Nocturn - Estranged Dimensions (1991)

this is pretty decent death metal that does very little to raise its head beyond originality, but it fits in well with the scene at the time, although it may have been lost to many. This plods like a metal mammoth with its bass heavy production. The cover alone sold it to me but when 'Altered Evolution' jolts into a mid-paced jog I can see where this slab is going. Guttural vocals litter 'Graveyard Without Crosses' (who makes these song titles up ?!) and the riffs vibrate the speakers throughout 'Sacred Infames', Nocturn simply slotting in comfortably alongside the countless US death metal acts at the time. A bit of a cult offering I guess, but it never wrenches itself from demo quality, but that's what makes this type of record worthy, for it exists in some banal void of clanking drums and familiar production. Wrapped in a decent cover - skulls, zombies yay! - Nocturn refuse to exist to move, but instead play their brand of violent music straight down the line. 'Estranged...' doesn't need to exist outside of 1991.

5.5/10

Cold Steel - Freakboy (1992)

Really ? For real ? That's some album cover - but nothing about this record really makes sense, its amateurish quality making it endearing and oh so obscure. However, within the folds we find a half decent thrash record with some interesting structures to keep the sound refreshed. Yep, there's those chugs and those thrashy chants, but there's something so obscure about it all, check out the groove on 'Truth Or Dare', nice. Cold Steel (not a good name in the thrash game) take elements of the Bay Area and don't really do a lot with them but I've heard far worse over the years. If I'd seen this in '85 I would have snapped it up but I refuse to believe such a dodgy cover could have existed beyond the '80s!

6/10

Evil Sinner - Evil Sinner (1989)

One couldn't form a thrash band like this today if they tried! Looking back, and not just the cover, Evil Sinner seem almost cheesy and amateurish, and yet just to think these guys were probably formed with some kind of sincerity. Behind the denim and mullet hair there's a basement Metallica or even a dodgy, low-budget Megadeth style of thrash. Opener, wonderfully titled, 'Thrashers', is endearing in its naivety, the drums lost in the mix, vocally mundane, and at times hilarious in its ability to thrash. 'Mosh (Part One)' and 'The Gang' symbolise the teenage rebel attitude of the late '80s although I doubt many people would have heard these voices. This type of obscure metal is always worth digging out but there's never enough in the locker for it to last beyond half a spin.

5/10

Affliction - The Damnation Of Humanization (1992)

Pretty cool US thrash from California - loose chugging riffs and a few crossover structures. Lacks a real identity but thrashers back in the day were keen to lap this sort of stuff up before one of the big four were due to release a record. It's solid with a raw, angst-ridden vocal style that touches on political issues. Whether its the corrosive mosher 'Raping Mother Nature' or  the slower paced 'The Day After', I've no doubt that the thrash head within you will find something to savour. Of course, this type of record back in the early '90s became two a penny and would have suffered due to scene saturation, but many years later I'm still pleased to hear this sort of stuff hasn't lost its bite.

6/10

Sevenchurch - Bleak Insight (1993)

Despite being released on the Noise label in 1993, not many of you would have heard of doom mongers Sevenchurch who hailed from the UK - the home of doom. Sadly, the band only lasted for this gloomy outing but if you can track a copy down I suggest you close the curtains, paint the walls grey and set yourself up for a trip through rainy weather. A year or so previous the guys sent me a wicked package of newsletters and their fantastic 'Nefarious' demo, and so I just had to buy the debut album in support. Now, as we know, doom metal exists the world over, and there appears to be three types - there's the Black Sabbath imitation doom, which the likes of Count Raven have taken on board (which over time can grate),  then there's the psych doom which bands such as Cathedral have succeeded in constructing, and finally, there's the slo-mo dying doom, i.e. Winter, Burning Witch, Warhorse. All of these bands are cool at what they do but it's infrequently when bands come along within the genre and attempt to weave their own path. Witchfinder General did it many years ago, even Pentagram to some extent, and I believe Sevenchurch also did it. Just like Sabbath, and the bands already mentioned, Sevenchurch didn't try to be something they weren't, instead, they created an atmosphere that was from the heart and soul. Of the six monolithic tracks on offer only one runs at under ten minutes, and that's only by a shade - but don't let that put you off, instead step into the labyrinth of what became known as 'magnificent morose malevolence'.

'Bleak Insight' is not set out to grind your bones to dust, because it doesn't have to, because despite its morose glare it offers so much like a vast forest of differing shades and ivy-strewn pathways. Spears vocals are clear, almost casual in their almost reluctance to exist, the tones of a man submitting himself to the cold, vast dungeon like some sinful monk cast out by his brotherhood into a dank dwelling. In fact, the sound of Sevenchurch would be best suited to a ruinous abbey or wasted coastline where grey waves foam on jagged rocks. Am I rambling ? Of course, but that's the beauty and dark poetry of Sevenchurch. 'Bleak Insight' is exactly that, mournful, terrifying but not alienating like so many doom records which only exist to punish. 'Bleak Insight' can be relived, like a traditional ghost story it enables the listener/reader to embark on its journey never knowing what horror is to come and yet at the same time creating some time of cosy dwelling before the rain batters down from the pallid sky. Sombre is what it is, whether in the icy form of the gargantuan 'Perceptions', the concrete 'Low' or sighing 'Crawl Line'. The album fuels the imagination, and never once becomes a burden to the turntable, and when it has gasped its last funereal breath, you'll happily (well, not quite) sift through it again, finding extra layers of grey, and further chilled passageways into some esoteric gloom. Like Trouble, Sevenchurch have found their own relaxed style of hazy sadness without ever depressing the listener to the point of no return.

Sadly, the band would disintegrate after this debut record, and in some ways it's quite fitting they did, and as grunge laughably stained the airwaves of Britain, some of us ran back under our stones and gave bands of this ilk another listen, safe in the know that this type of metal is real - it follows no fad or trend, and it always exists because it comes from the soul, even if at times that place can be a little glum.

8/10

Samson - Head on (1980)

Samson feature the talents of Bruce Dickinson who would of course become Iron Maiden's chief crooner. Don't expect the same high voltage metal here, despite the very cool cover - instead you'll hear a melodic, new wave type of melodic metal which boasts the enigmatic mysterio Thunderstick on drums. 'Head On' will certainly please any metal head who gets their rocks off to the likes of Saxon, Deep Purple, Thin Lizzy, early Priest etc.

'Thunderburst' is co-written by a certain S. Harris (!), and with steam roller cuts such as 'Hard Times', 'Take It Like A Man' and 'Hammerhead', one will find this record quite a hefty jaunt - featuring some suave guitar work courtesy of Paul Samson. 'Head On' has a distinctive late '70s feel to it and despite being a cult act Mr Dickinson (lmown here as Bruce Bruce) would flee the nest of Samson for greater heights.

6/10

Laaz Rockit - Annihilation Principle (1989)

I couldn't bear the album cover - despite it being typically thrash - and for those not familiar with Laaz Rockit they were a bay Area act who just never got off the ground as their rivals/friends i.e. Exodus, Testament, reached greater heights. However, a few albums on and Laaz certainly became a cult force, and listening back on 'Annihilation...' I hear a ferocity I never fully appreciate back in the late '80s, possibly because it bears so many similarities to the likes of Exodus, especially in the vocal attack of Michael Coons. The album has that classic thrash edge, the guitar assault of Jellum and Kettner gives the album a spark and opener 'Fire In The Hole' is a battering ram of a track. 'Mirror To Madness', 'The Omen' 'Mob Justice', offer the same barrage, and tucked in there somewhere is the cover of DK's 'Holiday In Cambodia' which was released as an EP.

If you like Exodus and early Overkill then Laaz Rockit should find its way into your record collection. Although at the time the album may not have lived up to expectation (mainly due to the competition - as was the case of so many other acts), 'Annihilation...' is true, throw down the gauntlet thrash and you'd be a coward to not give it a try.

7/10