BLESSED DEATH — Kill or Be Killed (review)

BLESSED DEATH — Kill or Be Killed album cover Album · 1985 · Thrash Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
UMUR
"Kill or Be Killed" is the debut full-length studio album by US thrash/speed metal act Blessed Death. The album was released through Megaforce Records in April 1985. Blessed Death was formed in Old Bridge, New Jersey in 1984 and released a couple of demos before being signed and releasing "Kill or Be Killed".

The music on "Kill or Be Killed" is old school thrash/speed metal to the bone. Fast and aggressive punk influenced drumming, pounding bass work, fast heavy metal oriented riffing, and blistering solo trade-offs are the elements that make out the instrumental part of the music. On top of that lead vocalist Larry Portelli delivers both raw staccato styled thrash metal singing and also some almost ridiculously high pitched piercing screams. It´s all driven forward with great energy and relentless aggression. At various points it´s the very early output by artists like Dark Angel, Slayer, Overkill, Anthrax, Exciter, Voivod and even Mercyful Fate that come to mind.

The sound production is raw and unpolished, but it suits the savage music well. The musicianship are generally on a good level and I especially want to mention the fiercely aggressive and raw sounding rhythm section (consisting of identical twins Kevin and Chris Powelson). Raw power and great energy should never be underestimated when evaluating a release like this.

The material are slightly one-dimensional but a track like the eponymously titled "Blessed Death" features the use of clean guitars and there are some cleaner type vocals on the album, but they are very few. An album highlight to me is "Omen of Fate", which is a relatively varied track, but it´s the above mentioned energy and brute power that are the real winners on that track too.

Upon conclusion "Kill or Be Killed" is not the most innovative thrash/speed metal album out there. Not even if you put it into the timeframe it was released, but it scores points on the savage and passionate delivery of the music and fans of raw old school thrash/speed metal could do much worse than listen to this album. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.
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