Into The Dark Past
(No Remorse Records)
64:59min
30 years… yes, that much has passed since the release of this German band’s debut album. And they are still going on today, although many of you must know that they have changed style and they do have a more Power Metal approach now. But here they were a no frill Speed Metal assault. And a very good one if you ask me! Musically it borrows from METALLICA, VENOM and SLAYER (all in their… sniff… early incarnations) and of course from IRON MAIDEN and a bit of JUDAS PRIEST. This debut album has a quite good production for its time, and in this remastered version it does sounds a bit heavier than the original one. Simple fast riffing and drumming are complemented with the semi-melodic / raspy vocals of Roman Keymer. Back in the day one could make a difference between a US Thrash band and a European one. Besides the vocals that will make it easy, it was the way of making riffs that gave some particular sound. The fast galloping riffs in here were not that far away from those found in the debut albums of DEATHROW or DESTRUCTION. Yes, if you listen close there are many performing and recording mistakes, but it also gives albums of the past such a charm mostly lost in nowadays releases. The fact that this band with this album wasn’t as big as they should, many blamed on the vocal delivery, and in retrospective that might be partially true. Roman’s vocals were distinctly German and quite thick if you want, and probably one-dimensional. Still, I find interesting that some other German bands have a similar vocal approach in their early works (especially VENDETTA sounded A LOT like this guy!). Also, maybe back in the day it all sounded like a no-brain Speed Metal assault. And that might be true, but what is wrong with that? From the next album and upwards they changed vocalists and had a more Power / Heavy Metal style, maybe gained more fans, but for me, I keep the first one, thank you. Oh, well… included here is also their debut demo from 1985, which is essentially in the same style, of course with a rawer sound, and deadlier vocals… which is why many prefer this demo over all they have done. 3 decades later, I still think of this as a great piece of Speed Metal, that needs to keep in circulation for the new generations to enjoy (to me "Into The Dark Past", along with FLOTSAM & JETSAM’s "Doomsday For The Deceiver" – even though completely different in their musical approach of course – are two perfectly executed examples of real Speed Metal! – Frank). This is the European version recently released but there is also an American one, so there is no excuse not to get it now! www.noremorse.gr
Julián “Atomic Roar” Núñez