Inside Out

1991. The Black Album. Thrash Armageddon. Armed with a cover art that was arguably worse than their debut album, and one of Andreas Marschall's worst, England's D.A.M. waded heroically back into the fray to seek redemption one last time, before getting their connection to Noise Records and stardom severed forever. And would you believe it? They actually, as far as these things went, surpassed themselves with room to spare, tightening in on the riffcraft and overall songwriting to create a respectable justification for their existence. No, this is not the sort of cult classic you need to bust out and bloodhound immediately (though a recent 2012 reissue ensures you can do just that if interested), but I admire that D.A.M. managed to refine themselves without at all changing course from where they were on the debut, and even if it was too late to really make a difference, since the genre was coming off its incline to the decline, they can listen back on this with some pride.

First, Jason McLoughlin's vocals here are dramatically improved, focusing in more on his higher range and shrieks successfully to create a sort of wretched wickedness somewhere between David Wayne, Eric A. K., Leszek Szpigiel and Bobby 'Blitz'. The guy is generally a pleasure to listen to throughout the album, often shrill, spectral and haunting when he hits his peak, even if a few of the lines become repetitive during verses. Also, the approach is a better complement to the music, which has taken on a more desperate, melodic presence through a more memorable selection of riffs. They still implement a lot of mid-paced muted picking as the norm, but the deeper chords and chugs are measured off against a more clinical sense of harmony, while retaining the solid ear for lead-work that was one of the few positives off the debut...hell, these are even better structured, like the solo through "House of Cards" which actually carries some emotional depth. Honestly, the record is so piercing and melodic that it flirts with power/thrash territory, not as technical or nuanced as something like Toxik or Realm, but the angry riffs and vocals might certainly appeal to fans of groups like Apocrypha, Sanctuary, (early) Hexx, Toranaga, (late 80s) Fates Warning, Vicious Rumors and Metal Church, especially on the moodier pieces like "Winter's Tear".

The rhythm section is likewise stronger here, with more reverb and power behind the drums and a lot more meat on the bass to help distinguish it from the rhythm guitars. That's not to say the beats are necessarily aggressive or demanding, but the mix alone ensures they feel more exciting alongside the other instruments, and you'll feel every stick clap in your ear and kick rumble in your colon. Inside Out does occasionally lapse into some bland riffing patterns, and a few tunes (like "The Innocent One") are outright hit-or-miss, but even the worst material through the hour of content (assuming the CD 'bonus tracks') is superior than sitting through the drab, insipid slog that was Human Wreckage. Lyrics are meek and topical, with songs about domestic violence, abortion, etc, but like the first record, generally no worse than a lot of the other second or third tier thrash acts (especially from the US).

This is not a perfect record, not even a great one, but there's this vibrant, constant notion of 'this is our last chance, let's go for the posts' that pervades the experience. Score! Though I admit I grabbed this out of a bargain bin for about $2 US a few years after its release, having no faith or expectations and just wanting it for my collection, I remember being almost floored at how the band had upped the ante. Hell, if they had released a third record with a comparable, incremental rise in quality, they might have created a bonafide, timeless classic on an ailing British scene. Bittersweet, because yeah, too little, too late, but at least they've got something to smile about, as do those of us in the limited audience. En garde, 1991.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

It’s quite unfortunate to learn that some really ass kicking thrash metal albums came out when the era of thrash was almost coming to an end in the early nineties. Killed primarily by the changing tastes of the masses and the affinity towards more radio friendly genres, thrash metal had basically become quite obsolete and almost extinct. The second album of D.A.M also suffered a similar fate sadly. Had this been released a few years before, this would have put many other albums to shame. After a fairly pedestrian debut, D.A.M came out with this solid if not groundbreaking follow up. They got everything right on this release. Be it songwriting, musicianship or even production, everything was top notch.


The album kicks off with speed with Man of Violence with a riff that can rival the best opening thrash riffs of all time. How often do you come across opening tracks that start off with pace right from the start? The answer would be close to negligible. A great song to start off with.


The next track, House of Cards continues the flow with some great riffs, a catchy mid section lead solo and some well timed background shouts. Although a mid paced song it’s fairly good for stomping. The same can be said about the third track, Appointment with Fear which has a good rhythm section although some sections of this track could be very annoying at times.


We then have two monster songs, Thought for the Day and Winter’s Tear. The former being a bonus track on this album ,has a splendid riff which carries throughout the length of the song and mainly mid tempo in approach apart from the few speeding moments in between and the latter track having a neat little bass intro reminiscent of Megadeth’s Five Magics which is good. This song has some very good moments even if it’s moderately long for a thrash metal song.


The Innocent one again starts off with a bass solo again with some instrument less verses which lend some diversity to this song but this track doesn’t do much for me apart from some riffs and a decent solo in between. The follow up My Twisted Mind starts off with a lady answering her telephone and the voice at the other end warning her that she’s been watched. This short little intro leads to a great song with amazing riffs and well timed breakdowns. This is easily one of the better songs on the album.


Circles is the other bonus track on this album which is mid paced and one this album could have done without. It doesn’t pack a punch as much as the other tracks do and moreover it’s over 6 minutes long. However after the plodding nature of Circles the album picks up speed again with No Escape which starts off with a catchy sweep picking solo. This song’s one of the faster tracks on the album with some punk sounding riffs in between, accentuating the feel of the song altogether. It’s ideal for some quality headbanging.


The penultimate song on this album, Beneath Closed Eyes starts off with a plodding riff again which could have easily made its way on a doom metal album. Especially considering the speed of the initial half of this song and the usage of keyboards in some parts makes it all the more obvious. But after about 3 minutes into the song, the song picks up the same speed with which the album started. To add to this, vocalist Jason McLouglin adds his little banshee wail followed by a well timed solo creating the perfect finish for the album. The outro track Inside Outro, needless to say is just a formality finisher.


Overall, this album is very likely to appeal to the more hardened thrash metal fans including the ones who tend to stay away from the more brutal likes of say Morbid Saint, Dark Angel or even Incubus. Fans of the big four and also Atrophy, Vendetta, Nasty Savage or even Xentrix will definitely dig into this one for sure. This is as good as Brit thrash can actually get.