DESPISE may be one of the oldest Thrash Metal bands from Greece (formed in 1986), but they have definitely not been very busy in terms of recording and releasing material. Besides their 1993 demo "State Of Brutality" and some sampler contributions, they have not managed to record a longplayer up to now. But their plans are to release their first album "Indefinite Force" in the near future. That is why they have put 4 tracks from the upcoming album and the complete "State Of Brutality" demo (also 4 tracks) on this compilation to promote their cause among the Thrasher community. And, as far as I’m concerned, they put up a very good show which makes me hungry for more. The 4 newer tracks are pure and classic 80s Thrash Metal in the US tradition in an excellent contemporary production; the songwriting is very mature and delights by variety. The production of the 4 older tracks from 1993 is, of course, not up-to-date anymore, but the songs are certainly still an interesting history lesson for inquisitive Thrashers. Back then, the songwriting qualities of DESPISE were already showing. So, on the musical side everything is alright, I really can recommend this compilation to all Thrash Metal fans. But there is one thing that really makes me angry: the actual running time of the 8 tracks of around 35 minutes is stretched to over 47 minutes by track 5 which is nothing more than over 11 minutes of silence! Why? What a stupid idea and waste of time… But anyway, it’s the music that counts, and if the upcoming album keeps the standard of this demo compilation I’ll forgive this misconduct. Thrash lunatics, keep an ear open for DESPISE! Find more information and long song excerpts in mp3 format on www.despise.gr