Back in the eighties, Germany had an amazing Thrash Metal scene, and many bands were following in the footsteps of the original big German bands and trying to break out as they had done. One among many such bands were VIOLENT FORCE, who disbanded after a handful of demos and just one album (having reportedly recorded a second album that remains ureleased to this day). Now that their sole full-length to see the light of day is available in a new edition by High Roller Records, it is appropriate to remind the Metal world (should it be needed) that this is one of the best albums to come out of the Thrash underground of the eighties. Released by Roadrunner back in 1987, it is in its own right a milestone of German Thrash Metal. It opens with ‘Dead City’ (dedicated to their home town), a song that they happened to play on stage in a movie called ‘Verlierer’ (now renowned among the Metal community because of that scene), a youth drama that takes place in the Ruhr area; while they are playing you can see in the audience people from the local Metal scene such as Mille Petrozza of KREATOR and Grave Violator of SODOM. The album goes on to deliver a remarkable experience in 80s extreme Metal. Their broken-english lyrics dwell as much on their own reality as on satanic and horror themes and, musically, these young lads may have not been super-technical, but their gutsy approach and Metallic rage are formidable, abundantly drawing from the wellspring of what was a vibrant, new music for the rebellious teenagers of the time. Featuring Atomic Steif on three tracks, also the drummer of LIVING DEATH and who was later in HOLY MOSES and SODOM for a while, for me the highlight of the band are Lemmy’s amazing Thrash vocals. Still, everything is great. A word is in order also for the production and the fine, razor-sharp guitar sound. Every Thrasher in the world must be aware of this fantastic album, with truly excellent tracks such as ‘S.D.I.’,’ M.A.O.T.’ or the monumental ‘Sign Of Evil’. To get more info about this new edition, go to www.violentforce.de, www.hrrecords.de