UMUR "I Hate Therefore I Am" is the debut full-length studio album by US, Chicago based thrash metal act Cyclone Temple. The album was released through Combat Records in 1991. Cyclone Temple was formed in 1989 by the three remaining members of Znöwhite, after lead vocalist Debbie Gunn jumped ship to return to her former band Sentinel Beast. Znöwhite was already formed in the early 80s, and at one point featured both of guitarist Greg Fulton´s (aka Ian Tafoya) brothers in the lineup. Znöwhite released their debut and sole full-length studio album "Act of God" in 1988.

...and it´s obvious from the opening notes of "I Hate Therefore I Am", that these guys are very seasoned musicians and songwriters. Tight yet organic precision playing, very powerful thrashy riffing in various paces, strong melodic playing, a rhythm section that drives the music forward with great energy, and Brian Troch´s powerful and melodic tinged singing on top. He is not a typical raw staccato type thrash metal singer, but more a "real" singer, doing vocals on a thrash metal album. Not completely unlike John Bush on some of the harder edged Anthrax tracks from the 90s.

The material are generally very well written, instantly catchy, and fairly memorable in the long run to. Cyclone Temple succeeds in keeping the tracks, and the album as a whole, interesting throughout because of the variation within and between tracks. There´s rhytmic variation, melodic sections, clean/acoustic sections, very fast paced aggressive thrashy sections, guitar solos, and great vocal melodies, which combined make for an intriguing but also headbang inducing listen. Brian Troch´s voice and vocal style provide the album with a slight alternative edge (which wasn´t unusual on thrash metal releases in 1991), but this is first and foremost a well played, well produced, and well written thrash metal release in the more sophisticated end of the spectrum.

"I Hate Therefore I Am" is one of those albums, where it´s almost impossible not to be impressed in some way about the overall quality of the product. Of course the music itself is always an aquired taste, but if you objectively analyze all the pieces that make up this album, it´s arguably a high quality thrash metal release. Cyclone Temple was only partially successful with the album though, which was probably due to the thrash metal hostile environment in the US in 1991. Had this been released just 2 to 3 years earlier, there´s a good chance that Cyclone Temple could have been a major success. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

metalmillennium Arising from the ashes of Znowhite is Chicago's Cyclone Temple. Their sound can best be described as Thrash Metal, although it contains elements of Power Metal, and even Modern Rock. Vocalist Brian Troch has a lower singing voice than the standard thrash outfit, which makes Cyclone Temple stand out a tad more in the originality category. He ranges from lower spoken voices to higher octave singing notes. The rhythm guitars are also excellent, as you would expect from thrash.

During "Why," a nice, clean guitar passage gradually builds up into a thrasher. The rhythm guitar holds quite an impact on the song, and it leads to Brian's rougher than average vocals. A pretty decent chorus overall. "Sister" starts off slowly again, and then begins a thrashy groove. A lot of the vocals are semi-spoken, then get a bit higher as the chorus enters. Great vocals mark the song from around 4:35 until its ending. By the time of "Words Are Just Words," the songs are running together a bit, although the song contains many great chops, reminding one of mid 80s Metallica at places. "Public Enemy" is where the album began to get heavier and grabbed my attention. Good rhythms throughout. The title track, however, is the album's highlight. The vocals are beautiful, the accoustic guitars shine, and the song maintains the heaviness of the aforementioned songs on the album. Check out 5:15 or so into the song: Excellent vocals, again, that lead up to a killer solo. The rest of the album lacks the intensity of the beginning, except for the last song "Silence So Loud," which has a crunching intro that is sure to keep you listening. And from there on, the intensity is retained and one is relieved of the filler songs in between. Overall, not too bad of an effort. This album carries a much more saddened tone than the average thrash outfit. It's not exactly a groundbreaking album in any means, but a little more than I would expect from the blandness that thrash started to become once the 90s hit. Bruce's different from the norm thrash vocals are worth listening to, and the album has its high points of either thrashing out in style or failing to garner my attention. The first half is best, and it closes out nicely. I'll have to try their other releases out.