Harter Attack

The vicious divide between thrash and so-called ‘glam metal’ implies that the two genres came from dfferent universes. This was (mostly) true. There weren’t many bands moving from one to the other. The likes of Lȧȧz Rockit and Pantera started out playing a softer style of metal, but neither sounded like they belonged on the Sunset Strip. Then there was Skid Row's semi-thrash transformation on the title track of "Slave to the Grind", but that was only one song. We have to go deeper underground for a true example of glam-to-thrash genre-switching. This leads us to Harter Attack, a band that blew the doors off in 1989 with the “Human Hell” LP (some of the most brutal and apocalyptic thrash ever made). Two years earlier, they played Mötley Crüe-inspired glam metal. I assume there was some hairspray involved.

The eponymous Rich Harter is the only member in common between the two eras. Here, he is joined by some other guys, who I assume are session musicians (the bassist was in Riot, oddly enough). Harter's vocals sound nothing like the visceral screaming on the album. He sounds like he wants to be in Mötley Crüe or Poison (occasionally resembling the guy from AC/DC). He isn’t a bad vocalist, but he isn’t good enough for this genre. The band behind him keep things simple and predictable. There are some dated, squawking solos. The drumming plods along. It reminds me of why I got into thrash when I was a kid, rather than this kind of stuff.

There are a couple of decent songs. "Face the Danger" is (almost) catchy enough to sing in the shower. "Master of Deception" is has a nice, driving rhythm that (almost) keeps the momentum throughout. The other two songs are awful. One listen of "Johnny (The Ignorant Breed)" is enough for anyone, and the hyper-dramatic "Children of the Night" is a soul-sapping experience. This is a genre that depends on great songs, great hooks and a great production. This demo has none of the above.

This represented a creative dead-end for Rich Harter. I assume he knew it. My guess is that he started hanging out with Nuclear Assault soon after this came out, and then found some new musicians to play thrash with. This demo provides an interesting history lesson for anyone who, like me, assumed that Harter Attack began playing punk/hardcore before crossing into metal. The truth is strange sometimes.