DEVASTATION — Signs of Life (review)

DEVASTATION — Signs of Life album cover Album · 1989 · Thrash Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3/5 ·
UMUR
Signs of Life is the 2nd full-length studio album by US thrash metal act Devastation. The album was released in October 1989 by Combat Records.

The music on the album more or less continue the Dark Angel influenced thrash metal style of the debut album Violent Termination (1987) but there´s a world of difference when it comes to the actual quality of the music. While the debut sounded old fashioned, untight and uninspired, Signs of Life is a much more energetic and tightly played thrash metal album. I´m still not the greatest fan of lead vocalist Rodney Dunsmore though. His performance here is decent but he still sounds out of breath to me and at times it´s like he has a hard time keeping up with the fast music and therefore the pronunciation of the words sounds sloppy. It´s not something that ruins my experience but it´s not a plus in my book either. The 9 tracks on the 34:05 minute long album are all quality thrash metal tracks but personally I could have done with a bit more variation and some memorable hooks. After a couple of tracks I´m beginning to think that the songs sound too much the same.

The musicianship is one of the greatest assests on the album. Tight playing, great guitar solos and fierce energy. The instrumental side of the music is not lacking.

The production is raw but powerful. It´s a pretty time-typical sound for late eighties thrash metal.

Signs of Life is overall a good thrash metal album and fans of Dark Angel will probably find it excellent. A 3 star rating is warranted.
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