No Speed Limits

Aptly named, "No Speed Limits" is definitely an impassioned tribute to old school speed metal, but it would unlikely have existed in the 70's or 80's because the hyperactive drumming maintains breakneck tempos throughout the album that are unusually fast even for thrash metal. It makes sense that the skinsman is also the vocalist, because the vocal performance is equally frantic. Although most of the time it sounds like a child throwing a tantrum, it has it's moments, sometimes sounding very aggressive, and utilizing falsetto screams maintained for lengths that make me feel short of breath just hearing it.

The riffs by themselves are very bland and uninteresting, but they absolutely serve their purpose and are played with a torrential and fiery conviction similar to underground speedy proto-black metal bands such as Abigail and the like. The power chords often jump to the diminished 5th when you're expecting it to continue along the pentatonic scale, which also gives the songs a little extra bite. The sheer energy that comes off is definitely the shining attribute of this album, but besides that, if you've heard one track, you've heard them all.

This is something that I would recommend to a tried and true fan of old school speed/thrash, but I doubt just about anyone else would get very much out of it at all. Delightfully amateur with a cheesy "metal about metal" shtick (umlaut included!), it's a great conversation piece and collectors' item that might even earn you some brownie points, but that's about it. It's an entertaining experience and I'm glad I found it, but I could have happily gone the rest of my life without being aware that it existed.