Metal Messiah - Honour Among Thieves (1989)

I recall that these guys were a British thrash act from the '80s. Sadly, their rather derivative sound never enabled them to rise from the gloomy pit of the local housing estate. Jim Aspinall's vocals are relatively weak over those rather feeble Bay Area style riffs, but what doesn't help is the atrocious production of this opus. It really does sound as though it was recorded in a basement full of water, the drums existing as a mere fizzle although the epic 8-minute 'Curse Of The King' does see the band rise from thr ashes. This is a noteworthy track, blessed with a killer intro thanks to the twin guitar attack of Darroch and Smith. The production team really should have been shot hwoever, the shoddyness ruining the bands chances of any success despite some good reviews on the love circuit. My main issue is that alongside Toranaga etc, there really wasn't much music that stood out, the classic metal chug of it all soon grated on the senses, 'Mad Man' being a prime example. Although this 6-minute (too long) track features some fantastic solo's and crunching grooves, there's nothing there with any real identity. The strong NWOBHM feel doesw the band a few favours but at times it's too much of a ramble with too many songs stretching themselves out to six minutes when three or four minutes would have been quite sufficient. Metal Messiah had a cult following, and deserve inclusion, just a shame the feel of this thing is horrendous, god knows what the button twiddlers in the studio were thinking. 5.5/10