Friday, 1 April 2011

Laaz Rockit - Nothing's Sacred (1991)

This is a pretty immense thrash record that rages far harder than anything by early Testament, Overkill etc. The chugging guitars of Jellum and Sargeant are the album highlight although the crushing thunder bass of Dominguez also rattles the skull. Coons' is far angrier vocally, the album lyrics touching heavily upon political issues, but what the band did better than most at the time was thrash really, really hard. Album opener 'In The Name Of The Father...' is a monster, fearsomely constructed and containing some great solo's, in fact the chunky groove reminds me of Mordred circa '91 with its grey and harsh atmosphere, think 'Falling Away' for ghetto thrash. Strangely this band passed me by at the time, mainly due to the fierce competition but listening back I find this to be really meaty and far more aggressive than one would imagine. Consistency is the key word and Laaz Rockit take no prisoners as 'Greed machine' and 'Suicide City' prove. Produced by Michael Rosen, you can imagine how crisp and crystal clear this sounds. 'Nothing's Sacred' is a very underrated thrash record that sits alongside Testament's 'Practice What You Preach' as a real dynamic experience that epitomises such a great time.

8/10

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