ANOTHER 6 Cult Classic Metal Albums Turning 30 Years Old in 2022 (Haven’t Heard ‘Em? Hang Your Head In Shame)!
Happy 30th birthday you brilliant bastards!
Exhorder – The Law [USA]
:format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-1775344-1583190647-1779.jpeg.jpg)
Released: March 15th, 1992 via Roadrunner Records
Genre: Groove Metal / Thrash Metal
Exhorder‘s follow-up to their blistering debut Slaughter In The Vatican found the band harnessing grooves like no other band on earth (and we ain’t gonna go into the Pantera comparisons, right!).
Quite simply, you cannot fuck with the likes of “Unforgiven”, “I Am The Cross” and “Un-Born Again”, as Exhorder’s groove-heavy thrash set about removing your spleen via your asshole. Ferocious and unpredictable, Exhorder fully utilised their unique gut-punch grittiness to drive home serrated grooves at a mostly ferocious pace. Mostly? By its very nature, Exhorder’s stunning cover of Sabbath’s “Into The Void” momentarily slowed things down but Vinne LaBella and the boys still found time to ‘crunch’ it up and make it their own!
With Kyle Thomas sounding as furiously feral and as expressive as ever – spitting out a series of vignettes over more caustic riffs than should be humanly possible – for a short while there, Exhorder were the most exciting band on earth.
Kreator – Renewal [Germany]
Released: October 26th, 1992 via Noise Records
Genre: Industrial Metal / Thrash Metal
Renewal was a complete u-turn for thrash legends Kreator, culminating in an industrial metal flavoured racket which all but jettisoned thrash entirely; settling instead on clanking, clattering grooves and Mille Petrozza’s harsher sounding vocals.
Harsher? Yep, with Mille’s rasp reaching a pitch that should be considered hazardous to health, Kreator were now achieving heightened levels of sonic devastation!
Unfortunately, Renewal‘s new noise lacked the creative spark delivered just two years prior on Coma of Souls, and fans were left confused and, ultimately, a little disappointed. However, time has been kind to Renewal (the punchy one-two of “Zero to None” and “Europe After the Rain” sound better than ever), and while Renewal can hardly be considered an essential Kreator release it has become a cult curio deserving of a second chance!
Sadus – A Vision Of Misery [USA]
Released: March 27th, 1992 via Roadracer Records
Genre: Technical Death Metal / Technical Thrash Metal
Sadus, one of the most forward-thinking, ahead of the curve, extreme metal bands on the planet often find themselves consigned to the also-ran pile when, in actuality, they were leading the charge!
Pioneers of extremity, Sadus have been rightfully credited with inspiring technical death metal, the second wave of thrash and even black metal and were so ahead of their time they left the majority of metallers speechless. In 1992, Sadus were firing on all cylinders and A Vision Of Misery was an instantaneous reminder that metal was moving ever-onward.
Steve Di Giorgio’s Rickenbacker was as elastic as ever – stepping up to practically take the lead on the intimate(!) “Echoes Of Forever” – while the ferocious flurry of riffs peeled off by Darren Travis & Rob Moore were insanely complex yet always memorable; a feat precious few bands could ever attempt to emulate.
Progressive, technical, brutal and unique, Sadus have always been an awe-inspiring proposition and A Vison Of Misery remains a breath-snatching technical death/thrash masterpiece.
Also in this series:
Leave a comment