METAL CHURCH.

A criminally underrated Heavy/Thrash unit from Seattle, these guys kept it going for almost 30 years(!?!) only to pack it in last summer after a million lineup changes, death, bad blood, label drama & whatnot.

Kurdt Vanderhoof plays some seriously tastefully classic metal-infused with gritty chunka-chunka throughout this here, their debut release. While it never got better than this album for me, the first three records are all pretty solid throughout. The fucking riffs on this thing though are fucking monstrous to say the least.

SIDE NOTE-
Did you know Lars Ulrich was "almost" in this band?
So fucking GLAD that "the worst famous drummer in metal" couldn't make it to practice often enough...



Metal Church - Metal Church

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POPPY SEED GRINDER.

Super-catchy brutal guttural grunt-style tech-death from the Czech Republic.
LIke how the "hockey haircut" is called a "mullet" these days, I guess the kids call this stuff "slam metal"? Whatevs, hipster.

This shit is straight-up brutal death; laden with lots of squealy leads, chunky riffs, guttural grunts & growls, a touch of the blast/grind to make a point here and there, & did I mention its also catchy as fuck?



Poppy Seed Grinder - Oppressed Reality

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MÖTLEY CRÜE.

Maybe it's the Darvocet hangover speaking right now - no work today, hurt my back - but to be honest with you, this collection of early Crüe sessions (1981-1982) is fucking raw, & fun as hell to listen to!

While "Too Fast for Love" is a tad poppy & slightly "candy-coated" in its red-and-black swagger-attack, these demos are back-alley dirty & chock full of passion! Vince Neil's vocals are screechy as hell, Mick's gutter-guitar tone sounds like it's coming from a $40 amp - the way it SHOULD sound, and the drums are big and booming, (or is that the bass)? Ha ha.

Overall the mix is excellent on these early takes - there's a muddy track or two, no big deal - and of course you'll hear a few mistakes/off-notes, etc. but the constant throughout is a fire that burned strong; long before they became the parody that they are today...



Mötley Crüe - The Early Sessions

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REALM.

On this, the seventh anniversary of the War in Iraq, I post this way-under-the-radar (no pun intended) Midwestern Thrash heavyweight via request from my good friend, Nano247. I'm sure he can fill us in on these guys. Kind of reminds me at times of a cross between Nuclear Assault & Exodus, but see for yourself.

I couldn't resist using this photo, and yes, the war SUCKS but this record certainly doesn't. Milwaukee thrash, baby...

Realm - Endless War

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RAID.

While I always felt that the vegan sXe thing was taken, oh, "just a bit too seriously", I gotta admit some of those bands fucking rocked, and Tennessee's Raid were pretty bad-ass at the whole jud-jud/breakdown/pick squeal/gang vocal thing.
This record is definitely a lost gem of the first-generation Hardline era - check it out if you like this kind of stuff. It ain't perfect - there are some corny-ass vocal moments on here - but overall the level of thick-neck / meat-head old-school metal 'core ranks highly.
I appreciate the sentiment - er - "level of caring", but overall I wonder if these guys actually feel this way now that they are in their late twenties / early thirties. Anyways, there ain't nothin' wrong with livin' your life for you, now is there?

Make your own decision on the issues presented to you here, but let it be known that this record is chock-full of some serious beatdown 'core!


Raid - Above The Law

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