Dead Brain Cells

One day I walked into one of the most famous metal shops in my city and, looking at the LPs, I immediately paid attention to a curious cover that instantly caught my eye and it was the one by D.B.C.’s debut album from 1987. I hadn’t enough money for it and I put it again at its place for another time. In the meanwhile, I started to search for information about them, getting always more and more curious till the day that I decided to buy it. You know when you are so attracted by the cover art at the point that you imagine that the music inside is a direct reflex of it? Well, I can consider this the right case and the only complain I have is about some mid-paced sections and the not so great production.

The album starts with one of the best tracks here and surely one of the most brutal, “Deadlock”. The first assault is malevolent and the up tempo parts are well done. The guitars have good riffs but in some parts I would have preferred more impact from them instead of the stopped riffs that anyway, are not in groove style. The ones during the up tempo parts are far more fluent and relentless. Maybe the production is a bit too weak for the volumes…yes, because it’s very good for the cleanness of the sound for the various instruments but the LP volume is not so incisive. Anyway, we go on with “Monument” that is better during the fast parts with good solos too.

The mid-paced sections are a bit common in some parts while they acquire more power when the guitars duets are more present. “Lies” and “Power and Corruption” are two examples of non compromise thrash metal with loads of hardcore elements inside, especially in the essential but in your face riffage and the restless, violent drumming that reaches incredible levels of nastiness. The vocals are raging and a bit anonymous but mainly enjoyable with their burden of suffocated anger that must come out in some ways. You can hear truly well the power of this band when they decide to play fast. In that case they are unmatchable for intensity.

The good, dramatic mid tempo parts can be found in “Public Suicide” while the ones in “Negative Reinforcement” are remarkable for their rawness that so often reminded me the very first Nuclear Assault. The bass is always pounding behind the other instruments and it’s sufficient to pump up the volumes to hear it well. The stop and go parts and the furious restarts show no mercy and the band is truly compact in its devastating march towards destruction. The solos breaks are out of nowhere and they astonish because they are just demonstrations of anger and impulsivity through unmelodic and full of hate parts on tremolo picking.

Going on, the intensity grows and we face the belligerent “Outburst”, “M.I.A.” and “The Vice” that really capture our attention through long series of pissed off parts and nasty vocals parts. Overall, I liked this album especially for the faster tracks. There’s nothing new here but now than more “old” equals “good”. Thrashers, watch out!