World Won't Miss You

Although I'm not the most ardent thrash fan, old school heavy hitters Metal Church and Reverend now intrigue beyond measure thanks to their vocally acerbic acrobat, the sadly departed David Wayne, he of riotous lines and debilitating cries, particularly with latter Seattle formation known mainly for 1990/91's World Won't Miss You and Play God. Here, we take a peek at the first killer instalment from my far-flung youth, released shortly after the scruffy butcher of Baghdad so outrageously invaded his southeastern Kuwaiti neighbour.

As a fellow apostle sagely pointed out, Reverend would sound like any other raucous speed bringer from that Machiavellian era if it wasn't for how David's un-sanitized voice dominates everywhere in a devastatingly nutty manner which compels to hang on tight for the diabolic ride as each uttered phrase stirs us into a frenzy of aural insanity, such as when I first heard the all-too-awesome nugget pasted above.

Still, it took me several spins to fully assimilate my rattled mind with what I was listening to: Father Wayne at his most devilish and carefree, especially on first two, alongside title track, much like top hits from 1986's homey and inviting The Dark.

The unhinged Jon Oliva style yowl kicking off "Remission" is a great sign of things to come; its plodding bass line is similar to another Dave's on Megadeth's "Dawn Patrol" from the same war torn year. "Another Form Of Greed" also begins with encroaching bass as the none too foolish congregation grooves into a slippery hooker of a Carcass type riff, switching gears at the drop of a disgraced pastor's hat. Even when he glides into soft and sanguine mode on "Scattered Wits", his Mister Hyde side is never far behind, eager to please.

A further aspect I'm soul sold on revolves around how leads explode out of nowhere, often following wicked breakdown patterns which complement our eternally esteemed front man's wry malevolence. Solely from his trailblazing work in Metal Church and then Reverend, consider him a metal god who's left his beast mark on a mad World which misses him.

(Oh, what I'd do for such a cool hat!)