Minotaur - Power Of Darkness (1988)

Teenage thrash metallers would have given their right arm to have found a record like this back in the day. When I first ever visited Shades Records in London this was the sort of obscure thrash record I was after, but I never got it. Don't expect any type of nice Bay Area crunch here, the brilliantly named Minotaur play a rasping, hellish brand of black thrash that will leave your throat dry and your flesh torn. Great to hear these guys have come back into the fold and still sound as scary, but 'Power...' has that aura so many thrash bands could only dream of. From the mystical cover to the dense production, and then those obscure guitar noises and caustic vocals. There's something so ominous about this doom-laden thrash, maybe it was recorded in the ruins of a castle but the feel leaves you cold and terrified, as the weird atmospheres abound and dark pleasures cavort with the soul. From the intense riffage of 'Savage Aggression' to the peculiar nightmare of 'Apocalyptic Trials', Minotaur are one of those bands who hit the nail on the head, yet never got their rewards. Even so, this has the lasting effect of a night in a foggy graveyard with a demonic witch.

8/10