Following an EP named "Terror Kingdom" in 1987, this album by the Texas Thrash Metal outfit TORTURE has originally been released outside the USA in 1989. For some strange reasons it has never been available in the USA officially before. But now that the band has reunited after over 15 years, "Storm Alert" is officially released everywhere, remixed and remastered by Neil Kernon and Alan Douches. The original eight songs have been upgraded with a new intro and two additional tracks, which have been recorded with Bill Metoyer for a demo before the split. "Storm Alert" delivers fast and versatile Thrash Metal, packed in songs with running times somewhere between five and eight minutes. Although the majority of songs is quite long, the band manages to keep them interesting and exciting, mixing lots of excellent Thrash riffs and catchy choruses with a few acoustic guitar parts here and there. Especially tracks like ‘Terror Kingdom’ and ‘Enter The Chamber’ are memorable Thrash Metal hymns. I don’t know how this album sounded before the remixing and remastering, but you can still tell from the first second on that this one is from the 80s, and I think that’s positive. Maybe the overall sound cannot compete with current productions and is a bit dirty, but that’s how good old Thrash has got to sound, if you ask me. I think that fans of classic US Thrash Metal will surely enjoy this album, and if your heart still beats passionately for this subgenre of Metal, I do strongly recommend it. Check www.tortureband.com for sound clips. Label: www.escapimusic.com