Cost: $2.00
Here's the big find I mentioned in the Tourniquet post: the original pressing of the Human Sacrifice CD with unamended bandname and logo! I already have the Medusa press, and while I'm not particularly concerned with layout differences or press variations, it still felt great to find it for $2 (especially since when I attemped to order it online several years ago for $5 or so, I was sent a gospel/worship music CD instead :-\). Was even sealed in deteriorating shrinkwrap with ancient stickers from some long-gone religious bookstore, although since the case was pretty scuffed underneath, I'm not sure if it was actually brand new or had just been resealed.
This is easily my favorite Christian thrash album, no doubt in part to it being the most extreme major release in the category at the time (just to clarify, I don't really take Serpent Temptation into account since Incubus weren't really trying to target a specifically Christian audience). Of course, the big reason is those insane, nearly-out-of-breath-slash-monstrous-bellowing vocals which sound totally unhinged. Never heard anything else quite like them, and I don't think even Roger himself was able to replicate them as effectively on any of their other material. Admittedly, while most of the album is solid thrash that's up to date for the time, it probably wouldn't be considered cutting edge in terms of extremity compared to what was going on in the underground--the vocals contribute most of the heavy lifting. But some nice little touches pop up here and there, like the solo run in the title track (somewhat reminiscent of the end of Possessed's "The Exorcist"). Then of course when you finally get to the end of the album, "Beheaded" is a total death/thrash rager--absolutely one of my favorite songs in the entire genre.
So yeah, what a fantastic score! And I'm not even done with this small Christian thrash haul, as I picked up Once Dead too...
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