Year: 2022
Total Time: 35.23
Label: Metal Blade Records
MACHINE HEAD and Robb Flynn are already established in the Heavy Metal scene but there are still some people who don’t know that at the beginning of his career is connected with the Thrash Metallers VIO-LENCE. Also, another member of VIOLENCE, Phil Demmel, participated for several yeras in MACHINE HEAD. The reason for this historical reference is the fact that Metal Blade decided this year to reissue VIO-LENCE’s historic debut album “Eternal Nightmare”. Regarding band’s biography, we should mention that they were formed in 1985 and have released three albums and three EPs so far, with most recently release been this year’s “Let the World Burn” EP. This was their first release after many years as the band dissolved in 1993 and they reunite in 2022.
“Eternal Nightmare” was released in 1988, a few years after the explosion of Thrash Metal scene and as it is easy to understand, the record is a raging Thrash Metal storm, influenced by the overall monumental status of the genre that time. Fast rythms, riffs from the killer guitaristic duo of Flynn and Demmel and compositions that grab the listener by the throat creating an endless mosh pit in his mind. It’s immposible not to be carried along by songs such as ythe amazing ‘Serial Killer’, the title track and ‘Phobophobia’n Not to mentioned that the rest record’s song are not great and angry. . What might bother some people at first listenings, which I also did, is the vocals which are quite shrill and I could compare it to, just to give you a clue, with those by NUCLEAR ASSAULT. If VIO-LENCE had used some smore furious ad aggresives vocals the recors would have been a perfect monument to Thrash Metal scene, but the quality of the record is so high that after a few listens get used to it.
“Eternal Nightmare” is a Thrash Metal diamond which could have made more of an impact if the band had worked more professionally as in 1993 and after their mediocre album “Nothing to Gain”, affected also by the general decline of Thrash Metal scene they quietly disappeared. Although the band returned this year with an EP and a tour, compositionally I wouldn’t say we were thrilled by the new songs, but since they have Phil Demmel on guitar, who is also the main composer, we expect to hear their next full album and give them a change. So until that happens, those of you who don’t have this album in your collection, run to get it now that it has been reissue in several very beautiful editions, with remastered sound and bonus twelvesongs fromband ‘s 2001 live performance in San Francisco.
Rating: N/A
Editor: Nikos Manousis
Related Link: VIO- LENCE Facebook Page
