Tuesday 28 October 2008

Slammer - The Work Of Idle Hands (1989)


A band that lasted about as long as they should've in a sense, but looking back, these Brit thrashers, who I saw live supporting Ozzy Ozbourne, deserved more, despite the fact that this debut is nothing more than mundane thrash straight from the Bay Area. Testament immediately spring to mind with chugging riffs, and if these guys had been Americans they may well have carved themselves a slightly longer career, but in the UK the funk metal trend was taking over and there had never been any real need for basic slam-dunk thrash, just look out how the likes of Xentrix, Ignorance, Toranaga, Re-Animator and Deathwish faired, three of these bands disappearing into normality, the other two becoming completely fake and adding a sickly funk influence. Even so, judge this record now and you'll hear competent workmanship, some heavy riffage and some catchy tunes, i.e. 'Hunt You Down', 'If Thine Eye' etc.


6.5/10

1 comment:

hittingkickers said...

A little harsh IMO. This was one of my favourite LP's for a while. Especially whilst going through a prolonged Megadeth and Metallica phase, Slammer were the UK's answer, and a damned good one. I didn't ever see them live, but repeatedly listened to this album. At the time, I loved it.

Tenament Zone, Fight or Fall, Johny's Home, If Thine Eye, Razor's Edge... loved them all.

Wonder how I'd rate it after a listen now. I'll not wipe the rose tint from my retro glasses just yet.