There
may not be a god in heaven, but if there's a devil in hell I'm absolutely
positive His Satanic Majesty looks exactly like the red reptilian bastard
on RENEGADE's one and only LP. In retrospect I feel like a complete twat
for not grabbing the album the first time I saw it. With a sleeve like
this one you cannot go wrong! It may be ugly as hell, but there's no doubt
in your mind it will carry some really riveting Satanic Speed Metal within
it's folds. You can virtually see the unpleasantly naughty hordes of hell
in front of you, raising their right hands doing the sign of the devil
as they chant the chorus to the incredible title track: "TOTAL! TOTAL!
ARMAGEDDON!, TOTAL! TOTAL! ARMAGEDDON!!" It's hectic, raw and malicious,
with more focus on energy than technical perfection. It's kind of a relief
that there were bands around at this time who just didn't copycat Slayer
on their road to Thrash Metal-infamy, but rather glanced towards the likes
of ONSLAUGHT, EXORCIST and perhaps most of all, the mighty DESTRUCTOR!
I'd love to say that there's more to Renegade's sound than that, but I
think I've managed to pigeonhole them pretty accurately there. No particular
need for outstanding originality when playing in this Metallic top-division.
In songs like "Decapitation", "Riot Squad Gladiator"
and "Black Ritual" they truly master the long lost art of minimal,
never-ending minor chord caresses which many top-quality bands - from
FLOTSAM & JETSAM to SARCÓFAGO - has employed with such grace
both before and after. I can only speculate why RENEGADE never conquered
the world with this album, but it's probably the usual fallacies: a somewhat
thin production, the occasionally wiggly rhythm section and being one
or two years too late with the Evil Thrash-gimmick. In retrospect, these
factors shouldn't matter much to fans of this exciting brand of Metal.
Pedal to the metal full bore thrash from Melbourne Australia. One of the earliest exponents of this style from the land down under featuring former Depression guitarist Feedback. Magnificent packaging with a great colorful cover and gatefold sleeve adorned with metallic design. Recorded in 3 days this is raw primal thrash with minimal let up, save for the odd chunky half time mosh riff or mellow intro (Lucifer's Reign). The opening track Necromancer opens with a barrage of blistering rifferama and bordering on punk vocal attack, mixed with almost death vocal intensity. Shoe string budget renders this devoid of the technical precision and production polish of major league players (Testament, Exodus, Forbidden) of similar vintage but compensated with ruthless gung ho spit in your face attitude. The title track hints at Slayers classic At Dawn They Sleep complete with a chorus that hammers its impact into your brain with all the subtlety of an iron fist. Headbangers can't ask for more than that from a pure made in the backyard thrash metal album.