This Phoenix, Az. band will never live down the unfair distinction as being "Jason Newsted's old band." Though I gotta admit, after Newsted left, their musical quality went downhill rather fast.

"Doomsday for the Deceiver"

1. "Hammerhead" (6:11)
2. "Iron Tears" (3:50)
3. "Desecrator" (3:47)
4. "Fade to Black" (2:04)
5. "Doomsday for the Deceiver" (9:10)
6. "Metalshock" (8:15)
7. "She Took an Axe" (5:14)
8. "U.S.L.W." (4:20)
9. "Der Fuhrer" (5:42)
10. "Flotzilla"--instrumental (6:09)

I love this album cover! In fact I still have a t-shirt of it that hasn't worn out yet. Excellent throughout, though the CD bonus track "Flotzilla" is a little dull. "She Took an Axe" is about Lizzy Borden (the murderess, not the band.)

"No Place for Disgrace"

1. "No Place for Disgrace" (6:11)
2. "Dreams of Death" (5:40)
3. "N.E. Terror" (5:57)
4. "Escape from Within" (6:47)
5. "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" (4:00)
6. "Hard on You" (4:51)
7. "I Live, You Die" (5:50)
8. "Misguided Fortune" (5:29)
9. "P.A.A.B." (5:33)
10. "The Jones"--instrumental (3:57)

This album was recorded after Newsted got snatched up by Metallica, but many of the songs are co-written by him, including "I Live, You Die" (an early version of which appears on Metal Massacre VII, and DOES feature Newsted.) The songs are just as powerful and solid as those on their debut, with themes ranging from hari-kari (title track), dying in a coma ("Escape from Within") and the P.M.R.C. ("Hard on You"). The cover of Elton John's "Saturday Night..." is pretty good, but I seem to like the original better.

Oh yeah, the guy who replaced Newsted was Troy Gregory, who eventually left the band to join Prong...guess it was too difficult to exist in Jason's shadow. :)

"When the Storm Comes Down"

1. "The Master Sleeps" (4:35)
2. "Burned Device" (6:26)
3. "Deviation" (3:04)
4. "October Thorns" (5:33)
5. "No More Fun" (3:45)
6. "Suffer the Masses" (6:05)
7. "6, Six, VI" (5:05)
8. "Greed" (4:24)
9. "E.M.T.E.K." (5:49)
10. "Scars" (4:14)
11. "K.A.B." (0:25)

More progressive & less thrashy than the previous two efforts. In other words, this is when the band started to slip.... "K.A.B." stands for "Kill All Bastards".

"Cuatro"

1. "Natural Enemies" (3:35)
2. "Swatting at Flies" (4:03)
3. "The Message" (4:32)
4. "Cradle Me Now" (4:04)
5. "Wading Through the Darkness" (6:06)
6. "Double Zero" (3:43)
7. "Never to Reveal" (4:16)
8. "Forget About Heaven" (4:47)
9. "Secret Square" (5:21)
10. "Hypodermic Midnight Snack" (3:46)
11. "Are You Willing" (4:00)
12. "(Ain't Nothing Gonna) Save This World" (3:45)

For the recording of "...Save This World", the band advertised an 800 number for fans to call in and comment on what they can do to save the world, or how the world cannot be saved. Quite a concept. In general, this CD has a few good tunes, but on the whole is fairly pedestrian. "Are You Willing" is their worst song EVER!

"Unnatural Selection"

1. "Dream Scrape" (4:10)
2. "Chemical Noose" (4:12)
3. "Promise Keepers" (4:33)
4. "Liquid Noose" (3:59)
5. "Falling" (3:39)
6. "Fuckers" (5:59)
7. "Brain Dead" (4:32)
8. "Way to Go" (4:26)
9. "Win, Lose or Dead" (4:27)
10. "Welcome to the Bottom" (5:14)

Oops, seem to have skipped a couple albums here...well, I haven't seen a cheap copy of Drift in a long time (I've bought that album twice already, only to find out it skipped!), and I've never seen High used, so what you gonna do...in any case, I wasn't impressed with the musical direction Flotsam was taking, but after finding this one for $4.99, I listened to a few tracks in-store and decided what the heck. It's a minor improvement over the plain, generic sound of their previous releases, though nothing to get excited about.

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