Onslaught

Some English band that started out as fantastic death metal and then made the grave error of trying to become more mainstream.

Note: I actually received EMAIL from Jim Hinder, the guitarist on In Search of Sanity, who pointed out that they were "Limeys", and not from Canada like I'd mistakenly said (and I *knew* that, why did I say Canada? Maybe I confused them with Anvil for a second...)

"Power from Hell"

  1. "Damnation/Power from Hell (Onslaught)" (5:21)
  2. "Thermonuclear Devastation" (1:30)
  3. "Skullcrusher.1"--instrumental (4:39)
  4. "Lord of Evil" (7:06)
  5. "Death Metal" (3:42)
  6. "Angels of Death" (3:21)
  7. "The Devils Legion" (4:06)
  8. "Steel Meets Steel" (3:55)
  9. "Skullcrusher.2"--instrumental (3:45)
  10. "Witch Hunt" (3:44)
  11. "Mighty Emperess" (0:56)

The band's first, best, and most varied album...ranging from short thrashers such as "Thermonuclear Devastation" to more complex arrangements ("Lord of Evil", "Devils Legion"), plus a couple wicked instrumentals. "Mighty Emperess" is basically the "Omen" theme.

"The Force"

  1. "Let There Be Death" (6:42)
  2. "Metal Forces" (6:37)
  3. "Fight with the Beast" (6:02)
  4. "Demoniac" (6:50)
  5. "Flame of the Antichrist" (7:50)
  6. "Contract in Blood" (6:13)
  7. "Thrash Till the Death" (4:39)

A more generic offering of standard thrash metal, but still worth a good listen.

"In Search of Sanity"

  1. "Asylum"--instrumental (5:16)
  2. "In Search of Sanity" (7:32)
  3. "Shellshock" (6:54)
  4. "Lightning War" (7:03)
  5. "Let There Be Rock" (4:06)
  6. "Blood Upon the Ice" (8:31)
  7. "Welcome to Dying" (12:45)
  8. "Power Play" (6:30)
  9. "Confused"--instrumental (1:58)

The band's third album, where they dumped their screechy lead singer for the more "talented" singing of Grim Reaper's Steve Grimmett. I mistakenly listed this CD as one of the best of '89 -- okay, the title track is AWESOME, "Welcome to Dying" is a great metal paen, and the AC/DC cover song (I'll let you figure out which one) really shines...but the rest is lame, boring, and lame...and did I mention boring?

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