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


..::OPIS::..

'Master Project Genesis' to jeden z najlepszych albumów progresywnego/technicznego thrashu z lat 80. Jest bardziej 'bezpośredni' niż Watchtower, ale wciąż pełen dziwactw i świetnych zakrętów.
Fani Watchtower, Realm, Mekong Delta i Unleashed Power zdecydowanie powinni zdobyć ten album.

FA

Target were one of those thrash bands that started out as a rather standard thrash band. Their debut record "Mission Executed" wasn't anything earth-shattering, but it was still some decent stuff. However, Target would explode into a full blown technical/progressive thrash metal powerhouse on their next record, "Master Project Genesis". This record showcases the band at their creative peak. The riffs are insanely technical, and there are lots of conflicting odd time signatures to be found. The bass is especially audible, just like any other prog thrash band. This record has sadly been overlooked however in favor of the often overrated bands that thrashers seem to worship.

The production on this album is state-of-the-art, now THIS is how you produce a technical/progressive thrash album! The producer is none other than Mekong Delta's bassist and band leader Ralph Hubert. The production of the guitars is razor sharp, and the guitar tone sounds full of life and has that crunch to it that adds a tremendous amount of punch to the mix. The bass is amazing, I really wish the bass was like this in all other thrash albums of the 80's era. The drums sound good, there isn't that reverb that tends to ruin the production. Finally, I would like to mention that the vocals are mixed well and they don't overpower the guitars and bass, the vocals are perfectly mixed.

The record has probably one of the strongest song line-ups on any thrash album. "The Coming Of Chaos" is a furious technical frenzy of riffs that will pull you in and grasp your attention immediately upon first listen. Franky Van Aerde is an incredible rhythm guitarist, his riffs are varied much like any other technical thrash guitarist. The riffs and bass blend together perfectly as well, bassist Johan Susant is unique, and his bass lines don't just follow the guitars. Vocalist Yves Lettanie sounds extremely similar, if not EXACTLY like Wolfgang Borgmann from Mekong Delta. Yves has a very high vocal range, which fits the technical thrash sound very well. I also would like to mention the amazing guitar solos. Lex Vogelaar is one of the most underappreciated thrash lead guitarists in the technical/progressive field. His solos on tracks such as "Ultimate Unity" and "Secret Of The Dome" are both nothing short of perfection. Drummer Christ Braems does a fantastic job, his transitions from one time signature to another is on point, and he proves himself as one of the most competent drummers in the all of technical thrash.

The highlights of the record are track such as "Digital Regency" which have forceful gang shouts and fast chaotic riffs which add to the overall frantic nature of the song. "March Of The Machines" has a heavy chugging riff which resembles the sound of the machines marching on in unison, that riff was a nice touch and I think it's a clever idea for them to do that. The aforementioned "Secret Of The Dome" has a memorable technical riff, and the solo is probably the best on the whole record. Lastly, there is the title track, which contains some eerie synths which adds an almost atmospheric sound to the whole track. The melodic shredding melodies of Lex Vogelaar fade out, which ends the record.

This is quite possibly the greatest thrash metal band and album to come out of Belgium, which is quite the feat considering the fact that Cyclone's "Brutal Destruction" and Evil Sinner's self-titled debut are albums that also represent Belgium thrash. This record seems to be a concept album of sorts, because it talks about cyborgs taking over mankind and replacing humans with machines. It's quite obvious with song titles such as "Absolution By Termination", "Dehumanization" and "March Of The Machines". Hell, the chorus of "Dehumanization" is this following line...

"Dehumanization
Cybernetic transformation!"

Yeah, this album is definitely about humans being turned into cyborg humanoids. Anyways, I highly suggest you pick this album up. It costs quite a lot, the version I got cost $30. However, the original CD pressing from 1988 usually goes for a whopping $200 for a non-bootleg copy. I recommend this masterpiece for fans of Mekong Delta, Sieges Even, Watchtower, Toxik, and Realm.

ThrashFanatic


The first time I got exposed to this album was by mistake: I went to the studio to get the German speed/power metallers Mania’s “Changing Times” (1989) (never heard of them previously; just liked the name), but the jerk over there put “Master Project Genesis” on my cassette instead. I remember listening to the album thinking, “Wow! These guys are real maniacs! The way they play…”. A few days later I played this effort to a friend of mine. The guy exclaimed, “Man, this is not Mania! I have their album! These are some psychos I’ve never heard before!”. I played the tape to a few other ”connoisseurs”, but no one had the faintest idea who these guys were. Only one person tried to make a vague reference, “This stuff reminds me of this German act I came across recently, Mekong Delta; but it’s definitely not them cause I have their two albums.” (the debut and “The Music of Erich Zann”; “The Principle of Doubt” wasn’t released yet at the time) …

Back in the late-80’s I was listening to heavy/power metal (Mercyful Fate/King Diamond, Scorpions, Helloween, Judas, Accept, etc.), and I couldn’t care less about thrash, let alone the technical/progressive side of it. Needless to add, I didn’t like this very complex aural “invasion”, and not even knowing the name of the band… that was it: I deleted the Target effort; I recorded something else over it. We roll three years forwards, and the situation is entirely different: Coroner are my favourite band, and I voraciously devour everything which has even the slightest twist in the riff-patterns. A guy gives me a 90-min cassette; on side A he has Depressive Age’s “First Depression”, freshly released; on side B he has Sacrosanct’s “Truth is What is”. The Sacrosanct album is shorter and the guy has recorded something else to fill in the space. The moment it starts I instantly recall “this mysterious band I once had”. “Who are these?”, I ask. “Target from Germany”, the guy answers. “Is that all you have?” “No, I have the whole LP. I’ll pass it to you later if you like”.

Finally armed with the band name, I tracked down more information about them from Metal Hammer and other resources (the Internet was still in the making), and also found out that they were not from Germany, but from Belgium; and that they had one other LP released before that one (“Mission Executed”). I got a hold of it, but didn’t find it as impressive as it was a much more straight-forward speed/thrashing affair with casual stylish flourishes here and there. I was also quite amazed to hear what a giant step forward the guys had made within the span of just several months. One major issue, however, I’ve always had with this album: the opener “The Coming of Chaos” is such an astonishing achievement in the history of technical metal that it took me a while before I started caring about the rest of the album. The first few times, already as a fully-accomplished technical/progressive metal “expert”, I listened to it I was so engrossed in this first cut that I paid next to no attention to the remainder; and if I was to review it some twenty years prior, I was probably going to give it the same high score based on this track alone. Another opus that had the same effect on me was “Rust in Peace”: “Holy Wars” is such a tremendous shredder that it took quite some time before I started appreciating the other numbers (what a deaf/blind fool I must have been then; to not notice this “Tornado of Souls” coming from miles away…).

Things are quite different now, and I do consider this LP one of the milestones of technical/progressive thrash metal in its entirety. The band made their wholesome contribution to the evolution of European thrash towards loftier dimensions alongside Mekong Delta, Deathrow, Living Death, Coroner and Paradox. They didn’t last long enough to see themselves covered with laurels, but they still stand as the finest thrash metal export from the small country (although the young upstarts From Beyond are doing their best right now to dethrone them). Back to “The Coming of Chaos”, for the last time I promise: such a supernatural concoction of pounding, jarring, slow/fast, illogical, super-technical riffs and fabulously abrupt time and tempo-shifts this “chaos” topped by these dramatic clean vocals which at times sing, at times semi-recite, at times scream, always on par with the great music… these ears are yet to come across. Jeff Waters tried to produce something similar on “Alice in Hell” a year later, more particularly on “Word Salad “ and “Schizos”, but in a much less compelling, more dishevelled manner. Moments from the Mekong Delta works come very close, of course, as well as the most inspired demented rifforamas from albums like Skeptik Sense’s “Presence of Mind” (1994), Sore Plexus’ “Haptephobic” (1999), Osiris’ “Futurity and Human Depressions” (1991), and Asthoroth’s “Gloomy Experiments” (1990; the demos after it, too).

To the rest of “the project”: if one clearly realizes that 40-min of such an extraterrestrial quality can not possibly be created, not by this, not by any other band… if this thought sinks in comfortably in the listener’s brain then the rest of the album will reveal itself before him/her in all its intricate glory: once all the “chaos” is over, it’s naturally time for “Ultimate Unity”, a dramatic shredder with melody and atonality creating a nice symbiosis at the beginning this “idyll” dispersed by a fast-paced development which experiences a few stylish choppy breaks along the way including authoritative bass echoes. “Digital Regency” tries to match the surreal riff-fest of the opener and almost succeeds if it isn’t for the more linear speedy passages and the more repetitive nature of the rhythm-section which changes towards the end into a cool lead-driven exit. “Absolution by Termination” creeps forward in a minimalistic doomy manner which transforms into something more intriguing and more vivid at a later stage still retaining the not as intense mid-tempo; expect more stylish bassisms and quirky oddball riffage in the second half, plus a great doomy ending (Candlemass, beware!).

“Dehumanization” starts thrashing with passion from the get-go the tension escalating gradually with fast steel riffs coming from all sides replaced by slower twisted ones mid-way, but only as a momentary deviation. “March of the Machines” will make all machines around you march into oblivion the riffs steam-rolling with more intricate throw-ins flickering in and out of existence, not interfering too much with the steady mid-paced stride which is also “disturbed” by a brilliant lead section. “Secret of the Dome” serves a portion of abstract oddball riffage which is vintage Mekong Delta before the guys switch to marginally more orthodox mid-tempo thrash; not for long, though, since a short mind-scratching riff “salad” follows suit making its presence felt in the rhythmic patterns which get modified into more technical strokes in the second half. The title-track arrives to close this very interesting effort with consistent not as aggressive delivery that wins more points from the excellent vocal performance which here becomes more memorable and lyrical; a nice chorus is added later alongside faster-paced riffs and hectic dramatic accumulations in the middle, not to mention the cool lead-driven epitaph.

The band were lucky to find shelter in Aaarrgh Records, the label run by the Mekong Delta mastermind Ralph Hubert, from the very beginning and they were by all means well taken care of. Similarities in the execution between the two acts can certainly be detected, but those are due to a couple of more outlandish riff-patterns used by both bands rather than attempts at intentional emulation from either side. Both acts started their careers at roughly the same time so it’s difficult to say who influenced who if there was any influence at all in the first place. Mentioning similarities, both bands began with more straight-forward music although while hints at what was going to befall the listener on the subsequent efforts of the Germans were already provided, there were hardly any sparkles of outstanding creativity on display on the Belgians’ debut. Their rise to technical/progressive prominence was quite sudden and unexpected, almost identical to the one experienced by Deathrow with the “Deception Ignored”/”Raging Steel” juxtaposition. Surreality and avantgradism were the main selling points of European technical/progressive thrash metal, and Target were standing very proud right next to the aforementioned outfits as one of the finest representatives of that wave.

Chaos came, chaos saw, chaos conquered… There was more to “conquer”, as a matter of fact; Mekong Delta built a long successful career from these puzzling, bewildering riffs and rhythms lasting up to this day. The late-80s, and even the early-90’s if you like, were screaming for complex, progressive, mind-stimulating metal. Target could have tried for at least one more effort to space out further cause there was definitely potential for that. They may have even managed to fit into the modern thrash arena with their visionary jumpy, full of surprises rifforamas. Well, I guess the band must have achieved all targets set before them with the two projects presented thirty years ago since they show no interest in resuming their artistic pursuits in the new millennium. It seems like any mission becomes possible instantly if graced by a fascinating, profoundly “chaotic” introduction.

bayern



..::TRACK-LIST::..

1. The Coming Of Chaos
2. Ultimate Unity
3. Digital Regency
4. Absolution By Termination
5. Dehumanization
6. March Of The Machines
7. Secret Of The Dome
8. Master Project Genesis



..::OBSADA::..

Yves Lettanie - Vocals
Johan Susant - Bass, Vocals (backing), Lyrics
Lex Vogelaar - Guitars (lead), Vocals (backing)
Franky Van Aerde - Guitars (rhythm), Vocals (backing)
Christ Braems - Drums, Percussion, Vocals (backing)




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cx2ifUT554w



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