I actually enjoy this album the most out of all the Destruction releases in existence.  The reason is because it's raw, but not to a severe degree, original, intense, and lyrically demonic.  Not that I like demonic lyrics, but it fits the music really well.  This was the original lineup--Tommy was on a few of their early releases before they moved onto Olly who played on 'Release From Agony' and 'Live Without Sense.'  Destruction seems to be putting out albums that are just sounding the same as their predecessors.  No move forward musically and their constant anti-Christian lyrics don't hit home with me.  I can get into the music here on 'Infernal Overkill', but not lyrics.

Nothing can beat this Destruction release in their discography because it features riffs that are totally original, Mike at his absolute best in the lead department, even though I think that he still is a bit sloppy.  Yes, I had this on Vinyl and had been meaning to review it for quite some time now.  I just haven't heard it much in a while, it's actually been ages.  Most of the songs feature quite original riffs especially "Thrash Attack" and "Invincible Force.'  No the production wasn't the greatest, but a step up from their debut, which only features (I think) 5 songs.  Here is about 40 minutes of intense thrash to the absolute core.  These guys weren't messing around on this one, they wanted something strong.

Schmier at his best here, he's only this good on 'Live Without Sense' in my opinion.  The bass could've been a little bit louder and the drums a bit more intense, but they still were on cue with the melodies and riffs.  Outstanding every track is and put together in such a way that they defy the laws of logic!  I'd say that Mike really did his part on the songwriting--totally destroys.  What gets me is they copy from no other and the overall aura of the band is grim.  Not really depressing, just dismal and a bit dark.  This goes with the album concept though.  Their whole makeup here is deserving of recognition because they totally kick ass.  This is what thrash metal should sound like, raw and uncompromising.

Tommy's drum efforts again were a little bit monotonous, but still, he was on cue for this German thrash act that totally hit the spot with me because of its' totally uncompromising energy.  Pick any track and you'll hear sounds like no other.  Again, Mike's best lead efforts to date.  He put together some solos that actually shred.  Not as good as the guy they later recruited on 'Release From Agony', Harry Wilkens that is.  Still Mike plays his best on here I think.  Everything seemed to fit together.  The vocals are totally likeable and original.  I've never heard a thrash metal vocalist that has such of an original voice as Schmier does.  That goes for all the thrash act that have been through the years.

As a 3-piece they're still pretty solid, though a 2nd guitarist seemed to fit better if they ever got someone else.  However, they did on 'Release From Agony and 'Live Without Sense', but Harry left the band and Destruction of the 90's without Schmier just wasn't as good.  No one could replace Schmier's vocals.  On 'Infernal Overkill', he's totally unorthodox and unique.  This used to be a band that I respected so much in the past, but now as I say they just aren't as good.  They're not evolving as musicians should.  They're just stuck in the dark, but with this album it captures all of what thrash is about, except for the lyrics.  I like everything except those, but here is one Destruction monument.

Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected]).

"Mad Butcher" is actually my absolute favorite song ever by Destruction.  But because of the date it was released, the production quality was a bit raw sounding.  It was a little bit hard to hear the bass on this EP, but the solos by Mike and Harry were phenomenal.  They were actually spellbinding.  Not the greatest lyrics in the world as I've never favored theirs though on this one they're not tackling anti-Christianity, more of just mental illness and killing pretty much.  The Plasmatics cover was actually well done.  This EP actually features 2 new members, Harry and Olly.  They also play on 'Live Without Sense' and 'Release From Agony.'

The guitars were the highlight, I wouldn't say Schmier is at his best--he seemed less intense and not so invigorated.  That's why I gave this EP a B- rating.  The production again wasn't the greatest, the overall aura of the EP was grim, but not like on 'Infernal Overkill.'  Just a little bit under 20 minutes of music that's well played out.  Harry just shreds amazingly.  I've heard that when he was active with the band he practiced the guitar 15 hours a day!  I wouldn't be surprised if that were true.  He simply plays some amazing leads and Mike puts forth a good effort as well, just not as sharp as Harry in the lead department.  He does a good job on here however.

All of the songs on this EP were well played out.  Just the production could've been a little tighter, but I am guessing it's because they were on a low budget.  It's not surprising especially since they've never changed their style of music.  Can't go wrong really with any old Destruction.  They used to play some really original stuff, nowadays they seem to be playing the same thing over and over.  It's good that they reformed, but they just need something new.  The sound is thrash, just on their older stuff they really put forth a great effort on constructing songs that are fresh material and original.  They've always been original, just now with their newer albums they've gone stale.

It would be good to hear them as a 4-piece again, but I doubt that'll ever happen again.  All they do now is play as a 3-piece and have guest lead guitarists because Mike can't really hack it on lead anymore.  Not that he was ever that great in that respect, but at least on here and other older albums he seemed more intense and could shred a lot faster.  Now it's just repeating the same stuff.  Here you hear arpeggios, tapping, speed picking and sweeps by Harry mostly and Olly behind the set shows more talent than Tommy ever did.  He's got more energy behind the set and seems to grasp the band's intensity.  The only instrumental is the last track.

I wish that Destruction could come together again and write some good new thrash that's worth listening to.  'Spiritual Genocide' was absolutely boring as was 'Day of Reckoning.'  I only found 'All Hell Breaks Loose' to be a good comeback album and original songwriting that's not boring.  It has that energy back that they once had like on this EP and other 80's releases.  They really need to do something terrific with their newer material.  Make it great like on their old stuff and not keep putting out stuff that's monotonous.  It really would be a boon to the band if they were able to be back making some good new thrash metal like they used to.  'Mad Butcher' is a good pick up!
 
Rate: 80%.

Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected]).

It's hard to believe that this release is 20 years old now!  What a great contribution to the metal community though, Slayer didn't lose it here even with Lombardo not in the band.  The music at times is intense, original and aggressive.  Definitely worth checking out for Slayer fans who don't own this one.  Araya still dishing out some hardcore lyrics and throat that defies the laws of logic.  Tempos vary widely and everything here is totally original.  The riffs really keep the songs ripping!  I would definitely emphasize aggression, atmosphere and sheer domination with songwriting as well as production quality.

Lyrics filled with hate, leads blistering fast and furiously by King and Hanneman (RIP), the entire band really did a great justice here with this one.  I was so used to hearing the amazing 80's era of Slayer, they slowed down a bit on this one and focused more on catchy riffs as they are definitely notorious for.  Less of an emphasis on the "antichrist", more on just negativity and "real life" scenarios.  I would say what grabbed me the most here is the music and vocals plus Paul did good behind the set.  There are a lot of tempo changes on this one as well as some clean tone guitar work.

Slayer borrows from no other as they've always thrived on aggression and hate filled words as well as extreme thrash metal!  Araya was totally crushing here even though you'll hear a few clean vocals here, not much but they're still on here.  The whole band did a lot of work to make this album a definite success.  I would say that they didn't really compromise as they never really have.  36+ minutes of sheer devastating thrash.  The guitars are the key here.  The music was so catchy and tempo changes weren't drastic, though they thrived on definite destruction to your speakers!

Rate: 8.5/10

Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected]).

The energy here was a above average, which gave me a feel and taste for what to expect from them since a friend of mine who accompanied me in 2013 at their opening live performance for Killswitch Engage/Lamb of God tour that we missed! Due to weather, traffic, heavy rain and my buddy's lower back injury prevented us from seeing them at the Aragon Theater in October 2013, of which the acoustics were horrible!  The only reason I went to that gig with him was to see just Testament, now is time to wait for them next time they come to Chicago.  20 years of wanting to see them and barely missed them, which would've given me a real taste in person of what they're like live, especially Alex Skolnick.
 
Getting back to their live album here, not losing focus on this previous experience of mine that I explained in the first paragraph of this review, "Dark Roots of Thrash" was like a "B" rating to me, even though the acoustics on both CD's definitely dominated.  It seems that age sort of took out that obvious umph they had when they were playing during their earlier years.  However, I would give a shout and compliment them in playing with a tad bit of variation, not entirely like on their most current CD "Dark Roots of the Earth", those songs played on here simply were superb just like hearing it on the studio recording back when it came out in 2012.
 
Again, the production/sound quality was exceptional, though I had higher expectations of the band which I shouldn't have, but they're older now and Greg Christian FYI is no longer in the band.  Steve Di Giorgio is replacing him for their next album.  About the track listing, I'm glad that they chose songs that came mostly from their latest release of course, plus some from good older albums such as "Practice What You Preach", "The Legacy", "The New Order", "Formation of Damnation", etc.  I'm glad that they picked some of the older tunes because I think that's where they as stated in the title of their most current release that thrash metal they've never deviated from their "roots" so to speak.
 
Like I said, the energy and execution of each song (there were 19 total on it altogether) was quite much like their studio releases, plus the intro to the first CD, the National Anthem was played.  I guess a sort of reckoning with them aging like we all are, but still still true to their music as well as their new or long-time fans.  Chuck Billy stated on multiple occasions how much the band as a whole fans have been so supportive over the years and them at their greatest especially with Skolnick on lead guitar.  His executions on both CD's (leads) simply shredded, with a little touch of improvisation, however, for the most part, he played them VERY close to how they sounded on the actual albums.
 
The music altogether is dominating thrash, some improvisations (like I mentioned), some licks and rhythms that deviated from the studio recordings, but as a WHOLE, the really dominate live.  It's going to be exceptionally great when they come around to my state and I'll be able to actually get the "in person" effect of the band executing their awesome thrash metal rhythms, leads, vocals and true passion for the thrash metal genre over the years.  Yes some songs I disliked from older albums that they played, especially "The Haunting", off of "The Legacy", their first full-length recording, just that track and another off of "Formation of Damnation" was just average.
 
I don't especially like live albums in general because of the recording quality, but on here, it's amazing that they were able to mesh all of the guitar riffs/leads and you could definitely hear or get a feel for their passionate performances plus live music that you would go crazy over.  They did make a DVD on this "Dark Roots of the Earth" tour, of which you could I think get from their site (http://www.testament-legions.com/) or of course maybe Amazon.com.  I would encourage you as a fan and listener of their studio albums, you'll catch the live vibe they have which when they're in your town next tour for their album they're working on now, get this one and it'll do ya justice to hear them live for you!

Rate: 80%.

Reviewed By Death8699 (Ryan Fanucchi: [email protected]).
 

This Finnish based band was formed in 1997. Their name came from a murder which occurred in 1960 at Lake Bodom. 3 out of 4 teens were stabbed to death but the murder mystery is still unresolved. On 'Something Wild', the band started off playing melodic death metal. However, 'Hatebreeder' was the first album that I've ever heard by them. It was wholly unique in my estimation and I've been a fan ever since. Their newer style of metal seems like a combination of melodic death and thrash metal combined. At least that's my opinion in regards to 'Blooddrunk' wholeheartedly.

There seems to be a lot of mixed opinions in regards to this new release. I disliked it at the start and now I'm pretty glued to it. It isn't a poor effort by the band to be honest. The music has unique melodic/thrash style riffs and the keyboards augment the guitars keeping that style that they are so well noted for having. 'Blooddrunk' to me is better than their previous release 'Are You Dead Yet?' because the riffs are catchier making COB sound more like their older material. That really seems like the jist of it.

I wouldn't consider the music to be in the genre of power metal at all. Again melodic death/thrash metal is more accurate. The crunch tone guitars and Alexi's screaming vocals leaves me to conclude that they're trying to sound a little different with their riffs/genres. The keys augment the guitar's "heavier" tone. I think all of the tracks are noteworthy. There really aren't any that I dislike. 'Blooddrunk' seems to capture me as being more of a mature release by the band. It doesn't fail in rating as an album in COB's discography.

Crunchier tone guitar is what they use here as opposed past releases. The production is solid with each instrument mixed quite well. The vocals are blended in good in addition to the music. However, the lead guitars aren't quite as "chilling" to hear. It seems like they've kind of digressed in that department. I consider the leads on 'Hate Crew Deathroll' to be catchier. Nevertheless, the sound still features the COB that I've always considered to be. This release is very noteworthy.

It's rumored that Alexi was fed up with people criticizing his lyrics so they aren't featured on the insert booklet. His vocals on this album are pretty much the same as on past releases. The back-up vocals by the band are also featured to give it more of a wholehearted effort augmenting Alexi's outputs. In terms of covers, there aren't any featured here on the US version of the album.

Despite all of the negative criticism 'Blooddrunk' received, I don't really think it's warranted. The reason is because I don't consider the band to have lost their edge that they held musically in past releases. I definitely consider 'Blooddrunk' to be a solid COB release. Just because they're trying to wedge in a "thrashier" sound to the music doesn't mean that they've just went to hell. As far as if they deserve to be written off as now piss poor musicians, I don't feel that way at all towards this release.

Rate: 75%

Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected])

Formed in 2004, this band initially had to change their name from Onslaught to Warbringer because there was another UK thrash metal band that owned that name. After reading mixed reviews for this release, I've concluded that the album is not entirely original but overall it was decent. These guys play thrash metal in the vein of Exodus. At first, I didn't think much of it. However, I thought that I'd give it a few more spins to rule out if it was unique or just a bore. I'd say it's a little bit of both.

These guys are young (between the ages of 17-22) and do show potential. In terms of the music, the guitars by John Laux and Adam Carroll were good but not entirely unique. I did like the leads. They were amazing. The tempos are a mixture of slow to moderate speeds yet at other times they are just downright fast. However, on one intro the guitar was entirely clean ("On The Crack Of Dawn"). Again musically, the sounds were pretty ordinary. The overall thrash efforts weren't as intriguing as I would've hoped. I thought the last track ("A Dead Current") was simply a waste of a song. I'm not sure why they included it on here because it made the album sound less interesting. They should've really kept it to 10 tracks/40 minutes and that's it no instrumental.

As far as the lyrics go, they sing about war, violence and death. Nothing really impressive or astounding as far as that goes. Of course the title of the album is "War Without End". But in terms of the lyrics they could've been better thought out. The vocals by John Kevill were kind of repetitive because it was just screaming by him throughout the entire album. There were some backup vocals however which made it less monotonous. John as a whole I don't think was vocally effective because it's boring to be just screaming through an entire release. That's my standpoint on the issue.

The production was alright though not legendary. The drums (by Nic Ritter), guitars, and vocals were well mixed which was a plus. Actually, this album was produced by Bill Metoyer. He is considered to be a great thrash metal producer. The sound quality overall was good. Nothing that was lacking on that front. He did do well with this. The album as a whole isn't all that bad but they needed to focus better on the songwriting lyrically and musically. The rhythm guitars just didn't strike me as being very effective. Like I mentioned though, the leads are awesome. No dispute there. But the rhythm guitar just wasn't very stimulating. If they were going to stay in the vein of Exodus and keep up that sound, then they should've made a better of an effort to do so. The fact that this wasn't the case simply brought the album down and made it less effective than if they did incorporate this on here.

Rate: 65%.

Reviewed By Death8699 ([email protected]).

This quartet originated in 2002, but has had several side projects. The lineup consists of Thomas Andresen on vocals/bass, Thomas Aamodt on guitars/keyboards, Bjørn 'Tiger' Mathisen on guitars, and Lars Erik Duserud behind the set on drums. The band is a mixture under the genres of black/death/thrash metal. Oh my God, how horrible this release is! I've heard some bad bands for sure, but Sincera doesn't show any quality songwriting whatsoever.

The music is a feature of melodies and chords on the guitars, but there's nothing really interesting with them or innovative. Total dislike. The tremolo picking was evident also on this release and the studio version songs just suck almost as much as the live tracks. What's really annoying are the vocals. Thomas just doesn't spew out quality in this department. It's mostly high end screams that accompany the music. The riffs here are just so horribly constructed.

I haven't heard this bad of a debut in a while. There isn't any room for plenty of improvement musically. They need to stick to one genre, maybe black metal since the vocals make it sound like they're just a black metal act. But the guitars are more thrash distorted and slow paced. I can't hear why they would be also in the genre of death metal. There's nothing really on here that demonstrates them to be within that genre also.

Nothing excited me about this band. They're totally a waste. The live songs sounded just like noise. I could hardly bare to listen to the concert tracks. You could hardly hear anything at all except total disgust that's supposed to be metal?! I have nothing good to say about these live songs. I'm not sure why they included them into this debut. The studio songs were bad enough and the live tracks just made things worse. There wasn't music, just utter noise.

The production wasn't that bad since you could hear everything on the studio version songs. The vocals, guitars, bass, and drums you could hear pretty well. The mixing was good, but just this band really sucks. They have no talent whatsoever and I don't think that they have any promise to become a better band musically. A total waste of a release. I couldn't get into this band at all no matter how hard I tried with repeated spins. They just wasted my time.

If you want utter disgust to go into your metal collection, then buy this album. Otherwise, save your money and don't pick this up. It has nothing good or innovative about it. I haven't heard such a terrible debut in a long time. The live tracks were so terrible I had to skip through them in order to avoid becoming nauseated. No talent, no creativity, no promise, and no room for liking this album. I've heard some pretty bad albums in the past, but this one deserves to be among that rank.

Sacrificial Slaughter is a band that should be more well known and I trust that they will be in time. They dish out some awesome death/thrash that's very worthy of mention. I think that musically, the band has enormous potential and hope that they can get on a bigger record label soon. They sure have the talent to rise above to higher levels. I enjoyed what they had to offer on the death/thrash front. The band members for Sacrificial Slaughter are Steve Worley on vocals, Necro Nick on bass/guitars/backing vocals, Viking James on guitars, and Bryan Roth on drums.

Musically they're highly advanced on their riff structures. The guitars are thrash metal sound based and the vocals fluctuate between low burly type with occasional backup screams. Songs such as "80 Proof Justice" plus "Acid Reflux" are some good tracks to check out. All of their songs on the split are good though. Again the guitars sound awesome and are very distinctive. The leads were highly technical with occasional use of the tremolo bar which fit in well with the backup rhythms. The music on their end overall was highly unique, not some burnt out band with lagging guitar components. A lot of crunch distortion to the axes.

Production wise all of the instruments were well mixed and nothing was left out. Both guitars meshed in with quality, the bass you could hear very well, the vocals on both ends didn't drown out the music and the drums were also very well heard. This band plays awesome death/thrash that's more on the thrash metal front with the vocals on a more death metal end. No complaints on my end for any of their songs. I think that the music was the highlight of the split. They really get you in an energetic frame of mind because the music is highly well played out and with played out with vigor.

Enfuneration plays some solid death metal with more of an emphasis on the guitar rhythms for quality. The band members are Dave Thompson on guitars/vocals, Bryan Nikkel on guitars, Bryan Carman on bass and Rodney Cochran on drums. This band like Sacrificial Slaughter has enormous potential. They really put forth some quality songs especially "Insidious Domain" and "Endless Suffering". I'm also hoping that they get on a more well known label because of their awesome potential in the death metal genre.

Musically, the guitars have some very unique and intense offerings that stick in your head because they're quite memorable. The riffs range from slow tempo paced ones to a more technical output, especially during the vocal outputs. The vocals are diverse. Some really low tone throat with some screams, but not a whole lot. I'd say that the highlight of their end of the split were the guitars. They were tuned down to create a very low end heavy sound. The leads were technical and very well played out.

My only beef is with the production/mixing on their end because the bass was barely audible, the vocals not turned up loud enough to hear over the guitars and the sound quality was a bit raw. The guitars on the other hand were the highlight of the release. Very impressive work on their end with the songwriting. A band that will grow very big if they keep up with the amazing riffs. Very difficult rhythms and leads which are if you're a guitarist like myself and would have a very difficult time keeping up with.

This split CD overall was highly enjoyable to hear quality death/thrash by Sacrificial Slaughter and pure straight forward death metal by Enfuneration. Both bands like I said will rise above their current label as long as they stick with the quality songwriting. Enfuneration needs some better mixing though despite being a well played out again on the guitar front. Sacrificial Slaughter on the other hand had some quality mixing where nothing was missed out. Definitely worth checking this split out because it's 42 minutes of extreme metal that's purely noteworthy!

This thrash metal outfit was formed in 2005 reigning from Sweden featuring Fredrik Pellbrink on vocals/guitar, Hannes Lindkvist also on guitars, Joel E. Sundin on bass and Joel Gustafsson on drums. I wasn't very impressed with this band because of it's lousy production and overall sound quality. The main guitars/leads are heard well, but the drums were very flat and the bass audible negligibly. It takes away from this thrash metal outfit's promising characteristics.

The vocals were quite annoying featuring screaming mostly and without too much vigor. The guitars overall produced quality thrash metal bringing about decent riff structures that vary ranging from tremolo picked bits with tempos pretty fast, but because of the production they sounded once again very muddled. There were bits of chords and well constructed leads. Overall, the guitars resemble early Slayer in some instances. But the vocals ruin the excellence of the axes.

Musically the band is up there in good ranks they just have to put in more money to pay for a better production sound. I enjoyed the guitars the most, but the bass was barely heard and the vocals once again destroyed the creative guitar riffs. If they had someone else besides Fredrik putting out his screaming voice and put in a higher quality vocalist, then this release would've received a better rating from me. The drums also were lacking due to the production weakness.

This album clocks in about 39 minutes in length featuring one instrumental song. The musicians have great promise if they can get themselves recorded better then the riffs would've been more enjoyable to listen to. When a band decides to put together a good solid debut, it's very likely since Entrench is new among the thrash metal world it's hard to make a production that sounds professionally done. Hopefully the band realizes this and puts out a production sound that is better than sounding like a garage recording.

This band has a load of potential as a quality thrash metal outfit if they have better mixing, better vocals, a bass and drum backing up solid guitar work. Musically, the riffs are pretty original sounding, which is a good thing. There really aren't many songs though that really stick to the brain because of the quality of the sound itself, as mentioned many times in this text. I'm cautious to say run right out and buy this album because it's one that needs to be examined more carefully.

Kreator doesn't really need a lengthy introduction because they've been in existence in the thrash metal community since 1984. Their lineup on this release features Mille Petrozza on guitar/vocals, Frank Blackfire on guitars, Roberto Fioretti on bass, and Ventor on drums. Every musician on this release contributed nothing but good on here. This is the type of thrash metal album you can analyze and listen to in pure amazement. I think that this release was the best one in the whole genre during the year 1990. Metallica was making a change in their style of music after "...And Justice For All" so Kreator put forth their unbelievably excellent contribution to the Metal community with this release of theirs.

The guitars feature a lot of different rhythms composing tremolo picked frenzies, bar chords galore, palm muted open notes, plus leads that were amazingly fast and technical. The music is memorable, every single song on here deserves a whole ton of praise because of it's innovation and creativity. They really made this album with a fresh start in songwriting that is entirely invigorating. Tempos of the songs change rapidly, but that doesn't replace the awesome and amazing capabilities that they were able to amass on this release. About 44 minutes of mind boggling thrash metal to the core. I don't think any of Kreator albums surpass this one.

I enjoyed all of the songs because every one of them feature thrash metal genre perfection. I'd have to say that "When the Sun Burns Red", "Coma of Souls" and "People of the Lie" are the best tracks. But all of them are worth checking out if you don't own this album. The leads were the best performed by Frank, Mille's were a tad sloppy and I think that he's better equipped on rhythm guitar not lead. To me, it sounds like he's a self-taught musician. His vocals are innovative and memorable. No one vocalist can emulate his voice, it's totally original and sticks with you. That's what sets apart Kreator from the rest of the thrash metal bands. His vocals are among the best in this genre.

The production/mixing was done with precision. Every instrument was mixed in with perfection. No instrument was left out. The guitars were filled with plenty of distortion, the bass was audible to the core, vocals didn't drown out the music, and the drums were well heard. The lyrical content features them talking about death, religion, politics and war. There were no Satanic or mindlessness in the words they all had to deal with real life issues. So on that front it was good. It would've been great if Frank Blackfire was still with the band though because he sure could shred on the guitar. Their replacement doesn't come close to his talent, but he's out of the band and has been out for years now.

Kreator put forth something astounding here. Not to say that they aren't a good thrash metal band anymore, but the rhythms in the music are their best ever created. This is not only my point of view, I'm looking at other people's opinions on this release and they came up with the same answer: perfection. Their previous releases to this one don't even come close to achieving more success in the songwriting capabilities of the band. They must've really wanted to come out with something totally amazing and "Coma of Souls" is what they came up with. If you're a fan of thrash metal and you don't own this album, YouTube the songs that I mentioned so that you can hear what they sound like. Buy it now if you haven't already!