SLAUGHTER’s problem after the release of “Strappado” in 1987 was not only to record an equivalent or even better successor, they had to deal with problems regarding their name, too. Therefore this 8-song demo was originally released under the monicker STRAPPADO instead of SLAUGHTER. From my point of view this name change is, with a distance – guys, I was 12 years old in 1987 when “Strappado” was released, and even if I probably started listening to my first Metal erruptions at this age, “Strappado” was not my first choice and came later when my interest in the world wide Death Metal underground already was active – this new name was a good option. Musically spoken, as “Not Dead Yet” is not SLAUGHTER as you know them from “Strappado”. It’s still Thrash Metal, well-played (even better played than on “Strappado”, if you’ll be honest) and with great riffs. Nevertheless, gone is the unbelievable outstanding and crushing guitar sound and the raw feeling of this classic. The mix between POSSESSED and CELTIC FROST to a more regular Thrash Metal version with hints of METALLICA and slower DARK ANGEL is obvious here and suits them well, the difference on the other hand is magnificent. My honest opinion is that “Strappado” is by far SLAUGHTER’s lifework and their shining star, but “Not Dead Yet” is a cool album, too, which I prefer to listen to more as to any album of a newcomer of the current Thrash Metal revival. That’s the reason why I deeply recommend this limited vinyl edition of this recording from High Roller Records. The layout is again great and could only be better if we had a gatefold sleeve. The only little thing left to complain is the playing time of this album as it only features the “Not Dead Yet” release. The 2001 CD re-release through Nuclear Blast Records featured next to those 8 songs the “Paranormal” demo from 1988 and a few live tracks as well which would fit this release good, too. At the end you get the 1990 “Strappado” cassette in a remastered version on vinyl of 666 copies (100 in red / white vinyl, 166 in red / white / black splatter vinyl and 400 on black vinyl). This will be a collector’s item soon, so be fast. Available from High Roller Records (www.hrrecords.de).

In the German Metal magazine Horror Infernal (issue # 33, from December 1991), I introduced a cassette from the Canadian band STRAPPADO. It was entitled “Not Dead Yet” and featured eight tracks of raw old school Thrash Metal. The logo already looked kind of familiar and the name of the band’s vocalist / guitarist, quickly revealed why. This was the new band of Dave Hewson, founding member of SLAUGHTER, best known for at least three eternal classics: the “Surrender Or Die” demo from 1985, the “Nocturnal Hell” EP from 1986 and the “Strappado” full length album from 1987. Since Hewson used the album title for his new band’s name and also made sure the logo would have a connection to good old SLAUGHTER the expectations were pretty high of course. But if that wasn’t enough already, the STRAPPADO line-up on “Not Dead Yet” was completed by Brian Lourie on drums and Bobby Sadzak on guitars, who both had also been part of SLAUGHTER already for the “Paranormal”recordings in 1988, which were supposed to become the band’s second full length. So, only bass player Mike Dalton was a newbe here… Three of the “Paranormal” songs (‘Astral Projektor’, ‘Threshold Of Pain’ and ‘Time Warp’) also ended up on “Not Dead Yet”, so it’s no real surprise that the SLAUGHTER logo was used on it, when it got re-released via Nuclear Blast Records for the first time in 2001 (together with four of the “Paranormal” songs and a couple of live tracks). But is it really a release that fans of the classic SLAUGHTER three-piece era enjoy? Honestly spoken, I doubt that. While the classic SLAUGHTER songs were deeply rooted in raw Punk and probably had the coolest chainsaw guitar sound ever, the songs we get here are more in a raw Thrash Metal vein, with Hewson’s typical vocal delivery, but everything’s just way more Metal so to speak. We even get some twin guitar work and technical breaks that showcase a musically more matured line-up, so quite the opposite to the primitive stuff that SLAUGHTER delivered in their early days. The riffing recalls good old METALLICA very often (most obvious in the instrumental track ‘Death Comes Ripping Through You’), so to release “Not Dead Yet” as STRAPPADO back then definitely was a wise dicision. It’s not a bad release! It’s a solid raw Thrash record, but to see the SLAUGHTER logo on it nowadays just seems wrong to me. A sticker that says “featuring members of SLAUGHTER” would probably have been a better solution here. But then again, it’s thirty-one years old by now and everyone into SLAUGHTER will be aware of its background, so maybe the fact that High Roller Records have printed the original cassette cover in the booklet of this new CD re-issue is enough already. This new edition comes as a jewel case CD with an additional slipcase, it’s got the original cover arwork and the booklet features all lyrics, but lacks the bonus tracks from the Nuclear Blast edition. So, if you’re still lacking in a copy of “Not Dead Yet”, you should finally pick it up now (it’s also available on vinyl in different colors). For more info, please visit www.facebook.com/slaughtercanadaofficial, www.facebook.com/hrrecords