UMUR "Harsh Realities" is the debut full-length studio album by US, Seattle, Washington based thrash metal act Bitter End. The album was released through Metal Blade Records in June 1990 (released through Music for Nations in Europe). Bitter End were formed in 1985 and released the "Meet Your Maker" demo in 1988. All four tracks from the demo are featured on "Harsh Realities" in re-recorded versions. It´s mostly the San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal scene, which are mentioned when people are talking about US thrash metal and maybe to a lesser extent the New York scene (Anthrax and Overkill in particular), but there were other active US thrash metal scenes in the thrash metal heyday of the eighties/early nineties and the Seattle scene, with artists like Panic, Forced Entry and Bitter End, was one of them.

The music on "Harsh Realities" is to a certain extent Bay Area influenced, and I´d especially mention early Megadeth as a source of inspiration, but Bitter End make sure to include enough elements from other genres to stand out a bit from the crowd. They especially have some sort of funky thing going on in their music, which at times is quite interesting. I guess they take it a bit too far on "Just Say Yes", but even that slightly silly track is executed with a charming attitude, that reeks of the joy of playing music. In fact that feeling is apparent throughout the album. The positive atmosphere makes even the more "serious" tracks a party to listen to.

The musicianship is excellent. These guys can really play. Just take a listen to the many well played guitar solos or the tight playing by the rhythm section. I also enjoy the raw (yet always with a gleam in the eye) vocal delivery by Matt Fox.

"Harsh Realities" is one of those thrash metal releases that always brings a smile to my face. It´s fast, intense, well played, and the material are always delivered with humour and great passion. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.