UMUR "Master Project Genesis" is the 2nd full-length studio album by Belgian thrash metal act Target. The album was released through Aaarrg Records in 1988. Target were a rather short-lived act, who released only two studio albums before disbanding. The original pressings are probably very hard to find, but StormSpell Records released a compilation in 2009, containing both "Master Project Genesis", the band´s debut full-length studio album "Mission Executed (1987)" and their 1986 demo. The compilation is limited to 1000 copies but if you can get a hold of one of those it´s a great opportunity to get aquainted with some quality technical thrash metal.

The music on "Master Project Genesis" is technical/progressive thrash metal. The technical parts in the music, which at times remind me of early Watchtower and the fusion edge that band are known for, never become so complex that the band sacrifice power and aggression. In fact the music on the album features quite a few headbanger friendly thrashy sections. The vocals are both raw thrash metal styled singing and higher pitched power/progressive metal styled singing. Lead vocalist Yves Lettanie masters both styles with conviction. The instrumental part of the music is also very well played and features loads of complex details and multible tempo- and time signature changes. References can be made to artists like Realm and Osiris, but Target have their own sound and they deliver their music with great conviction and passion. The album features a, for the time, professional and powerful sound production.

"Master Project Genesis" shows good progression since "Mission Executed (1987)" which in itself is a great album. It´s too bad such a talented act ended their career so soon. I can highly recommend "Master Project Genesis" to fans of technical thrash metal from the late eighties. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Mission Executed" is the debut full-length studio album by Belgian thrash metal act Target. The album was released through Aaarrg Records in 1987. Target were a rather short-lived act, who released only two studio albums before disbanding. The original pressings are probably very hard to find, but StormSpell Records released a compilation in 2009, containing both "Mission Executed", the band´s 2nd full-length studio album "Master Project Genesis" and their 1986 demo. The compilation is limited to 1000 copies but if you can get a hold of one of those it´s a great opportunity to get aquainted with some quality technical thrash metal.

...and considering that we´re talking 1987 this is a really high quality technical thrash metal album. The lead vocalist has a raw voice but still sings with a melodic edge. While the music is technically well played, there are still enough straight forward thrashy riffing and rythms to ensure that head banger friendly power and groove is maintained. Artists like Artillery, Mekong Delta, Coroner and early Annihilator are at various moments in the music valid references. The album kicks off with "Mission to the Andes" and from that moment on we´re treated to one great track after another. There are slight variations in quality but it´s nothing serious and overall the album is a very enjoyable listening experience.

One of the assets of the album is the high quality musicianship. Brilliant guitar solos, strong vocals (and some nice "riot gang" vocals) and a really well playing drummer. Christ Braems is one of those rare metal drummers from the eighties, that are able to play in a fluent style that drives the music forward. No awkward breaks and tempo changes here. The breaks and tempo changes on "Mission Executed" are well integrated with the rest of the music.

To top off all the positive things I have to say about "Mission Executed", the album features a strong sound production too. To my ears "Mission Executed" is an album that was a few years ahead of it´s time. You won´t find many technical thrash metal albums from 1987 of this high quality and a 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.

Time Signature The Coming of Chaos...

Genre: tech thrash metal

Holy shit! This one really rocks. Target is probably one of the more obscure European thrash bands from the 1980s, but quite frankly, if judging on the basis of "Master Project Genesis" also one of the best of the lot.

Stylistically, "Master Project Genesis" falls under the rubric of progressive or technical thrash metal. Each track on the album features several twists and turns, and there are a lot of sudden changes, breakdowns and build-ups. To this, you can add guitar harmonies, many of which are deliberately dissonant, drawing on scale intervals that are not that commonplace in Western popular music. There are also a number of odd metered passages. The neat thing is that all of this is neatly balanced by simpler or more aggressive sections, some of which are thrashy while others are more in the vein of speed metal and US Power metal.

Like Anthrax, Target make use of melodic vocals, although Yves Lettanie's voice is less clean and less powerful than that of Joey Belladonna. The combination of fierce thrash and complex progressive music on the one hand and melodic vocals on the other works incredibly well.

The album was released in 1988, so do not expect a crisp and pristine modern-sounding album. The album does sound a bit fuzzy, and the drums have an organic sound to them. I like this. It's authentic. What's more, the bass is very audible and place smack in the middle, which gives the overall sound a sort of warm and round feel to it.

"Master Project Genesis" is one of the best 80s progressive/technical thrash albums. It is more straight ahead than the likes of Watchtower, but still full of quirks and awesome stuff. Fans of Watchtower, Realm, Mekong Delta and Unleashed Power should definitely track down a copy of this album.