s/t
Line-up:
Steve Lytle (git, voc), Arthur Melonas
(bs, voc), Jay Frasca (dr)
format: Mini-LP
year: 1989
country:
USA
label:
private
#:
AVL-89073
info:
No insert.
style: Prog Metal
Side A:
- Rails
- The Other Side
Side B:
- Beneath Your Lives
- Last Of The Torment
((CLICK PICS FOR HI-RES SCANS))
This
was the 1st record I bought on W.O.A's Metal Market on my first visit
to the festival in the summer of '01, so there's some personal nostalgia
connected to this record for sure. I had never read or heard anything
about this album before, so seeing that cover art for the first time really
blew me away. Very Away (of VOIVOD-fame)-inspired, but ten times uglier
= totally wicked! The little jpgs above doesn't do justice to the demented
oozes that this record emanates. The sleave is basically just a long xerox
folded around, and glued to a blank 12" case (with center hole!). No labelname,
no index - Cheapo galore! When finally getting home to enjoy this beauty
I was expecting something remotely in the vein of The Canadian Gods, but
I wasn't quite on track there. SI really try to be weird, and in some
ways they succed. Unfortunately it's not the kind unintentional, bugs-crawling-under-your-skin
originality than one wish for when first seeing the album. The music is
best described as progressive semi-Thrash from the same planet as WATCHTOWER
or the 1st SIEGES EVEN LP, with the hit-potential of the 1st TESTAMENT
album (the good one!) and frosted with the occational epic/Maidenesque
riffing. ...But that's only after listening to it the 10th time. At 1st
listening they're a total ruckus. The production is kind of hollow, and
they really could have used another guitarist. That would have made this
record into a real gem. Now is sounds more like a rough-mix of good things
to come. It's hard to pic a favourite track since they all clock over
5 minutes and include so many different parts. On the excellent "Beaneath
Your Lives" they can go from generic thrash to a powerful chorus to quirky
off-beat weirdness in litte over 30 seconds and it sure takes some time
to take it all in, but once you get it, it really is a great track. The
opening riffs to "Rails" will put a smile on the face of any Power Metal
fan, but the typical Thrash vocals might be a turnoff. Steve Lytle's backing
vox saves the day though, adding a little extra flavour to the otherwise
flat mix. Closing piece "Last of the Torment" is the most Classic Metal
Song, with some really riveting riffs towards the end. All in all it's
a mish-mash of melodic intricate riffing, mid-paced Thrash rhythms and
start/stop song structures with one guitar short. Might be too much to
stomach for the average Trad-metal fan, but if you (like me) have a weak
spot for Strange Metal it's one of the essentials. I've seldom seen this
EP offered and even if the music is an aquired taste, it still seem to
be on quite a few wantlists, so be prepared to pay up should it ever cross
your path.