ANGKOR WAT — Corpus Christi (review)

ANGKOR WAT — Corpus Christi album cover Album · 1990 · Crossover Thrash Buy this album from MMA partners
3/5 ·
UMUR
"Corpus Christi" is the 2nd full-length studio album by US crossover/industrial thrash metal act Angkor Wat. The album was released through the Metal Blade Records subsidiary label Death Records in May 1990. Angkor Wat formed in 1986 and was originally a hardcore punk act playing cover tunes, but slowly moved towards a crossover thrash metal sound before the release of their debut full-length studio album "When Obscenity Becomes the Norm... Awake! (1989)".

While "Corpus Christi" (which is named after the band´s Texas placed hometown) was released only a year after "When Obscenity Becomes the Norm... Awake! (1989)", there´s been quite a bit of development of the band´s sound and style in that year. "When Obscenity Becomes the Norm... Awake! (1989)" is characterized by an incohesive crossover thrash metal style. The tracks sound like they were written over a couple of years and then crammed into the album, because that´s the material the band had at that point (which is of course not unusual for debut albums). "Corpus Christi" on the other hand is a very cohesive release with a relatively defined sound and the tracks sound like they were written with an album flow in mind.

Stylistically Angkor Wat have started using industrial metal elements like repetitive rhythms and samples in their crossover thrash metal style and this is the first taste of what Adam Grossman (Guitars, Bass, Vocals, Samples) and Danny Lohner (Guitars, Bass, Samples) would develop further in their next band Skrew. "Corpus Christi" is more industrial metal influenced than it is pure industrial metal though (although the opening track "Indestructible: Innocence 1990" could have fooled me) and there is still a strong crossover thrash metal dominance featured in the music.

While the material is both well played and relatively well produced, and as I mentioned above also cohesive (which means most tracks feature a similar sound and style), it´s ultimately not the most intriguing nor the most memorable music. It´s obvious that Angkor Wat have learnt a few tricks since the debut album, but they still sound undecided on which musical direction they want to pursue. They have one foot in industrial metal and the other in crossover thrash metal, and the outcome is only partially successful to my ears. A 3 star (60%) rating is deserved.
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Vim Fuego wrote:
more than 2 years ago
I tried listening to this a few weeks back. Not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't that!

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