Circus of Chaos

Another forgotten entry from the pretty sizeable thrash/crossover roster, four lads from the Bay-Area who defied the serious thrashisms from there with a more carefree, more frolic approach. Two of these lads covered themselves with fortune and glory later by taking part in the sludge metal legends Melvins, but at this early stage they were content with a much more dynamic, blitzkrieg delivery not far from early Nuclear Assault.

So expect fast ripping tempos and sharp lashing riffs, the intense shouty hardcore vocals supervising the hyper-active parade with quarrelsome vigilance, giving a big boost to headlong thrashers like "In the Cartoon" and "Pet of a Pig". The lead guitar work is very stylish bordering on the virtuoso, elevating even meeker slower rock-ish propositions like "On the Way Up" to a higher, more or less deserving pedestal. Mentioning rock-ish, the band do show fondness for these mellower tunes later on a string of numbers in the second half, but not before they have pleased everyone with "The Grey Men", a fine diverse combination of slow crushing passages and speedy vitriolic riffs, the absolute highlight here. Back to the rockabilias again: they’re not terribly bad but don’t quite fit the rowdy mood of the other material although "Prey" does contain a smattering thrashing mid-section, a weird but intriguing decision amidst a more laid-back setting.

Suitably abrasive production accompanies the band’s belligerent exploits, strangely facilitating the articulate guitar sound, including the several admirable attempts at more melodic excursions. There are also a couple of more straight-forward thrashy walkabouts, recalling the guys’ colleagues from the same area, but overall this is clearly on the more optimistic side, bashing but also interesting stuff that should have received at least one distinguished sequel. Alas, the sludge had a stronger appeal, and before you know it the bass player Lori "Lorax" Black and the guitarist Mark Deutrom were trampling all over the stage with heavy elephantine, steam-rolling rhythms… from one circus to another, the fate of the tireless metal artist.