...SIŁA I PIĘKNO MUZYKI TKWIĄ W JEJ RÓŻNORODNOŚCI.



..::OPIS::..

1992 was the year when it became very clear that classic metal had finally lost the battle with the groove, alternative and grunge epidemic. Not that it took too long for it to fall from grace; it’s amazing how quickly the new vogues were picked by the masses; it takes a longer time for a snake to shed its skin, or for a drunkard to take a leak outside the bar in the snow on New Year’s Eve. Shame, real shame… Anyway, those who voted to remain faithful to the old school had to create their own imaginary worlds where Slayer and Destruction were still the stars of the show, and Pantera’s “Power Metal” was followed by “Speed Metal”. This potential slip into surreality provided a temporary “shelter” for the shrinking retro speed/thrash metal fanbase, and also for those who challenged the new canons by playing god… sorry, good classic metal, be it just for an isolated outburst of defiance.

Surrealist couldn’t have chosen their name more appropriately although leaks from the past into the aggro/post-thrashy hegemony were still possible back then, albeit on a much more irregular basis. They not only stood against the new world order, but also took the responsibilities of The Almighty and usurped his reign here on Earth. It turned out it was just an innocent game, and they were forgiven in the short run; but who were these lads, where did they come from, and how did they summon all this courage to rise against all leaders, real, surreal, and all the rest?

It all started a few years back, from a small provincial town in Wisconsin, where five guys got together and decided to play their favourite brand of music which in their case was the good old thrash/crossover, fast simplistic stuff “sheltered” under the moniker Massakist, played just for the fun of it. They must have found portions of the divine presence within them earlier since their 1991 EP showed a considerable step forward with longer, more complex compositions also introducing mellower progressive power metal tendencies to “disturb” the hard-hitting thrash base, something like a more aggressive Liege Lord’s “Master Control”, or a more progressive Reverend’s “Play God” (from where they may have also borrowed the idea about The Lord’s impersonation). Well conformed with the more demanding tastes for more proficiently executed music at the time, this effort was also the stepping stone the guys needed to be catapulted into the surreal world of Retrothrashland, a mythical place where old and new classic speed/thrash metal defenders joined forces to oppose to the modern metal dictatorship during this tumultuous decade. Feeling quite safe among their newly found comrades, the band recaptured all their lost confidence and here they were, playing gods before long, the result of this comeuppance being this a bit over half hour of pure metal brilliance.

Yes, this album is that short, and could also pass for a long EP. Whichever way you look at it, though, there’s no denying the fact that it remains one of the finest efforts to honour the old school from the 90’s. The band have made one step forward in terms of musicianship making their one and only opus a more concise form of the intricate mastery unleashed on works like Toxik’s “Think This”, Sieges Even’s ”Life Cycle”, and Obliveon’s “From This Day Forward”. Unfortunately, chased tirelessly by the post-thrashy police, the guys could only produce that much. The beginning of the opening “False Illumination” goes beyond surreal; the guys are definitely not playing god there with tormented shouts and screams piling on top of heavy steam-roller riffage coming straight from the pits of Hell; a most unusual introduction followed by screamy leads those in turn replaced by spastic fast-paced passages which grow into something beautifully dramatic in the middle; enter the excellent clean high-pitched vocals bringing a lot of emotion into the already poignant delivery, and the picture is complete. “A Time for Sighs” would make anyone “sigh” left and right, but will also bang the heads big time with a portion of crushing violent riffs which shift into calmer, balladic motifs in the middle until impetuous gallops wrapped it on, not without another exiting stunt of the already heard agonizing screams and shouts which sound more horrifying here, possibly coming from a dungeon deep underground, or from some medieval torture chamber/cabinet.

Infernal stuff so far, and “Liquid Destiny” has no choice but to open the pit wider with twisted screamy lead sections, quiet mid-drama, and brilliant technical, vortex-like riffage in the second half which will make even Coroner sit and listen in wonder. Follows the ode to Dr. Kevorkian, a mythical figure, the supposed leader of Retrothrashland, the composition logically carrying the man’s name; no progressive/technical, all-instrumental thrash lost on this one expectedly the guys leaving their souls here with a myriad of stylish serpentine riff-patterns twisting and turning into all possible directions known to mankind creating a strong hallucinogenic effect the latter relieved by the short balladic exit. They have preserved some pyrotechnics, after all, for the next “See Life” which also “sees” the really good singer back to lead a hectic, jumpy speed/thrashing cannonade which gives way to a serene acousitc passage where the man pulls out a standout dramatic performance worthy of Buddy Lackey (Psychotic Waltz). The serenity continues with the short acoustic ballad “Dreams of an End” which grows into the ambient, orchestral instrumental “Voices Broken”, a strange, somewhat underwhelming epitaph regardless of the re-emergence of the tormented, unintelligible “broken” voices that give a conceptual conclusion to possibly the shortest conceptual effort in metal history.

The finale leaves something to be desired, but in the end this is a surreal work of art so one should always expect the unexpected, and in all honesty this last track does serve as a cool atmospheric inclusion enhancing the album’s outlandish appeal. The band do make a statement with exemplary musicianship which fondly binds them with the German progressive/technical thrash metal wave that sprung up at around the same time, and in the overall compositional layout they resemble one particular representative of it, the Psychotic Waltz/Deathrow collaboration End Amen (“Your Last Orison”, 1992). That act also uses atmospheric, instrumental non-metal cuts to a sinister dramatic effect, but at least they have a healthy 40-min of music offered apart from them. The listener may feel a bit disappointed again for not having to savour more of this great music, but this is what it is, and this work will still remain in the annals of metal as one of the most original releases of technical/progressive thrash of the 90’s, and not only. Having in mind that most of the progressive metal acts from The States had mutated beyond their complex meanderings at that time, this band can be respected even more for its bold stance in a period when the only feedback they would have received from the majority would be just a bit more than total indifference bordering on the derogatory (“Classic thrash?! Progressive/technical at that!? This is surreal! … And playing gods! Get them the hell out of here!”). Yes, sadly there was hardly any interest in divine musical revelations during these inquisitional times.

There are two versions of this effort circulating around the Net; one is without the “Broken Voices” piece, and this is also how it is featured on the band’s official site run by the guitar layer Eric Basler who also looks after the Massakist page. I guess the presence of this hellish number may have come as too much for the more faint of heart who would be having nightmares for months on end at the tiny notion of what may be going on in this surreal metal cabinet of Dr. Kaligari… sorry, Kevorkian.

Bayern



..::TRACK-LIST::..

Surrealist
1. False Illumination 6:16
2. Voices Broken 2:50
3. A Time Of Sighs 3:45
4. Acapella Diablo 1:00
5. Liquid Destiny 3:43
6. Shiny Thing 0:40
7. Dr. Kevorkian 4:19
8. Entropic Surreality 1:19
9. Sea Life 5:26
10. Dreams Of An End 3:05

Massakist
11. Of All That Is Seen 4:08
12. Darkly The Turn 6:35
13. Triskaidekaphobia 4:37
14. The Storyteller 7:08

Tracks 10-14 are from the Massakist - 'Of All That Is Seen... And Unseen' E.P. released in 1991.



..::OBSADA::..

Eric Basler - guitar
Jason Riley - guitar
Steve Cozzuol - vocals
Jason Koslucher - bass
Dan Scott - drums

Tracks 11-14:
Chris Triphan - bass
Randy Owen - drums




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbO0xcOpno0




SEED 15:00-22:00.
POLECAM!!!