LIVING DEATH — Metal Revolution (review)

LIVING DEATH — Metal Revolution album cover Album · 1985 · Speed Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
Unitron
Only a year after their promising but flawed debut, Living Death was back with another German speed/thrash assault. However, there is no longer a concern of a terrible original mixing/production, silly vocals, this a band that is out for blood and means war. Everything except the amateurish qualities have been multiplied by 100, and it does not sound like it was an easy feat.

If you started with the debut like I did, don't expect this album to really resemble it all that much. The riffs pummel with so much more force, the production makes it sound much heavier and massive, and best of all: the vocals. Thorsten "Toto" Bergmann went from a charming vocalist with some rather silly attempts at higher pitched vocals, to a screaming siren. Now he has absolutely no problem with hitting those high notes. Quite the contrary, actually. He sounds like a sinister version of the one and only Udo Dirkschneider of the legendary Accept.

Like the debut, the band still retains quite a bit of their traditional heavy metal roots. Namely the aforementioned Accept, especially with songs like "Grippin' a Heart" which sounds like a more thrash version of said band. The finale "Deep in Hell" also has this traditional metal sound, and has such a fantastic catchy chorus.

The album is also very consistent in quality, there's not a single dud to be found. There are a few songs that stand just a bit above the rest though, in particular the menacing behemoth of "Screaming From a Chamber". Before Slayer came along with South of Heaven, this was the pinnacle of how to slow down thrash to a sinister crawl. The guitars have such a teeth-grinding crunch, and Bergmann's piercing screams of "SCREAMING, SCREAMING FROM A CHAMBER" during the chorus couldn't sound better. That isn't the only slower more sinister song on the album, as "Road of Destiny" is dominated by a haunting lead riff that is absolutely spine-chilling. On the opposite end, "Shadow of the Dawn" is pure fast and furious thrash that easily stands as one of the main highlights.

If you couldn't get past the vocals on the debut, give this album a try. It's amazing how much of a leap of quality happened in only a year, though either way this album is fantastic. If you're looking for a frantic speed/thrash album that has just the right balance of melody and bite, Living Death's Metal Revolution has got you covered. However, the best was soon to come.

https://thewickednest.blogspot.com/2018/02/living-death-metal-revolution-review.html
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