Schizophrenia

Ahh good old thrash! Quite a few thrash classics to choose from back in the 80s, but if I had to pick a list of my favourite albums from that era that still ring the nostalgia bell every goddamn time, this album would definitely be right up there. No two ways about that folks. This is Sepultura at their most bestial and primordial. Of course there will be that never-ending debate of "This band immediately started to suck the moment Max left the band" and let me clarify, that debate is for another time. This along with their other classic Beneath The Remains has officially been certified to obliterate your sorry ass and abandon your senses as you look for the nearest inanimate thing to pound into visps of nothingness.

Enough people have spoken about these guys and Slayer side by side, but I will say this - With this album and Beneath The Remains alone, it’s safe to say that Sepultura completely obliterate the significance of the dreadfully over-rated Reign In Blood leaving it choking on the dust of the mega-moshpit generated in homage of these two thrash classics. With the level of musicianship and talent on display, it’s quite to believe that this was just their second album. The creepy intro gives way to an epic thrashout in the form of the excruciatingly brilliant gut-punch of a thrasher “From The Past Comes The Storms”. Hands down one of the best thrash metal songs ever and don't anybody else tell you otherwise. Don’t even tell me to pick standouts on this one, there’s no way in hell I’ll be able to do it. At first, hearing about a 7 minute instrumental immediately got my guard up. Hell, Metallica tried that with “Orion” and we all know how that turned out. However by the first listen itself, I was truly glad to discover how wrong I was. With eerie clean guitars parts and searing riffs along with some really psyched-out twists and turns in the realm of songwriting, “Inquisition Symphony” is one of the best metal instrumentals period, even rivaling Metallica’s “The Call Of The Ktulu” which is no mean feat. Also who can forget the darker and more morbid feel of “Escape To The Void” and “Screams Behind The Shadows” providing a nice dose of variety, desperately craved in most other thrash metal albums out there. If you’re looking for the more straightforward Bay Area inspired variant of thrash with a darker twist in general, “Septic Schizo” and “R.I.P (Rest In Pain)” are sure to hit the spot for you and even the minute long “The Abyss” fits in the album perfectly. Finally, what more can I say?? This is one heck of a nasty rotten thrash feast that absolutely no metal fan worth his/her salt should be without.

The searing guitar tone is raw as fuck but at the same time, avoids sounding like a chaotic wall of sound where you're barely able to differentiate between the notes. (cough*Dark Angel*cough). No worries of that happening here. In terms of sheer riff-craft and songwriting genius, this album arguably manages to surpass a lot of the classic bands at the time, namely Kreator, Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax to name a few. Of course all of the bands had their share of classics back in the 80s and never-ending debates have ensued on that, but in terms of sheer viciousness and obliterating intensity, this album sends most of them right to the bottom of the totem pole. Okay maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration, but surely you get the drift.

The final verdict? THRASH TILL DEATH!!