Skirmish - Through The Abacinated Eyes (Violent Journey, 2011)

Track Listing:

1. Premonition (3.47)
2. Conquest (3.39)
3. Insurgency (5.43)
4. Mystery In A Blazing Dream (5.46)
5. Death Beyond (4.52)
6. Astral Infinity (5.13)
7. Indebted (5.48)
8. The Forlorn Masque (5.47)

Synopsis: Skirmish play an aggressive blend of thrash and death metal that, whilst not likely to change the world of metal, serves as an enjoyable forty minutes of primal auditory violence. It's certainly a very heavy album with a slightly rough production that actually works in its favour and the songs are well written, one minute they are raging by in a speed frenzy and the next there are strong, heavy riffs and grooves to latch onto. I actually bought this together with a couple of other Violent Journey releases, Fleshred and Witheria, and found all three to be of high quality so it is another label that I will be keeping an eye out for in the future.

www.facebook.com/SkirmishBand

Liar - Cheatin' Games (Steamhammer, 1991)

Track Listing:

1. Five Minutes To Go (6.25)

2. You Will Never (4.51)

3. Animals (4.58)

4. Love (3.27)

5. Standing On The Wrong Side (4.38)

6. Boys Don't Cry (5.56)

7. Liar (4.14)

8. Take Away (6.15)

9. Flamin' Youth (6.43)

10. B.4.R (5.53)

Synopsis: After one album on Century Media, Liar jumped ship and released their second album which comes across as a logical development from its predecessor. The production is better, resulting in the keyboards being more up front, and the songwriting has been somewhat improved but the underlying problem of inconsistency continues. Some of the songs are quite enjoyable whilst others don't fare as well and this could be a good reason why Liar never quite made it into the big leagues, they were not thrashy enough for the diehard thrasher nor were they polished enough for those who enjoyed traditional metal.

Liar - Nothing But The Truth (Century Media, 1989)

Track Listing:

1. D.C.W (6.31)

2. Dance On Fire (4.59)

3. Batman (4.58)

4. Lonely Boy (3.30)

5. See You Again (6.06)

6. War (No Solution) (4.14)

7. Run For Me (5.02)

8. It Hurts (4.28)

9. I Don't Care (5.09)

10. Hello My Friend (1.32)

Synopsis: Despite often being referred to as a thrash band Liar really weren't that heavy or aggressive and, while there are certainly thrashier riffs scattered here and there, their metal comes across as far more traditional fare due to their constant use of keyboards. As the cover would attest this isn't anything too serious and they do manage to include a Sex Pistols cover ("Lonely Boy") but it's probably best not to be mislead by the thrash references otherwise it is quite likely to disappoint despite having its moments.



Injury - Unleash The Violence (Punishment 18, 2011)

Track Listing:

1. Ignorance (3.16)

2. The Execution (3.31)

3. Busy Killing (4.34)

4. Violence Unleashed (4.07)

5. Messiah Of The Undone (4.45)

6. Food For Vultures (5.28)

7. Death Routine (3.56)

8. Fear Of Nothing (6.59)

9. Denying My Soul (4.01)

Synopsis: Injury are a thrash band that plays it straight, without any surprises, yet the end result on "Unleash The Violence" is actually quite good. Sounding like an amalgam of present day Exodus and Testament the riffing is heavy and suitably aggressive with a solid production that gives it weight and, from a superficial viewpoint, I just love the cover. This is certainly one of those albums that sounds great at full volume and takes a familiar formula yet still manages to make it enticing, something that can't be said about all thrash albums these days.

www.myspace.com/injuryviolence

Anguish - Through The Archdemon's Head (Dark Descent, 2012)

Track Listing:

1. (Intro) Through The Archdemon's Head (2.40)

2. Book Of Fox (5.58)

3. When The Ancients Dare To Walk (6.05)

4. Dawn Of Doom (8.55)

5. Lair Of The Gods (6.49)

6. Illusive Damnation (6.45)

7. The Veil (8.06)

8. Morbid Castle (11.37)

Synopsis: Despite sporting one of the more disappointing covers I have seen in some time, and an even stranger concept behind it, this is an excellent album of traditional doom metal that owes a great deal of debt to early Candlemass. Anguish play doom that follows the rules but there is also a raw, sinister feel with vocals more akin to Quorthon than Messiah that gives them a sense of identity despite this adherence to tradition. It might not appeal to those without a love for doom metal but for the initiated there is a lot to like about "Through The Archdemon's Head".

www.myspace.com/anguishdoommetal