By Inheritance was the third release from thrash band Artillery, originally released in 1989 on Roadrunner Records, now in remastered format thanks to Metal Mind Productions. These guys never really got the acclaim they deserved, as they were always one of the most talented of all the European thrash bands, but their music always seemed to get overshadowed by the Bay Area crew. By Inheritance sees Artillery continue on with their crisp style that incorporated plenty of inventive guitar melodies amidst their pummeling assault. It's hard not to get sucked in by the swirling, melodic leads of Michael & Morten Stutzer on tracks such as "Khomaniac" and "Beneath the City (R.I.P.)", two excellent thrash tunes complete with catchy melodies and intelligent arrangements. Lead singer Flemming Ronsdorf sounds a bit like UDO from Accept, offering up a nice change of pace compared to all of the other gruff styled singers that comprised both the US and European trash scene at the time. There's one highlight after another here on By Inheritance, other strong cuts include the raging title track, the Middle Eastern tinged "Bombfood" (containing some great harmony guitar work), the progressive metal of "Don't Believe" (fans of vintage Metallica will love this one), the complex "Life in Bondage", and of course the speed metal version of the classic Nazareth song "Razamanaz", Ronsdorf doing a great Dan McCafferty impression and the band really firing up this 70's hard rock gem.
Metal Mind has really brought this long lost album back to life on this remaster, as the songs here crackle with power and class, guitars crisp and the vocals right where they need to be, the overall mix just crystal clear and pleasing to the ears. As always, the whole package comes housed in a nice digipack complete with original artwork and lyrics. Also as a bonus, you get a host of bonus demo tracks from earlier in the band's career, as well as few alternate versions of songs from By Inheritance.
Track Listing
1. 7: 00 from Taskent
2. Khomaniac
3. Beneath the City (R.I.P.)
4. By Inheritance
5. Bombfood
6. Don't Believe
7. Life in Bondage
8. Equal at First
9. Razamanaz ( Nazareth cover)
10. Back in the Trash
Bonus tracks
11. Khomaniac
12. Don't Believe
13. Hey Woman
14. All for You
15. Blessed Are the Strong
16. Day of Doom
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