Vice Human - Metal Attack (1985)

If ever there was an album that suffered from a poor vocal delivery it's this one. Admittedly Vice Human were one of the first metal bands to emerge from Greece but there's just no excuse for the amateurish feel of this rarity which also suffers from naff production and guitars which just refuse to rage. Of course if you do find this going cheap then snap it up, but I really don't think you'll be impressed by the whimpering tones of 'Heavy Metal' but I just had to include this obscurity which was the band's second opus after their self-titled debut. Hard to believe they reformed for 2003's 'Set Me Free' and are still going strong!
4.5/10

Evil - Evil's Message (1984)

This is Danish metal from the obscure netherworld - the sort of gem that every collector prays to find. 'Evil's Message' is an EP that boasts a mystical cover - although it looks like a scene plucked from an early '80s children's television drama - but musically this is an infectious little record that has a strong traditional heavy metal feel, and to sum it up one only has to lend their soul to the fantastic opener - a seven-minute rocker high on melody and rollicking hot-blooded metal. There is always something so genuine about these type of obscure recordings, but this gem has everything - from the catchy rhythms to those simple yet effective vocals of Pearl Angel.

This EP could well be some of the best twenty-minutes of your life, all wrapped up in those guitars which literally smoke and Freddie Wolf's raging drums, nowhere more potent than on the scorching 'Evil'.

Typically creaky and a tad bland at times, but a real slice of vintage.
7.5/10

Intruder - Escape From Pain (1990)

Nashville's Intruder released four full-length studio albums and this five-track EP, and boy were they underrated considering their talents. This is technical, yet fluent thrash high on melody and reminding me a lot of Metal Church circa 'Blessing In Disguise' especially with Jimmy Hamilton's vocal attack. It's cut-throat metal that slices the vein with cold steel aplomb; musically it's so tight, often easing between the gears and blending power metal, classic metal and token thrash but with such glossy, professional effect. There are some superb numbers on this album, my favourite being 'Kiss of Death' featuring the twin guitar assault of Vinett and Messick who were true masters of their art, but one just cannot ignore the orgasmic none-minute title track with its barrage of Pieroni drums and those stunning riffs. A fine thrash metal band who offered technical prowess and so hard to choose a favourite out of their recorded efforts.
8/10

Transgressor - for The Scapegoat (1992)

One cool album and they were gone. Tokyo's Transgressor were old school doom/death metal that quite morbidly combines deathly speed with guttural and stuffy gloom. 'Ether...' sits at the opposite end of the scale to Church of Misery, and has more in common with late '80s and early '90s death metal than anything Sabbathesque, but that doesn't stop this album from being a real menace to society, particularly in the Autopsy-styled chugs and gurgled, guttural vocals. The likes of 'Limbless Doom' melt together that varying pace to give off a real foul air of doom, but for the most part 'Mortal Agony,' is of that Autopsy nature, the sort of stifling sound that after just one listen you'll be scraping it off the bottom of your shoe. A gritty, almost fuzzed out guitar sound is accompanied by embryonic drums, surely making Trangressor's only full-length journey one to find. Great album cover too.
7.5/10

Dementia - Recuperate From Reality (1991)

Clearly emerging when it was a tad too late, Chicago's Dementia still had time to introduce us to their slab of thrash metal. Certainly nothing new to the scene, this is the type of record you listen back many decades later and realise it's far better now than when you originally heard it. Sadly, the record is let down by the tuneless vocals but musically it's very much of the classic thrash vein, aping the likes of Metallica - Mike Walz often attempts a James Hetfield type of growl, and the riffs are pretty generic but like all '80s styled thrash there is something rather charming about this, but in 1991 this would have sounded extremely dated. The other main issue for these guys being that there are about another twenty or so bands from around the world with the same moniker - woeful album artwork to match, but tracks such as 'Insane' despite their Metallica obsession are still very much of the thrash blend we all know and love.
6.5/10

Exterminio - s/t (1988)

Obscure Brazilian thrash, Extermino - despite suffering from a rather awful drum sound - puked out this corker of a debut album back in '88, but it was only known to die-hard fans of the thrash scene. There were so many cool South American bands back in the mid to late '80s, and Extermino were one of those. As a band, the vocal sound is quite dry and raspy, but effective for a thrash record, and then there's that bubbly bass and some pretty twisted riffs and even with a vicious speed this still offers some super-dry melody, particularly on the likes of 'Ordem E Progresso'  and the swirling solos of 'Vencidos'. Again, the album does suffer from a weird drum hiss but it's still a worthwhile addition to any collection that leans more to blackened death/thrash.
7/10

Doom - War Crimes (Inhuman Beings) (1988)

When it comes to rattling crust-punk with a message, then Doom's 'War Crimes...' has to be one of the best records out there. These guys are somewhat of cult status - hailing from the streets of Birmingham, UK, the same fetid air that spawned Black Sabbath to name but a few. Somehow I always coupled this bunch with that early Napalm Death line-up, although there was more of a punk element to Doom. Even so, this is one grey, fuzzy, dank and often abysmal record that has stood the test of time and rightly so, because the earthy vocal drool of Jon Pickering, coupled with the dirty bass and crusty guitars means that this album sums up late '80s Britain with that hardcore sneer. When I first heard this record it was a time when acts such as Unseen Terror, Electro Hippies, Extreme Noise Terror et al, were doing the rounds - combining that punk ethos with basement speed. Certainly not metal, or well-produced, but that's the point!
8/10