E-X-E - Stricken By Might (1987)

Released right in the centre of thrash chaos, E-X-E were touted as the next cool thing in thrash circles. Of course, they never reared their ugly heads beyond the mundane despite 'Stricken...' being a relatively decent thrash assault. Ten tracks on offer which remind me alot of early Slayer but without the haunting menace or evil arrogance. The album exists on a hot-bed of soaring solo's, buzzing riffs and predictable vocals, and comes wrapped in a truly atrocious sleeve which looks to have been drawn by a five-year old. Okay, so petty quibbles aside, 'Stricken...' is a half-decent thrash opus but they won't win any awards in the serious stakes for calling sides A and B of the record, Icky and Pooey!! Oh such metal humour could be so cringe worthy to say the least.

E-X-E do play reasonable thrash metal, and this is a cult offering, but once you've slapped on Slayer's 'Hell Awaits' you'll soon forget E-X-E ever existed.

6.5/10

Obliveon - Nemesis (1993)

As the slow, ominous chugs of the title track seep in, there's a stark realisation, that even in their blissfully cold environment, Obliveon, and their brand of technical metal, will never truly get their just desserts. It's a shame that so many bands of this type, who lurk in the alleyways of our subconsciousness, will always be perceived as cult acts, but they deserve much more. 'Obscure Mindways' is classy complex thrash, something us thrashers widely appreciated when Megadeth churned it out on 'Rust In Peace', and yet when bands such as Obliveon play an even darker and more progressive style, they remain overlooked. Music is a fickle thing, so grab 'Nemesis ' while you can and be fully appreciative of this remote style of thrashing.

In its icy glare and formidable structure of awkwardness, 'Nemesis' doesn't lose its weight in sound and still heaves with the best. 'Factory Of Delusions' creates a grey kaleidoscope of brutal soundwaves, and the final cut 'Strays Of The Soul' opens with some Cynic-like meanderings before oozing into darkly gothic rumbles and melodic jangling. And it's this kind of experimentation which enables the band to have such an elasticated sound, a wiry frame within which to work such wizardry. Many will find such an experience as alienating, but that's the point of the Obliveon sound, to create an extraterrestrial cosmos where there is no boundary.

8/10

Obliveon - Carnivore Mothermouth (1999)

My favourite cult thrashers release their fourth and final platter of cold, technical speed. A truly mesmerising record, a clinical mix of Sodom, Fear Factory, but still a world away from any known existence. Chugging, icy, complex, awkward yet melodic, moving on with vast change from the slightly darker debut, 'From This Day Forward'. Obliveon could easily slip into the known quantities of today's metal, just check the steel glint of 'Love, Die, Resurrect' and the monstrous pummelling of 'Such A Quiet River'. Slap this in the same cyber vortex once frequented by Coroner, Cynic, Watchtower, and Atheist only heavier and more meaty.

The musicianship is stunning, flicking bass lines, industrialised guitar riffs, guttural yet comprehensible vocals watered by a robotic structure and drums which kick, strut and trigger to form the concrete background. Ten tracks of cutting, frosted and remote power thrash. Hear those great cogs churning and revel in the unpredictable extremity. For fans of complex and refreshing music everywhere. Thrash - but not as we know it!

8/10

Lions Breed - Damn The Night (1985)

Certainly not life-changing metal. The cover alone however would've got me interested as a naive kid!

'Heavy Current', 'Live & Let Die' and personal fave 'Lady Of The Night' gallop along nicely, and there's nothing here that's gonna bite your face off. Rather standard metal in its structure, good solid rock of which I know little about as far as the band goes.

5.5/10

Agony Column - God, Guns & Guts (1989)

Oh boy, this is some serious backwater hostility. Unsure how to categorise this gem of a record, but it digests classic metal, gorges itself on deathly growls, chokes on thrashy chugs, and chomps down on a few Motorhead riffs. Add to this wonderful concoction everything from White Zombie, Slayer, a bit of punk, a slab of grunge, a dose of hardcore and a pounding garage blues, and you may have some idea of what Agony Column are. Of course, descriptions aside, Agony Column play a fiery breed rock 'n' roll that grooves, thrashes, rages and stomps. 'Snakebite' is truly immense, completely unexpected in its drag-racing go-go strut, C.O.C, White Zombie and buckets of oil, but where is this strangeness coming from and going to ? Only Faith No More really served up such aggression and coupled it with subtlety and wonder, but Agony Column do a fine job of combining hot-metal, an almost ZZ Top-esque boogie (halfway through '4x4'), and a Guns 'n' Roses sleaze. Big sounds abound here.

'Fiendish Plots' almost pokes fun at the graveyard metal stomp of yesteryear, a mutation of AC/DC , The Cramps and Misfits with its comical buzz, and yet somehow...somehow...this is all so serious and rocking. 'Cars, Sex & Violence' chugs like Anthrax, but Richie Turner's warble twists and turns through the molten riffs. 'Walk The Night' begins akinto some Joe Satriani guitar wank, yet remains blessed in tattooed darkness and then there's that head pounding chug, could that be Exodus ? Priest ? Or maybe that groove is pure Hollywood sleaze chained up in a dingy castle!

'Blackjack' finds itself years ahead of anything else, a funky strut of a tune that comes from out of nowhere. You'll be perplexed, but always coloured by this hot-potch of monster groove and daring rock. Always aggressive in its motive, but sexy as it writhes like some multi-coloured serpent. A strange brew indeed. Track this one down.

8.5/10

Ivory Tiger - Metal Mountain (1986)

This rarity is a four-tracker adorned in rather childish cover art and pumping the fist of metal might! Imagine a slightly beefier Saxon, 'Stand Up' is a mini-anthem, 'Starchild' has more wail than your average Saxon anthem, and the title track begins as a slow chugger. Don't know much about these guys, but it's certainly a good listen, and those almost corny choruses just might get their hooks into you.

6.5/10

Gorguts - Considered Dead (1990)

If you've ever walked into a lamp post, it's neither rewarding or something you wish to happen again. 'Considered Dead' is a similar experience. Here's a band who, like so many other death metal acts from the late '80s and early '90s, would've released a fairly decent slab of extreme music, but most certainly have been swept by the wayside as hordes of similar bands climbed the mountain. Monstrosity, Massacre, Morbid Angel, Obituary, Suffocation, Gorguts, Atheist, Nocturnus, Deicide, blah blah..scores of death metal bands, only a chosen few really getting noticed. 'Considered Dead' is an unhealthy wallop around the back of the head of paving slab proportions. It's heavy, it's often fast, the vocals are a gurgle, the drums frenetic, and to be honest, we've heard it all before. For some reason so many bands from the era had a similar sound. Of course, a lot of bands were tweaking their sound at Morrisound Studios, but the harsh reality is, not a lot separated the acts. Morbid Angel had a twisted originality, Obituary rasped off the flesh in their vocal attack, Deicide simply claimed to be Jesus-hating lunatics, and Atheist baffled us with their complexity. Many other bands lacked the creativity to prosper, and although Gorguts released several heavy death metal records, they are pretty much symbolic of the era. There's not a lot here that enables them to stand out. Maybe their no thrills attack was all part of the plan, but after all is said and done, and you've been pummelled by the record, the highest compliment I can actually pay Gorguts, is the fact that around two decades after release, it doesn't actually sound that dated.

6.5/10