Whiplash - Ticket To Mayhem (1987)

When I first got into metal, bands like Whiplash were always a terrifying prospect. Although Slayer would certainly enable metalheads to appreciate underground thrash, when all this stuff was new to the ears, there was a real obscure, underground feel to it, and somehow the cover to 'Ticket...' seemed sinister! The content of such a record wasn't to disappoint either because Whiplash were a vicious assault to the throat, combining a powerful and seething black thrash with an alcohol-fuelled madness. There was always a sense of foreboding buying this type of record, knowing that any acoustic passage, of say, 'Last Nail In The Coffin' would provide a false sense of security as the listener would soon be bludgeoned by that sledgehammer of guitar and bass and those thrashing drums. To me, bands like Whiplash were real thrash heroes, and tracks such as the evil 'Snake Pit' for the original forerunners to the apocalyptic black metal scene - this grim pile of sewage sitting alongside Bulldozer and Venom as a metallic yet rusty knife to the guts. And then there's that killer riff on 'Burning Of Atlanta' and the echoing vocals of Portaro, cavernous to the extreme. Cult in every aspect, a band that must be owned by an self respecting thrasher. Who needs to mosh when you've got a ticket to mayhem.

8/10