Darkness - Death Squad (1987)

No, this has nothing to do with the godawful Brit Glam rock imitators, instead this is a destructive slice of German thrash that will leave you foaming at the mouth. Hyper in its attack, Darkness leap for the throat as soon as they come out of the blocks - only the seven-minute epic 'Burial At Sea' offers tranquillity, especially with that acoustic intro, but as in every case Darkness quickly become a battering ram of intensity, cutting through to the bone with those raw riffs and edgy, rasping vocals. Think early Kreator, early Sodom, and and early Destruction - classy German mayhem that occasionally hints of old Slayer too with the thrashy breaks and scathing structures. A collection of spiteful tracks that will please any real thrasher. Forget production values - get the bullet belts out and get your mum to sew the metal patches back on the denim and thrash out to cult classics such as 'Phantasmagoria' and the breakneck title cut, and beware the darkness...

7/10