Kev Rowland When people refer to Vio-lence these days, it is normally to say this was the band Rob Flynn was in before he formed Machine Head, and that it was where he and Phil Demmell started working together. What is generally missed is that this was an important band in its own right in the Bay Area thrash scene, with their debut album being a milestone in that area’s musical history. The band originally formed as Death Penalty in 1985 with Jerry Birr (vocals), Phil Demmel (guitar), Troy Fua (guitar), Eddie Billy (bass) and Perry Strickland (drums). They soon changed their name first to Violence and then Vio-lence, and after some demo recordings Demmell and Strickland were soon joined by Sean Killian (vocals), Robb Flynn (guitar) and Deen Dell (bass). This line-up recorded three albums before breaking up, of which this is the debut and widely regarded as their finest work. It has now been remastered by Patrick Engel and contains the same additional tracks as the 2005 Megaforce reissue – a live recording taken from their set at the Thrash of the Titans benefit in 2001 where they reformed to raise money for Chuck Billy and Chuck Schuldiner with early guitarist Ray Vegas replacing Robb Flynn for the night.

I did not hear this album when it was first released, so am coming to it quite new, which probably means I have a very different view to what those who grew up with it do. To me this is heavily influenced by Anthrax in particular, and while there are many who feel Killian is a wonderful singer due to his different approach to many others within the thrash scene, I actually find his vocals quite annoying and not up to the standard of what is going on beneath him. Already there is incredible understanding between Demmell and Flynn, something they continued in their lengthy partnership in Machine Head (15 years until Demmell left, who has now reformed Vio-lence with Killian). Strickland and Dell have a very solid platform indeed, with Dell providing a key interface to the guitars which are often locked as one, with fast interplay of complex riffs and styles. They were doing far more with their guitars and interaction with each other than many other thrash bands, having much more of a band feel as opposed to someone going out on their own and having what at times is almost a soloist and a backing band.

This band certainly deserve to be much more than just a footnote in Flynn’s history, and it is nice to see this being made more widely available again. If you want to catch the band in concert then they are undertaking a heavy touring schedule and these days even include Christian Olde Wolbers (Fear Factory) in the line-up, so would be well worth checking out.

UMUR "Eternal Nightmare" is the debut full-length studio album by US, San Francisco based thrash metal act Vio-Lence. The album was released through Mechanic Records in 1988. Vio-Lence were formed in 1985 under the Death Penalty monicker, but changed their name to Vio-Lence the same year. The first years saw some lineup changes, before the lineup finally settled when guitarist Robb Flynn joined(who came from Forbidden Evil, which he helped found). Flynn replaced founding member Troy Fua. The remaining members of the lineup are Dean Dell (bass), Phil Demmel (guitars), Sean Killian (vocals), and Perry Strickland (drums).

Stylistically the music on "Eternal Nightmare" is a fast-paced and aggressive type of US thrash metal. Artists like Slayer and Dark Angel come to mind, but Vio-Lence are ultimately quite different because of the rather distinct sounding vocal style of Sean Killian. He is the definition of a "Love him or hate him" type vocalist. While he delivers the usual raw staccato type thrash metal vocals too, his dominant vocal style is a semi-clean singing with some odd drawn out and out of tune notes. It´s not melodic by any means and most of the time it sounds like he is stumbling over the words, because he has to sing a lot of lyric lines over a short time. So yeah I understand those who can´t stand his vocals (they are indeed pretty odd), but personally I find them both original and quite charming too. They are what make Vio-Lence something special on the 80s US thrash metal scene.

The instrumental part of the music is very well played too. The rhythm section perform their parts with conviction and great power, and the two guitarists deliver one aggressive thrashy riff after another and play some intense fast guitar solos too. A prime example of mid- to late 80s US thrash metal. The sound production is raw and unpolished, which suits the material perfectly. It could however have packed just a bit more punch, but overall it´s a great sound for the material.

The material on the 7 track, 35:19 minutes long album are well written and effective (the band recorded an 8th track titled "Torture Tactics" for the album, but the label refused to release the album if that track was included, because of it´s offensive lyrical content, so it is not included on the tracklist). The tracks are relatively complex without losing any power or being sophisticated beyond featuring more sections than your regular vers/chorus structured songs. A couple of tracks into the album the overall style becomes a bit one-dimensional, but that´s not uncommon for similar contemporary artists, so it´s not a huge issue, but a bit more variation between tracks could have elevated "Eternal Nightmare" to a higher level.

Upon conclusion "Eternal Nightmare" is a quality release and a promising debut album by Vio-Lence. The musicianship is strong, the sound production relatively well sounding, and the material is aggressive and effective. Because of Killian´s vocal style, the album even features a slightly original sound for the style and a 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.

Kingcrimsonprog Vio-lence were one of the second wave Bay Area Thrash Metal bands that came out in the late 80s, and are perhaps most famous these days for having had both Rob Flynn and Phil Demmel together in a band before Machine Head. Not that you could really tell if you hadn’t been told beforehand; this isn’t really an album to go out and buy on the Flynn/Demmel virtue alone however, this is a serious piece of classic Thrash Metal very much in the style of the time.

Eternal Nightmare, their seven track long debut studio album was released in 1988, one of the most celebrate years amongst Thrash enthusiasts, and has went on to become something of a cult classic and fan favourite. Today the album still remains arguable the go-to record for potential Vio-lence converts.

The production is solid, there are a lot of great riffs and guitar solos and the music is often ludicrously fast, this album is a serious contender for the “fastest album that still sounds musical” crown. At seven tracks, the record is strong, lean and there is no filler or weak material to spoil you enjoyment.

Not everybody will love every single facet of the album however; Sean Killian’s vocals are famously in the “love them or hate them” category and the lyrics and gang-style backing vocals are of their time, which is either part of the main appeal or a slight obstacle.

If this sort of thing isn’t going to put you off then Eternal Nightmare is definitely an album you will want to give a try, this is a prime example of Bay Area Thrash at its finest and I highly recommend it to fans of this particular musical niche.

***If you can try and get the recent reissue, which comes with a bonus disc featuring the twelve track live concert from 2001 called ‘Live At Slims,’ which is of a very high quality for bonus content.***

Stephen What makes this album important to me is solely for the contribution of Robb Flynn which I've admired since his days in Forbidden. Honestly, "Eternal Nightmare" doesn't offer anything new and basically an extension of what the earlier thrash outfits like Metallica or Exodus did with their debut. While Flynn and Demmel's dramatic riffs play is one of the strong points of the album, the lack of originality and Sean Killian's weak singing is probably the dry hole.

The title track began with a slaughtering rhythm and the usual reverbed vocal. This great track is totally a winner but unfortunately you can barely recognize the vocal he cast. "Serial Killer" is a good track and it has beautiful solos, but "Phobophobia" that caught my attention. The classic Bay style really gets my heads banging and it goes the same with the next track, "Calling In The Coroner". "Bodies On Bodies" is probably the most interesting track of the album and thanks to the brilliant combination of classic Bay rhythm and the nasty riffs onslaught.

Most of the songs here are consistently awesome and the solo guitars are just thrilling. Aside from the troubling vocal, the problem with this album is the length is way too short, but overall, this one is an enjoyable piece of thrash classic. Relatively unknown, Vio-lence is worth to buy for the astonishing riffs pattern, and definitely a great stuff to blow your speaker out and annoy the neighbor.