Uncertain Future

For the most part, I tend to agree with UltraBoris' reviews...not this time! Sorry Boris, but I guess when I listen to this album I hear something totally different than you. What I hear is a complex collage of song structures, not that far derived from a progressive influence, only executed in pure undeniable thrash metal form. For me, this album is very unique. Unique in a good way, one that does not fall short on originality. The talent of this three piece band cannot be denied. These guys are all incredibly skilled in terms of the "craftsmanship" on their instruments. Especially Brad Hull, who like I stated in the past is one of the most underrated guitar players in the history of thrash metal.
This album starts off with Bludgeon, which the band also released a video for back in 89. This song is extremely thrashy with tons of riffs and time changes that at certain times becomes almost confusing to the listener...this is definately thinking man's thrash. Next we have Kaleidoscope of Pain, which lyrically deals with a cycle of child abuse, passed on from generation to generation...a cool song with some good riffs and great chops by the drummer. A Look Through Glass, (not a Forbidden rip off!) Kinda stereotypical lyrics about environmental concerns, very similar to Greenhouse effect by Testament. Musically this one has some awesome start/stop stuff going on with the riffs and the drums. some very nice palm muted crunch stuff atop some very cool leads. Anaconda is one of the better songs on here with its awesomely catchy chorus and its eerie introduction that slowly builds into a bass drum driven trash break that is played with menacing speed and percision. Octoclops is cool, not one of the better tunes but very listenable, again with some unigue structure and original patterns that at times resemble progressive off beat kinda stuff. Unrest they find is the only track to feature lead guitarist Brad Hull on vocals instead of regular singer Tony Benjamins. Hull actually has a more controlled voice, but I'd have to say that Benjamins is a far more suitable singer for the aggrissive sounding stuff. Morgulon is another one of those bizarre sounding tunes, very different, especially for the era that this was released in...but the musicianship as always from Forced Entry is top shelf. Lastly we have Foreign Policy...another tune with a hooky chorus that'll have you chanting along with the song in no time, all the while head banging with your fist held high in the air.
Overall I think that this is a great album that has superb songs combined with great musicianship from a trio of underrated players. The biggest dissapointment on this entire album is the production. It really sucks! But like alot of underground metal from the 80's this was a rather common trend, so if you can look beyond that, you may just be able to include a rather deserving band into your metal collection.