. She meanders around the guitars like a wandering spirit, rising and falling, exploring her range and depth of expression. Her pace is drawn out, lingering on scenic notes, voicing with a ghostly intent. The use of pre-echo and other manipulations artfully expand the avenue this duo carved for themselves.

Chemistry is often king and here it reigns supreme as the focus on two instruments have them finding the sublime connections on its best tracks. All sorts of fantastical places of adventure and intrigue are conjured in the imagination when they find a stride. A Saxaphone and Tabla can be heard chiming in on occasion and one or two song use a tiny sway of percussion and sometimes bass. Its so subtle it seems almost necessary yet irrelevant in the shadow of absence the majority of the music carries.

A bonus track, remixed by Massive Attack, serves to show how well the music can stand on its own while being completely open to percussion and bass. Final song, The Thinner The Air, is a tense, winding closer that dissipates at the albums end. The accompaniment of Trip Hop thuds, cracks and piano chords add in a foundation entirely optional. It highlights how much magic is birthed in this chemistry and how the common and expected are sometimes unnecessary to what makes the music tick. Victorialand has its moments and some songs may not click so sweetly but it is a change in pace worthy of attention!

 

Rating: 7/10

Bolt Thrower "War Master" (1991)

This is it! The pivot I was listening out for, a moment of change but one that surprisingly comes as a full on swing. With a touch of Doom Metal restraint, the band find the steady footing for their brutality to march hard at mid tempo, with powerful grooves thrusting its momentum forth with the energy I enjoy. Bolt Thrower still strike me as a band in identity crisis. Yet to land on the appropriate theme of war, their Warhammer inspired image and tacky name seemed at odds with the early Death Metal sound. These are all details that don't really matter if the music is good.

In War Master lies a big step forward in fidelity and song writing. The rhythm guitar finally finds its tempered aggression that defines later records. This aforementioned pivot is massive but not without the blemishes of their previous efforts. It actually adds a little flair as wild plunges into loose blast beats and the hangover of Grindcore guitar noise give it brief tangents to break the tone. Otherwise all the pieces are in place. Big and powerful power chord arrangements routinely switch into tremolo picking as lively drum patterns pick up pace, delivering that heavy sway of grooving aggression.

Best of all, Karl Willets's voice opens way up. This could have been aided by the decent fidelity of this record. His breathy, throaty guttural growls are very audible for this seasoned listener. I found myself catching many of his doom and gloom lyrics, expressing disgust and commanding punishment and persecution for the human race. Its all light heart stuff! He rides the music like that extra layer of noise but the amount of texture and grit is endearing. Its not often a vocal performance catches my ear.

All being said, my excitement is steered heavily by finding this "linking" moment where the band stumbled into their own brilliance. That being said, it sounds like a total switch up to my ears with only the occasional blast beats and eruptions of lead guitar noise having much of a link to what they did on Realm Of Chaos. I'd be curious to learn what the band themselves thought of this evolution. With only two other records to digest, I think I'll put this one on ice again for now.

Rating: 6/10

Cocteau Twins "Echoes In A Shallow Bay" (1985)

 
Echoes In A Shallow Bay is the second half of what could of been a fourth album for the Scottish trio. Tiny Dynamite has the favorable pick of songs, with three of these four tracks offering subdued darkly obscurities that indulge but don't shine. Its a familiar take on their Ethereal sound with the opening Great Spangled Fritillary lingering on dense, elongated guitar noise that shivers through the cold, spacious setting, a tone somewhat adjacent to much of whats heard on Lycia's classic Cold.

The following Melonella and Pale Clouded White usher in stiff chord cycling pianos that get enveloped when swells of guitar noise arise. The moods are gloomy, of dusk and come with a little magic in its build ups. Again, Fraiser just doesn't find the charm, she is subdued but in this reserved performance she gels with the nightly atmosphere.

Eggs And Their Shells has a subtle pivot, a warm uplift arises from its simple melody and the angular insertions that compliment it. Fraiser takes her voice to a delicate, airy height, a carefree delight. Its a slightly disjointed song but its differences create the best out of the subdued sound and that seems to be the key word on this record. If looking for something Ethereal with less immediacy, then this is it.

Rating: 4/10

Bolt Thrower "Realm Of Chaos" (1989)

Sometimes, it can be quite difficult to write about records your simply not sold on. Here my curiosity lies in the bands evolution to the tempered beast of burly grooves and steady brutality they will become on Mercenary. Realm Of Chaos is a distinct move forward from In Battle There Is Now Law, shedding some Grindcore elements and developing a leaner Death Metal sound, for the time. It still shares some tropes, like the collapsing into blast beats and discernible guitar noise. Though for the most part the blasts come structured with percussive drives rattling away, adding tempo to the otherwise mid tempo guitar work.

 

Beneath it the rhythm guitars charge, shredding power chords, playing up "evil" melodies of the era and on occasion erupting with the wild, chaotic lead guitar licks that come across with an aided clarity. To me though, its mostly stale and dull. The fidelity is drab, the distortion tone wades in a muddy fuzz. Only the vocals get a clear line of focus above the instrumentation. As it works its way through the arsenal on riffs little excites. These techniques and ideas live the shadows of the genres development. A few riffs hold some merit and in brief fractions of slow, drawn out power chords you may hear a little of whats to come. At this point though, they are yet to find themselves, just another name in the scene. 

Favorite Track : Lost Souls Domain
Rating: 4/10

Cocteau Twins "Tiny Dynamine" (1985)

 
This four track record, named Tiny Dynamine, is the first of a double EP release by the Cocteau Twins. Essentially, it could of been the groups forth album but due to internal dissatisfaction, it was cut in half and released quietly through the shorter format. A reoccurring theme in these songs that failed to make the cut, is Fraiser, who often fails to find the magic that makes it to the likes of Treasure or Sunburst And Snowblind. This time however there are sparks and notably no failed endeavors.

What stands apart is Guthrie's compositions. The luscious and lavish reveb soaked acoustics are elevated in fidelity and tone, starting to unpick the lock on this magic. Instrumental piece Ribbed And Veined goes to a whole new realm as its chemistry with the soft and airy synths pinned beneath slip into a nightly indulgence. In this moment I can barely tell both the aesthetic and melody apart from Autumn's Grey Solace. Perhaps it is this era that is their biggest inspiration.

It and the opening song are worthy of much attention. The remaining two are foggy tracks, where the punching power of crisp instruments is muted in their unresolved focus. On both it seems as if clarity never lands on any set instrument or voice. The result is moody atmospheres that pass by without a hook or lure to bring one into the music and set it alight. With another four songs to get too, it does already seem pretty clear why this double release decision was made.

Rating: 4/10

Soley "Ask The Deep" (2015)

 

Prompted by the stunning Endless Summer, I wanted enjoy more of Icelandic singer songwriter Soley's music. Ive found myself on familiar ground, as the twisted darkly album art would suggest, this is the creepier side of her sound I remember from We Sink. It has a hint of the direction to come with Dreamers in its closing phase but mostly resides in the ambiguous shadows of eeriness. Always without danger or threat these songs revel in a childish wonder surrounded by a darkness that never gets close. Its clearly a bridge between the two aforementioned records.

Ask The Deep strolls through its lukewarm apatite, songs croon by as warm pianos cushion the waves for her soft voice to gently act as the sails pulling it along. Each track steadily builds with a wonderful but not overwhelming variety of instruments brooding towards swells of sound often risen by luscious airy synths. Its percussive drive is refreshing, grooves snap, shuffle and patter with the less conventional drum tones the snare and kick would normally occupy. The mood break to a grave tone with the subdued One Eyed Lady and Ohljoo, I Will Never brings in a funeral gloom later on. Its contrasted but provides variety that shifts deeper into any unease.

 

Follow Me Down has this Dungeon Synth arrangement on loop, buried bellow other instruments. I could swear its from Trolldom. Probably just a very similar melodic composition. All in all its a lovely record. Mysterious and slightly esoteric, my focus is always pulled away from the brightness that emanates from Soley's voice over the warm pianos. Its not actually that dark of a record but isn't quite as remarkable as what she will go on to create and the brighter songs are all my favorites.

Rating: 6/10

Cocteau Twins "Aikea-Guinea" (1985)

 

 

Its another EP from the Cocteau Twins but this time the four songs are of notable intrigue! Perhaps it is the title track and lead single that is the least impressive! Its temperament is rather adjacent to Treasure, with brightly polished bass lines plucking at a steady pace and a drum machine dressed up to be more convincing, the swells of emotional sound from Guthrie's noisy guitar and airy synths are peaked by the melodies of sparkling bells yet it is Frasier who doesn't find the charm. Her vocals toy with the wordless dynamic, drifting up to circle the high ranges but miss the mark.

With a similar temperament on the following Kookaburra, it is Guthrie's shrill guitar grinding, dissipating into atmospheric swoons over the warm piano chords and keen bass lines that sell the magic. Quisquose pivots to a strong piano led march, brought to life by luscious acoustic guitars painting a darkly mood. Its the instrumentation that shapes up to be the endearing quality of these songs, the compositions generally repetitive and shifting between complimenting arrangements back and forth.

It seems to be a reoccurring theme that Fraiser's normally enthralling performances just don't land on these EPs. The final and bwat song is the short Rocco, an instrumental it would be hard to picture a voice in. The textural mystery of Guthrie's guitar noises get pinned by these bold, upfront base notes marching hard. The interchange between the two provides tension and then relief for the magic. The song doesn't progress anywhere much from its main idea but the chemistry is its charm. This is definitely a better set of b-sides. As always they lack that finishing touch.

Rating: 4/10

The Crystal Method "Tweekend" (2001)

Four years on from their debut record Vegas, The Crystal Method return during the decline of Big Beat's popularity with a sound somewhat on a similar trajectory to that of Fatboy Slim. Tweekend strides towards the Electronic music scenes of the time with an emphasis on virtual instruments and rock grooves above the bombast of big drum samples, which still have an edge. With plenty of lengthy cuts over six minutes and nothing to ambitious in the way of progressive songwriting, the record serves as a decent mood setter, lively and energetic but not demanding too much of the listener.

Each track tends to have a through line, a backbone that is always present as the arrangements shuffle around the complimenting sounds. There is a lot of them too, these songs are dense and layered with electronic instruments, percussive sounds and synths woven around the beat. The attention to detail holds up. These highly repetitive songs get fleshed out as its drum loops drone on with many instruments and samples taking focus as the lead, jumping back and forth from the limelight. 

Its best songs come with crunchy rock guitar hooks worked in, dropping steady grooves to drive the music onwards. It can often be a noisy affair with its calmer synth sounds being bombarded by all sorts of noises, most common of which seems to be the "off the era" DJ scratches. They kick off vocal samples and slip in lively vinyl sounds similar to that of Limp Bizkit, who would of been on top of the world around this time of this record. Its an element I enjoyed a lot, this album has so much going for it that fits snugly into this era, even though I didn't enjoy at that time.

All in all its no work of art but a competent execution of ideas reflecting the changing times in Electronic music. With lots of spins it has dulled. I fun one to check out but only a couple of numbers demand a return on occasion. I was going to call it quits here but reading up on their next effort, Legion Of Boom, I may have to check it out for the inclusion of Wes Borland and his guitar playing on three or so songs!

Rating: 6/10

Cocteau Twins "Treasure" (1984)

When embarking on this newest musical journey with the Cocteau Twins, it is this record I was itching to write about. Discovering them back in 2011, Treasure was the album to lure me in and I have adored it too this day. Admittedly it doesn't get much rotation anymore but spinning it up again has been a pleasure and with critical ears I love how the stiff fidelity of its drum machine and awkward production were details I never heard before. These songs are so gorgeous and engulfing, that the magic simply glosses over its flaws. As I've commented before though, its aesthetic ruggedness very much works to enrich the slightly esoteric and ethereal vibes.

Stepping away from their Post-Punk roots and into Dream Pop territory, Guthrie's layered guitar experimentation finds refined glory in pivoting to acoustic guitars. Golden plucked strings lavished in reverbs often feature alongside other sparkling instruments that put emphasis on dreamy tones and a warm melodic rises. There are occasional uses of guitar distortion and its tone can sway into the shadows with these ten songs forging a wonderful variety for peering into peculiar places. Its obvious though, much of its instrumental magic is birthed from the expansion of instruments, used subtly in the swells of ethereal sound that gush forth. They play out the colored tuneful melodies the likes of Garlands before it once lacked.

Its all held in place by this clanky drum machine. Rigid and stiff in timing and tone, its repetitive strikes are often soaked in reverb, rattling off with forced punchy grooves that penetrate with a contrasted composure to everything else around it. Somehow, mysteriously, it just works so well. Fraiser's voice is another vector in the chemistry. These three components feel so distant from one another at times, yet together its a wondrous mix. I must say though, it comes in temperaments. The album jumps all over the place from track to track. Persephone may be the biggest example of what I've just described and yet with the following song Pandora it flips to its most cohesive and in tune composition. Notably, two of my favorite tracks as well.

Best of all, Fraiser comes completely into her own on this one. I was always under the impression her performance was entirely wordless and I loved putting my own words into her cryptic singing. Reading online lyric sheets does have me wondering. If they are true then its stunning how she pronounces words with such a mystic overcast. If not, its still just as magic but I prefer the later. The inflections and places she carries her voice too with vibratos and what not is endlessly joyous. Sailing high to low and dancing on her way. Every word, or lack of, just oozes with an endearing quality which never fails to cast a spell. Its some of the best vocal delivery you'll ever hear.

 Treasure is a milestone record for the group, an ascension to the spectacular. Its artistic, expressive, magical and stunningly mysterious. Knowing these songs so well, Guthrie's swell of ambiguous sound still spark the imagination. Fraisers veiled voicings always an indulgence. Its only shortcomings are in execution. Some amateurish swells of bass noise occasionally gather in the mix and some of its songs tend to end without direction. Sudden wind downs and lack of conclusion do hinder the odd song but otherwise its a classic, one anyone curious should give a go.

Rating: 9.5/10

Dysmorphik "...And To The Republic" (2004)

 

 Following up on yesterdays post about Tick, Burn, Screech & Halt we have the second installment by this wonderfully peculiar musician of personal interest to me. Released five years later, ...And To The Republic is a force of musical maturity. The bizarre machination of Industrial noise harps on with refined execution. Along with a developed approach to songwriting and structure, these inspirations have evolved with passion, vision and agility. Its often through the lens of Dance and Electronic Body Music, along with a better mastery of composition and sound design.

Where his previous songs where disjointed, awkward and unusual, Dysmorphik channels the wall of noises with a newly found cohesion that is dense and engulfing. Between slabs of synth and protruding electronic melodies, distortions, zaps, whirls, fuzzes and clicks rattle around in a persuasive madness. Everything hits harder. The percussion slams with drive and groove, hitting these dance floor strides of pace fit for a Cyber Goth club. The key melodies, emerging from alien saw waves and trance-like synths, are catchy and grooving. Even the vocals have "leved up". Still leaning on the whispering edge of softly aggression, a use of subtle distortion and plugin effects deliver a far better front, now powerful and melded to the mix like another instrument.

The sound design is fantastic! Giving the density your attention, its details offer up so much more to these massive songs. Its less obvious as to what is going on, as if hours of experimental sound manipulation has its its best recorded moments plucked out and injected into the music like a Bomb Squad production. This lends the song structures to more break away moments, much like the sudden shift of break-beats, the music derails on brief tangents of magical noise madness, often driven by slamming percussion that thuds and crunches hard. Its a dystopian pleasure!

It would be so hard to pluck a favorite from all these numbers but Idle Dereliction has this wonderful progression as a song. Starting off with a dense pummeling of Industrial groove from its drum patterns, the flexing baseline hooks one in as the tapestry of noises grows. Hard hitting synths force the issue and before long the dense arrangements shift towards an emotional axis. It wrestles back and forth with these fantastically performed lyrics pushing of from the "make love like suicide" line. The wall of sound is utterly engrossing, beautifully alien and its steady deconstruction reveals this underpinning of choral voices... its so dark and wonderful.

There are more songs in the arsenal beyond this release. A couple of experiments in pure Noise and Gabber style electronic music seemed like a fascinating evolution, a sort of boiled down experiment, the tapestry of gritty noise without the songs worked around them. Whatever the reason this musician had to end it all here around in the mid naughties is a mystery. It sounded like they were on the cusp of another evolution yet what they have left behind has memorized me to this day. Dysmorphik holds a special place in my heart. It is not with every song they strike gold but when it works its unlike anything else out there. Truly a forgotten treasure.

Rating: 8/10

Dysmorphik "Tick, Burn, Screech & Halt" (1999)

 

To write of Dysmorphik is to tease a treasure lost to the Internet's youth, years before the current perceived permanence of data. I discovered this Industrial musician through online communes, an early form of social media where artists where talking direct and giving their music away for free through MP3 sharing websites long dead. I had a collection of about twenty tracks obtained in my youth and a few years back managed to contact the man himself. He graciously sent me the missing songs from the only two albums before vanishing into a puff of smoke, with all traces of his peculiar art disappearing online, possibly forever! Many of these songs have been burned into my mind, occupying a strange space no other artist can get close to. Its survived the years, stitched to my painful youth and growth out from that darkness.

Tick, Burn, Screech & Halt is an amateurish debut, a wonderful cascade of obtuse noises, smashed and molded into an broken heap of sound. In that wreckage, something spectacular lurks. Its dystopian, alien and difficult. As far as Industrial music goes, this has many of the common hallmarks, yet the end result feels oddly different. A downtrodden voice broods between the cracks of melodies, rhythms and slabs of sound crammed together with force. These songs are an ugly mess birthed from beautiful intentions of expression. In that is a magic not often heard.

Most these tracks consist of several layers. Rattling, gritty and stiff percussive grooves get wedged between slabs of Industrial noise distortion. Airy synths lurk in the distance, softly groaning with unease, shaping a mood. Around them a calamity of stabbing synths, wobbling basslines, strikes and crashes prod and poke into the mix with a mechanical madness. The voicing that get sliced in are often of that whispering, shadowy variety. When reaching to hold a note its charm is solely in the attempt.

So much of this music feels machine like, disjointed, disconnected and strange but through the awkward cohesion certain instruments emanate the intention. Through its friction and unease the music pours out a vision that takes some time to hear. When I was young I lapped up having something odd and interesting to listen to for free. Then missing songs decades later, it took far longer to fall for them. With time they shape up into odd hashes of vision and aesthetic that dominates its own peculiar space.

 

Sometimes it is obvious which instruments are pushing the narrative but in its better songs your never quite sure. Giving ones attention to the barrage of noises, brimming with subtle zaps and whirls in its arsenal of synths, you can get lost in the detail. The colliding sounds and friction rub all over each other and yet through that spurious mess something enigmatic, dark and curious washes over with a spell. Much of this praise, however, should be reserved for the following release. That is where things get exceptional. At this stage the amateurish execution shows its nature and influences, reaching back to Synth-Pop in certain moments too. It is still a wonderful mess, unlike anything else Ive heard since.

Rating: 7/10

Cocteau Twins "The Spangle Maker" (1984)

Knowing whats to follow, The Spangle Maker is a stopgap EP seemingly distant from its surroundings. Its title track is the most subdued song the group have written to date. Its a slow burn crawling to a quiet roar with a swell of layered sound in its closing cycle. With new bassist Simon Raymonde joining, perhaps this was an exercise in integration, becoming accustom with one another in writing and the studio.

 

Either way, its a familiar tale of music that misses the spark. Peraly-Dewdrops' Drops and more so Pepper-Tree have the hallmarks of the groups blossoming sound heading in the direction of Treasure. Somehow, Fraser's timeless singing and the Ethereal persuasion of Guthrie's effect soaked guitar magic just don't click.

 

Pepper-Tree does delivery a gorgeous shadowy acoustic guitar timbre, resonating off its chilling pianos with an eerie ambience. Somewhat of a cornerstone for Autumns Grey Solace's sound. It's also rather noticeable that the bass guitar steps away from that defining upfront presence of Post-Punk music, taking a more subdued roll with a softer aesthetic. All in all its another unremarkable but slightly intriguing EP of which they have a fair few main between releases.

Rating: 3/10

Sithu Aye "Senpai III" (2021)

 

 I've been awaiting this next installment for some time now... Its actually been over three years since the last Sithu Aye release! Time has absolutely flown by. Senpai III is the anime themed musical take on Progressive Metal that is now here in a longer album format. The project started out innocently as a curious experiment, mixing in the melodic styling and instruments from Japanese cartoon theme music in a jovial stride. With parts I & II the small number of tracks really wet the appetite for more and alas it comes with fifty two minutes of fresh new music across ten tracks.

Bright, warm and uplifting a constant flow of dexterous melody unfolds on an ever pacy stride, marching through its bold and colorful sound. Its metallic elements brings forth power and strength, a little groove and bounce to bolster the intensity but never to turn to anything dark. Its a cheery record of smiles and good vibes, all with an authentic emotional current. With a lack of human voice to center on the lead guitars often steps up with frequent unleashes of dazzling fretboard work, swooning with speed and technique when blazing into a solo. If not, its often a more subdued line of melody that gives the music that needed focal point. This record is all about melody though, its a unending unraveling of them which can get a little tiresome.

To pivot to criticism, I think the novelty of this idea is best served in smaller dosses for this listener. Although there is genuine mood and expression here, the style of theme music demands a lot of energy and instrumental activity. The pace is swift and a lot of notation gushes forth through a rather narrow range of ideas. Mari's New Day is one song that stands out for managing to calm the tone down and provide a little contrast but the rest of the songs are continually swept up into this whirl of dance-able energy that has most its big melodies feeling very similar to one another.

The project doesn't feel like it has many directions to go in. EDM elements drop in on a couple of tracks, dialed up a notch with intense kick drums and some lively synths but they tend to compliment the dominant narrative more so than bring something new to the mix. I really do adore this sound and have enjoyed my time with the record but it has struggled to establish more than a mood. With the narrow range these songs operate within and similarity to what came before, nothing stands out. If there is to be a forth installment I would love to hear a human voice in the mix. That would be most welcome alongside some experimentation to see where this framework can be taken. If you've not heard this project before and enjoy Anime theme music you are most likely going to lap this one up!

Rating: 6/10

Cocteau Twins "Sunburst And Snowblind" (1983)

 
Journeying on with our deep dive on the Cocteau Twins, we have another EP featuring Sugar Hiccup and three songs left over from the Head Over Heals album. I'm getting the impression we may not find hidden gems in this avenue. These smaller release are a deeper insight to the band but more so a reminder that not everything is gold. Each of the three additional songs lack the killer spark to make them work. Possibly unfinished, they show their difficulty as the ideas present in the guitar work doesn't seem to gel with Fraser and that chemistry is absolutely vital.

From The Flagstones has all the markings of their sound, the washy guitars come across and its soft airy synths lack the gusto to elevate. Fraser comes in with power and persuasion but it misses the mark. Hitherto is the better of the three, its slow, dark and mysterious atmosphere more engrossing but on this track its Fraser who's voice doesn't quite catch the wind. Because Of Whirl-Jack brings upbeat pianos with a jovial energy and its pivot to focus on plucked acoustic strings works but the song feels like it never finds a crowning moment, perpetually swaying between verse and chorus.

One thing I can say is its fun to hear these songs and a reminder of the hard work and time it takes to craft great music. These songs are in no way bad but they highlight how bands will write songs that often don't make the light of day. Its nice to see that this music and that on the other EPs were shared, although contractual obligations may have had something to do with that given the groups outspoken dismissal of Lullabies. Anyway, whats next? You guessed it! Another EP.

Rating: 3/10

Bolt Thrower "In Battle There Is No Law" (1988)

I was looking for some contrast in Bolt Thrower's sound and I've certainly found here on In Battle There Is No Law. It is the groups debut record, a primitive affair of early Death Metal muscle and Grindcore grit. Yet to find its coming Military theming, it does have the rare moment of tempered groove resembling the likes of Mercenary and beyond. This is no half step away though, they are an entirely different band at this point. Given the name, I expected to find Power Metal at their roots but alas we have something more akin to Napalm Death at that era in time.

Its a muddy, messy assault of extremity borrowing ideas from Thrash in lead guitar solos and Punk in the rhythm section but mostly its steeped in an the early Death Metal sound. The production is dire as many records of this age were. Record producers had yet to figure out how to handle those riotous blast beats and so the drumming blurs technical fretboard thrashings into a discernible mess. The spirit gets through tho, the music often rigidly shifting in tone between its melodies, guitar thrashings and "plunges" of Grindcore battering that feels like the least exciting aspect as its pivots lack a sense of progression. The songwriting just feels without direction, sections stitched together and barked over by the monstrous growl of Karl Willets.

Its a typically hard to enjoy album for me, Its dated ideas bloom in the ugly, drab aesthetic and the whole thing lacks a charm or spirit you might occasionally find here. Even in company of other extreme records from this era its ideas just sound stale. To give them some credit they did record with John Peel beforehand, often a sign of greatness but on this one I don't hear the appeal and the evolution to come isn't obvious either. If I had started with this record, the journey would of ended here too.

 

Rating: 4/10