Metal Massacre XI (1991)

 

Cost: $2.00

This is part of my big Sept. 23 haul that'll hopefully be on the blog shortly, but in the meantime, I wanted to give it its own post.

Sadly, this represents the last classic volume of Metal Massacre. 12 came after a brief hiatus and tried to be more current with the inclusion of both more extreme and boundary-defying bands, but ended up being a mishmash comp. of mid-'90s trends and some bewildering non-metal inclusions. 13 was a ridiculous misuse of the series name by a Metal Blade sampler that should have been a Deathmeister or Metalmeister installment instead. 14 is musically okay, and while it's got a decent linup for a modern reset of the series, it feels more like a compilation of (then) hot NWOTHM acts than something in the spirit of the old Metal Massacres. 15 is in the same vein but with an uninspiring collection of bands, most of whom were already well past the demo stage. It was obviously meant more as a novelty vinyl release than a showcase of quality metal.

This happened to be the only volume of the original 12 which I had never seen in a store before--the very first time I saw the cover was when I purchased the CD boxset. Of course, pretty soon after, I started going to a store that had two used copies, but they were normal price so I never bothered to get them. It's nice to get an original pressing at a bargain bin price.

No fading here (this will make sense when I post about the entire haul), but someone marked up the booklet tracklist with pen. Ugh.

Have to hand it to Metal Blade--for a 1991 comp. (from the label that signed Cannibal Corpse, no less), it's a pretty gutsy move to completely ignore extreme metal. It's a pretty solid assortment, and while not as legendary as the older volumes, it's definitely a step up from 10 overall:

1. Mystic Force - Shipwrecked with the Wicked

Their prog.-tinged heavy/power may seem quaint compared to some of the thrash stuff on here, but it makes for a classy, fantastic opener.

2. Epidemic - Circle of Fools 

Punishing thrash with crossover/HC overtones--the vocals even remind me of a more HC Troy Dixler. It's good, but the version on the Decameron album is even more furious with all the added death metal influence, and it's not quite as great as some of the more violent songs from their debut album.

3. Forte - Dementia by Design

No-brakes speed metal riffage mixed with powerthrash aggression and soaring vocals. Although quite a few bands on here made albums, Forte were certainly the most prolific (and successful) of the bunch.

 

4. My Victim - Authority Lies

Not what I'd expect from several members of the San Francisco Assassin. Kind of mellow metal with vocals that give off a groovy Faith No More vibe. Quirky, but not as bad as it sounds, and the guitarwork towards the end of the song is cool.

 

5. Havoc Mass - Tormented Souls

Competent but unspectacular thrash. For some reason the vocals keep making me think of Attila (the Rolling Thunder band) even though they're not terribly similar.

6. Divine Right - The Dream Turns to Dread

Decent progressive metal, with riffage reminding me a bit of Perfect Symmetry-era Fates Warning.

 

7. Ministers of Anger - The Great Escape

Starts out like it's going to be prog. metal, but there are two sudden fast bursts of thrashy speed--I have no problem with these musically, but the vocalist seems ill-equipped and comes off kinda mushmouthed during these parts. The production makes the drums feel kind of flat. Maybe something of interest for progressive thrash fans.

 

8. Dominance - Resurrected

The Anvil Bitch guys with a different singer. Solid early '90s thrash (I don't mind the Planet of the Apes samples, but I could do without the two instances of vocal effects), but lacks the campy charm and reckless enthusiasm of the old Anvil Bitch stuff.

 

9. Mortal Reign - Sorcery of the Wicked

Not really bad, but the stop/start thrash riffage gives this a more modern vibe that rubs me the wrong way.

10. Nightcrawler - Eternal Call

The most traditional metal track here. Vocals might even be a little better than on the Soldier in Time LP material. Overall the song is fine; Nightcrawler has better songs but also worse.

 

11. Harum Scarum - Bad Habits

Nothing super exciting, but pleasant enough thrash that trundles along.  Not terribly aggressive or technical, the music--coupled with the anti-drug theme and gang vox at the end--brings to mind a lot of the Bay Area styled B- and C-leaguers that major labels were signing in the late '80s in hopes of making some Metallica$h.

 

12. Chemikill - Consumed by Hate

While this isn't going to be anyone's favorite thrash band (except the parents of the band members), they're good enough where you wish even a small label had given them a chance to release something. Vocals are like a mix of Steve Souza with a severe sore throat and Phil Rind.

 

13. Tynator - Excuses

Forgettable thrash, but they do enough right that it seems ok while listening. Like the material from the two earlier demos compiled on the Living in Pain CD, feels kind of disjointed, and although this comp. track feels less amateurish, I think they lost a bit of their campy ultra-generic charm too.

 

14. Spudmonsters - The Monkey Beat-Man

If they maintained the initial velocity throughout the song, this would be great crossover/speedcore. Unfortunately it's broken up by groovy riffs which are starting down the path to something like Pro-Pain, so the lost potential here is disappointing.