Slaughter were an influential but short lived thrash / death metal trio out of Toronto who only managed to issue a handful of demo recordings and one full length release before splitting up in the late 80's. Metal Mind Productions out of Poland has re-issued the group's debut effort Strappado as well as this splendid compilation which brings together material from three different sources. The first 8 tracks featured here ended up being the band's second album Not Dead Yet which was recorded after original bassist Terry Sadler left the group. Following Sadler's departure guitarist Dave Hewson regrouped with bassist Mike Dalton, second guitarist Bobby Sadzak and drummer Brian Lourie and decided to carry on under the new moniker of Strappado.
Not Dead Yet was another fine example of old school, bone crunching, thrash that saw them building upon the foundations of their impressive debut record and taking that sound to the next level. The material remained raw and aggressive with heaping amounts of killer, intricate guitar riffs and breakneck tempos. Tracks like "Time Warp" and the searing instrumental "Death Comes Ripping Through You" sound just as punishing today as they did when they were first recorded. The title track, "Astral Projektor" and the final song "Telepathic Screams" comes across like vintage Slayer crossed with the classic San Francisco Bay trash scene of the early 80's.
Paranormal which makes up tracks 9-12, was the demo material the band was working on with Sadler. While this four song sampler of what could have been is a bit rough around the edges (understandably there is a noticeable drop in sound quality), this is quickly forgotten once you sink your teeth into these intense and violent sounding jams. The listener should find it interesting to listen to Not Dead Yet and Paranormal back to back , albeit in reverse chronological order,and then compare the results. The blazing "Schizo" and razor sharp riffage of "Coffin of Ice" are the standout tracks on these demo recordings and are excellent snapshots of where the band was headed at the time. As an added bonus they've tacked on four live tracks which were recorded "somewhere in the 80's". Although it obviously doesn't compare to the real thing of experiencing the power of Slaughter live in the flesh, these rough and super intense recordings are the next best thing. You can almost picture the scene and if you close yuor eyes you can feel the energy coarsing through the room as you're crammed in elbow to elbow only inches away from the stage while the mosh pit quickly parts like the Red Sea behind you.
It's great to be able to revisit the glory days of thrash metal with these crazy Canucks one more time and thanks to the folks at Metal Mind who have once again put together one of their fabulous limited edition, gold disc, numbered digipak's, fans both new and old will be able to do just that.
Track Listing
1) Not Dead Yet
2) Flake
3) Threshold of Pain
4) Time Warp
5) Death Comes Ripping Through You
6) The Dark
7) Astral Projektor
8) Telepathic Screams
9) Schizo
10) Galactic Dynamic
11) Coffin of Ice
12) The Fourth Dimension
13) The Curse (Live)
14) Tortured Souls (Live)
15) Nocturnal Hell (Live)
16) Incinerator (Live)
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