Victims of Deception

I must admit that I've just recently started listening to this thrash metal outfit again since I haven't really had much interest in thrash lately, until only a few weeks ago. But this album is mainly what rekindled my interest into that metal style again! Since then, I've listened to a fair share of thrash bands but I still always come back for this very album.

Yeah, maybe "Breaking the Silence" was a tad faster, maybe it was a bit more relentless but I really don't give a flying fuck. "Victims of Deception" is just better in all areas. The soloing is fucking fantastic. Yeah, what I'm saying is that this album has the best solos and leads in all of thrash metal. These guys are wizards on their instruments, as they managed to churn out blistering solo after blistering solo, seemingly without effort. Another great thing are those truly moving acoustic passages (best example - "Heathen's Song"). I really don't know why a guy like Lee Altus wastes his time with Exodus nowadays, but I guess that's an entirely different story....

The riffs are also very good, maybe not always reaching the amazing quality of the solos, but they are more than satisfying and fitting. I have heard of people calling this "groove-metal-influenced"...damn, they should either buy themselves a new pair of ears or fuck off - just because an album is somewhat more mid-paced than the likes of "Pleasure to Kill", "Eternal Nightmare" or even it's own predecessor it's not groove metal, you retards. I'd compare this album to "Oppressing the Masses" by you-know-who if anything (in terms of "thrashiness").

Another very good part of this album are the highly melodic, yet aggressive vocals by David White. Doesn't matter whether he adds to the aggression of songs like "Hypnotized" or "Timeless Cell of Prophecy" or a great tonality and passion in "Heathen's Song" and the very good Rainbow cover "Kill the King" - he always sounds good on this album, another step up from "Breaking the Silence".

Darren Minter is also a very skillful drummer, providing some excellent fills and pounding double-bass work with the overall performance being far above average. Props also for Marc Biedermann who's always delivering a solid, if somewhat unremarkable performance on the field.

What else is to say about this splendid album? Well, for one, this is probably among the best thrash releases of 1991, in a time where the beast of thrash was already crippled, down on its knees and about to die a slow and painful death. I'll even go a step further and say that this might be the best metal release of 1991 altogether, along with Sepultura's "Arise". There are no stinkers on this album, meaning that there is a great level of consistency to be found here, with only the instrumental "Guitarmony" (which doesn't quite showcase the quality of their riffs and leads as their other songs do) and the slower half-ballad "Prisoners of Fate" not quite reaching the standard of the other material.

So, if you enjoy your thrash metal technical, NWOBHM influenced and with brilliant solos, check this one out, as it will most likely fulfill or even exceed your expectations. Yes, this one is essential.

Highlights:

Hypnotized
Heathen's Song
Timeless Cell of Prophecy
Mercy is No Virtue