Rock And Roll History: the 2000's!

[ABlairican Pie]

The next song on the album, "Brighter Than a Thousand Suns", remains one of Iron Maiden's most haunting songs
about a grim topic which looms large in our lives even today: the threat of atomic war. Bruce Dickinson explains
that his generation as a youngster grew up with the horrific atomic bomb in the public consciousness. The memories
of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were fresh in people's minds then, and the menace by world superpowers armed with atomic
weaponry such as the Soviet Union, America, or even Communist China remained a disturbing possibility. The song's
title was a description by witnesses of the atomic bombs in Japan in World War II of what the explosions looked like.
Throughout the song, the lyrics talk about the creation of a new kind of god being formed in the laboratories and
testing fields of Los Alamos, one who would unleash his wrath on earth in ways previously unheard of. The god was
built by science, and now science was about to exact a deadly toll on humanity.

This is one of Iron Maiden's best songs, one which stays with you long after listening:

Brighter Than a Thousand Suns

We are not the sons of God
We are not his chosen people now
We have crossed the path he trod
We will feel the pain of his beginning

Shadow fingers rise above
Iron fingers stab the desert sky
Oh Behold the power of man
On its tower ready for the fall

Knocking heads together well
Rise a city build a living hell
Join the race to suicide
Listen for the tolling of the bell

Out of the universe a strange love is born
Unholy union trinity reformed

Yellow sun its evil twin
In the black the wings deliver him
We will split our souls within
Atom seed to nuclear dust is riven

Out of the universe a strange love is born
Unholy union, trinity reformed

Out of the darkness
Brighter than a thousand suns
Out of the darkness
Brighter than a thousand suns
Out of the darkness
Brighter than a thousand suns
Out of the darkness
Brighter than a thousand suns

Bury your morals and bury your dead
Bury your head in the sand
E=mc squared you can relate
how we made God
With our hands

Whatever would Robert have said to his God
About how we made war with the sun
E=mc squared you can relate
how we made God
With our hands

All the nations are rising
Through acid veils of love and hate
Chain letters of Satan
Uncertainty leads us all to this
All the nations are rising
Through acid veils of love and hate
Cold fusion and fury

Divide and conquer while ye may
Others preach and others fall and pray
In the bunkers where we'll die
Where the executioners they lie

Bombers launch with no recall
Minutes warning of the missile fall
Take a look at your last sky
Guessing you won't have the time to cry

Out of the universe a strange love is born
Unholy union, trinity reformed

Out of the darkness
Out of the darkness
Out of the darkness
Brighter than a thousand suns
Out of the darkness
Brighter than a thousand suns
Out of the darkness
Brighter than a thousand suns
Out of the darkness
Brighter than a thousand suns

Holy Father we have sinned



Brighter Than a Thousand Suns:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXiSNWImhw0

Brighter Than a Thousand Suns (recording in the studio):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHY2qZhKMng

[ABlairican Pie]

Of course, the other big Maiden news was that the band was touring in support of the new album, and due to its high chart position, the band announced that it was going to play the album in its entirety at each show.
However, the band would play limited dates in America, and the only West Coast date was Irvine, California--and I was going!!!!

This was the farthest I had ever travelled for a concert, all the way from Seattle, flying down to Los Angeles to take a train out to Irvine in Orange County. Very dry, few trees, and pretty hot. Since I had never been out there, it was a sort of challenge to find it. I spent the morning and afternoon in October crossing the town, munching down at Carl's Jr. and Burger King, and finally I had found the way there. Quite a long line of Maiden
fans, barbecues in the parking lot, Maiden tunes cranking from car stereos,
just a great time. Quite a number of Latino fans as well. On my way there, a guy drove up and took a picture of me in my Maiden t-shirt carrying my backpack and everything, trekking my way to the show, but I was disappointed that it never showed up on any Maiden site, as he had indicated--at least as far as I know, it hasn't. But at least someone was willing to acknowledge my diligence and fortitude in the Southern California heat!

The Pilgrim

The keys to death and hell
The ailing kingdom doomed to fall
The bonds of sin and heart will break
The pilgrims course will take

Quelling the devil's might
And ready for eternal fight
Aching limbs and fainting soul
Holy battles take their toll

Liberty and hope divine
Changing water into wine
So to you we bid farewell
Kingdom of heaven to hell

Spirit holy, life eternal
Raise me up take me home
Pilgrim sunrise, pagan sunset
Onward journey begun

To courage find and gracious will
Deliver good from ill
Clean the water clean our guilt
With us do what you will

Then will my judge appear
Bear no false angel that I hear
For only then I will confess
To my eternal hell

Now give us our holy sign
Changing water into wine
So to you we bid farewell
Kingdom of heaven to hell

Spirit holy life eternal
Raise me up take me home
Pilgrim sunrise pagan sunset
Onward journey begun

[ABlairican Pie]

The next song on the album, "The Longest Day", was one of the standout tracks on the disc. The song was
about a soldier's harrowing experiences during Operation Overlord, on June 6, 1944, D-Day, as Allied forces
began their assault onto the beaches of Normandy in Nazi-occupied France. The title of the song was taken
from the 1962 film, 'The Longest Day' about the fateful moment in history. The song served as a sequel to
"Paschendale", about the infamous World War I battle, on their previous album, "Dance Of Death". Clearly,
the foray into Nazified Europe was no easy task, it was a brutal nightmare for everyone seeking to take down
Hitler's forces.

Interestingly, the title of the album was almost rather redundant, as many Maiden albums seemed to contain
the word "death" or "dead".

The Longest Day

In the gloom the gathering storm abates
In the ships gimlet eyes await
The call to arms to hammer at the gates
To blow them wide throw evil to its fate

All summers long the drills to build the machine
To turn man from flesh and blood to steel
From paper soldiers to bodies on the beach
From summer sends to Armageddon's reach

Overlord your master not your god
The enemy coast dawning grey with scud
These wretched souls puking shaking fear
To take a bullet for those who send them here

The world's all right the cliffs erupt in flame
No escape remorseless shrapnel rains
Drowning men no chance for a warrior's fate
A choking death enter hell's gates

Sliding we go only fear on our side
To the edge of the wire
And we rush with the tide
Oh the water is red
With the blood of the dead
But I'm still alive pray to God I survive

How long on this longest day
'Till we finally make it through
How long on this longest day
'Till we finally make it through

The rising dead faces bloated torn
They are relieved the living wait their turn
Your number's up the bullet's got your name
You still go on to hell and back again

Valhalla waits Valkyries rise and fall
The warrior tombs lie open for us all
A ghostly hand reaches through the wall
Blood and sand we will prevail

Sliding we go only fear on our side
To the edge of the wire
And we rush with the tide
Oh the water is red
With the blood of the dead
But I'm still alive pray to God I survive

How long on this longest day
'Till we finally make it through
How long on this longest day
'Till we finally make it through

How long on this longest day
'Till we finally make it through
How long on this longest day
'Till we finally make it through

[ABlairican Pie]

I was amazed at the turnout of at Irvine Meadows, that there was an entire sea of fans attending the concert. The show was completely sold out, I had never seen so many people in attendance for a single show, as opposed
to a festival date. Before the show began, a local punk-glam band called My Evolution (as I recall their name) played at this one side stage in the merch booth area, and they were pretty good, and had this hot dancer chick to make it more interesting. The actual show began with support act
3 Inches of Blood, on the main stage, and I was excited to see them!! With
their two shrieking vocalists (I had never known there were two) and their killer "old-school" metal sound and attitude, they were a most welcome replacement for what could have been the opening act, Bullet For My Valentine, who I had not heard at that point (but would soon regret, as we shall soon see). They played all their popular songs at that point, including
"Deadly Sinners", my personal favorite.

Unfortunately, during the intermission, it was announced that the band would start fifteen minutes later than they were supposed to--which meant that they would not play fifteen minutes past their ending time, as I was to find out. Not too many people in the crowd were pleased to hear this.

Out Of the Shadows

Hold a halo round the world
Golden is the day
Princess of the Universe
Your burden is the way
So there is no better time
Who will be born today
A gypsy child at day break
A king for a day

Out of the Shadows and into the sun
Dreams of the past as the old ways are done
Oh there is beauty and surely there is pain
But we must endure it to live again

Dusty dreams in fading daylight
Flicker on the walls
Nothing new your life's adrift
What purpose to it all?
Eyes are closed and death is calling
Reaching out its hand
Call upon the starlight to surround you

Out of the Shadows and into the sun
Dreams of the past as the old ways are done
Oh there is beauty and surely there is pain
But we must endure it to live again

Out of the Shadows and into the sun
Dreams of the past as the old ways are done
Oh there is beauty and surely there is pain
But we must endure it to live again

Out of the Shadows and into the sun
Dreams of the past as the old ways are done
Oh there is beauty and surely there is pain
But we must endure it to live again

Out of the Shadows and into the sun
Dreams of the past as the old ways are done
Oh there is beauty and surely there is pain
But we must endure it to live again

A man who casts no shadow has no soul

[ABlairican Pie]

The next song on the album, "The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg", was the first single released from the album. It was a powerful track with thundering riffs, many fans' first exposure to the new album which gained major airplay when it was first released. The song told the strange tale, spoken from the protagonist's point of view, about a man being possessed by legions of souls and haunted by countless visions of their lives. On the album single cover,
the tombstone inscription reads: "Aici zace un om despre care nu se ştie prea mult". This is a sentence in Romanian, which roughly translates into "Here lies a man of whom little is known."

The song initially aired on the radio with the soft part and vocal prologue below ("Let me tell you about my life...") omitted, and just began at the main heavy chord riff.

The song's title bears a curious resemblance to the 2008 film titled 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button', about a man who regressively ages, getting younger as he grows older. Before anyone can accuse the filmmakers of "stealing" from the Maiden, the original story was written by famed author F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1921. So F. Scott Fitzgerald is ripping off the Maiden, only 85 years before the album actually came out!! Funny how things like that happen! Life imitating art?

Much speculation and debate continues about the real identity of Benjamin Breeg. Maiden has always dealt with real historical characters or familiar figures in mythology. But who is Benjamin Breeg? The band has kept rather silent about this enigmatic entity. Someday the truth just may be revealed.

The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg

Let me tell you about my life
Let me tell you about my dreams
Let me tell you about the things that happen
Always real to me

Let me tell you of my hope
Of my need to reach the sky
Let me take you on an awkward journey
Let me tell you why
Let me tell you why

Why should these curses be laid upon me
I won't be forgiven 'till I can break free
What did I do to deserve all this guilt
Pay for my sins with the sale of my soul
Demons are trapped all inside of my head
My hopes are gone reach for heaven from hell

My sins are many my guilt is too heavy
The pressure of knowing of hiding what I know
I'm able to see things
Things I don't want to see
The lives of a thousand souls
Weigh heavy down on me

I know they're crying for help reaching out
The burden of them will take me down as well
The sin of a thousand souls not died in vain
Reincarnate still in me live again

Someone to save me
Something to save me from myself
To bring the salvation
To exorcise this hell

Someone to save me
Something to save me from myself
To bring the salvation
To exorcise this hell

Someone to save me
Something to save me from my hell
A destination
Away from this nightmare

Someone to save me
Something to save me from myself
To bring the salvation
To exorcise this hell

:rock

[ABlairican Pie]

The next song, "For the Greater Good of God", was one of the most popular, epic tracks on the album. The song addresses the great list of injustices caused by religion, why something so good and moral as religious faith has been the source of so many human evils and atrocities. Why do we accept so blindly something like faith as a source of right thinking and ethical behavior while at the same time sanction the killing and suffering of others by it, proclaiming it as "God's will"? The lyrics do not necessarily castigate God or religion as being evil, but address the quandary of religion as being too often schizophrenic. This was the frustrating point about it all. Did faith blind us too many times to religion's dark side?

The song ends with a quote nearly similar in tone to the final lyric in U2's "Sunday Bloody Sunday" ("To claim the victory Jesus won): He gave his life for us he fell upon the cross/ To die for all of those who never mourn his loss/ It wasn't meant for us to feel the pain again". This may be one of the most Christian statements uttered by the band, a rather surprising, poignant observation about Christ. Or could this be in fact be about a soldier serving
a "martyrdom" on the battlefield, using Christian language to describe his sacrificial mission? Both scenarios work very well in interpretation. This remains one of Maiden's very finest songs on the album, as well in their career. The long, sweeping song, which also includes a string section, is a very engaging, dramatic piece.

One can only guess drummer Nicko McBrain, himself a born-again Christian, had much to say about this song's lyrics.

For the Greater Good of God

Are you a man of peace
Or man of holy war
Too many sides to you
Don't know which any more
So many full of life
But also filled with pain
Don't know just how many
Will live to breathe again

A life that's made to breathe
Destruction or defense
A mind that's vain corruption
Bad or good intent
A wolf in a sheep's clothing
Or saintly or sinner
Or someone that would believe
A holy war winner

They fire off many shots
And many parting blows
Their actions beyond a reasoning
Only God would know
And as he lies in heaven
Or it could be in hell
I feel he's somewhere here
Or looking from below
But I don't know, I don't know

Please tell me now what life is
Please tell me now what love is
Well tell me now what war is
Again tell me what life is

More pain and misery in the history of mankind
Sometimes it seems more like the blind leading the blind
It brings upon us more of famine death and war
You know religion has a lot to answer for

Please tell me now what life is
Please tell me now what love is
Well tell me now what war is
Again tell me what life is

And as they search to find the bodies in the sand
They find it's ashes that are scattered across the land
And as their spirits seem to whistle on the wind
A shot is fired somewhere another war begins

And all because of it you'd think that we would learn
But still the body count the city fires burn
Somewhere there's someone dying in a foreign land
Meanwhile the world is crying stupidity of man
Tell me why, tell me why

Please tell me now what life is
Please tell me now what love is
Well tell me now what war is
Again tell me what life is

Please tell me now what life is
Please tell me now what love is
Well tell me now what war is
Again tell me what life is

For the greater good of God [x8]

Please tell me now what life is
Please tell me now what love is
Well tell me now what war is
Again tell me what life is

For the greater good of God [x8]

He gave his life for us he fell upon the cross
To die for all of those who never mourn his loss
It wasn't meant for us to feel the pain again
Tell me why, tell me why

[ABlairican Pie]

The next song on the album, "Lord of Light", seems to take a different approach to religious faith, one of a path less chosen. Why did one need to surrender to the whims of a vengeful, though nebulous deity and suffer untold cruelty in a morbid hell when one failed to honor its arbitrary edicts? There was another way, a path with possibilities which one could find in oneself. Who could be the one to lead you to that path to true spiritual enlightenment? Could it be....Lucifer himself? After all, his name means Light-bearer. For all the bad press he had received for centuries, could it be that maybe he possessed a bit of the truth? If God, with all His wars and drudgery, was not found to be quite so trustworthy, wasn't the way of the Lord of Light rather more promising? Did Iron Maiden endorse this position, or was it just an interesting idea for a song? One could not deny that there was something there to this intriguing thought. The Bible described Satan as an "angel of light"--but was this necessarily a bad thing?

The song's tempting theme was in keeping for a movie project which Bruce Dickinson would release in the near future, as we shall see.

Lord of Light

There are secrets that you keep
There are secrets that you keep
There are secrets that you tell to me alone
I can't reach things I can't see
You don't see this strange world
Quite the same as me
Don't deny me what I am
Nothing hidden still you fail to see the truth
These are things you can't reveal
These are things you can't reveal

We are part of some strange plan
Why the slaughter of the brotherhood of man
Infernal sacrifice of hell
Fire breathing lead the way
Mounds of bodies as they all burn into one
Revenge is living in the past
Time to look into a new millennium

Spiral path leads through the maze
Down into the fiery underworld below
Fire breathing lead the way
Lucifer was just an angel led astray

Free your soul and let it fly
Give your life to the Lord of Light
Keep your secrets and rain on me
All I see are mysteries

Free your soul and let it fly
Give your life to the Lord of Light
Keep your secrets and rain on me
All I see are mysteries

We are not worthy in your black and blazing eyes
We gather demons in the mirror every day
The bridge of darkness casts a shadow on us all
And all our sins to you we give this day

Others wait their turn their lives were meant to last
Use yours wisely as the light is fading fast
Free your soul and let it fly
Mine was caught I couldn't try
Time returns again to punish all of us

We are cast out by our bloody fathers hand
We are strangers in this lonely promised land
We are shadows of the one unholy ghost
In our nightmare world the only one we trust

Free your soul and let it fly
Give your life to the Lord of Light
Keep your secrets and rain on me
All I see are mysteries

Free your soul and let it fly
Give your life to the Lord of Light
Keep your secrets and rain on me
All I see are mysteries

[ABlairican Pie]

At the concert in Irvine, the entire album's songs, played in exact order, took up most of the set list. Bruce Dickinson thanked the audience for buying the album, saying that it wasn't because of radio or MTV hype or anything else, they, the audience, made the album hit the Top Ten, no one forced or twisted their arm, they bought it because they wanted to, which was really great. This was the reason why they chose to play the album in its entirety. It was a milestone for Maiden, and the band decided to play the album all the way through to honor the fans' excellent taste in music for making it so high on the charts. The songs were superb, the themes were poignant and revelant, and once again, Iron Maiden had found out how much America had maniacal Maiden fans everywhere, cheering them on and never getting enough. Worries that the band had declined in popularity were immediately laid to rest. The band was in fine form, and even Steve and Janick even hopped up and down repeatedly in time to the music, obviously getting into the moment and feeling very excited. It was an amazing time.

Toward the end of the AMOLAD songs in the set, I heard one fan shout, "Play some old s!!: Clearly, not everyone was aware of, or happy with, their decision to play the new album all the way through. Generally, didn't a band wait for some years before something became a bona fide classic? Many bands took a classic album from their catalogue and played it through, such as Roger Waters, formerly of Pink Floyd, playing 'The Wall' in its entirety,
Queensryche doing the same 'Operation: Mindcrime", and Slayer playing 'Reign
In Blood' (which was only just under 29 minutes in length). But soon, as the AMOLAD set list had concluded, they launched into more familiar favorites, such as "2 Minutes to Midnight", which Bruce introduced by asking, "What time is it? What time is it?", then, "What do you mean, who cares??"
Then when he announced "2 Minutes" was their next song, then the questions made sense! They also played "Fear Of the Dark", "The Evil That Men Do", "Hallowed Be Thy Name", and "Iron Maiden", as well as a few others.
Unfortunately, due to the curfew at 11:PM, as well as for the fact that the band started late, they were not able to squeeze just a few more songs into the set, but all in all, it was a thrilling time! People did get their money's worth
that night.

The set was designed like the ruins of a village in a battlefield, complete with props and effects like those in a war. Images of war were projected on a wide screen, and Eddy made his legendary appearance, dressed like a British soldier during World War I, operating a huge tank from the back of the stage behind the drumkit.

However, due to dubious response by many fans over their decision to play the whole AMOLAD album, the band later wondered if they should have done so with an album which was still new and fresh to many ears who had yet to hear it and absorb it. The band was clearly stoked with the album and itching
to play it, which was why they were so willing to play all of it on tour. Twenty years before, Bruce Dickinson had felt frustrated that, when Iron Maiden had the world at their feet and were the biggest band in the world, like a Led Zeppelin of the 80's, his band simply chose to make another standard Iron Maiden album ('Somewhere In Time' from 1986) rather than create their own 'Physical Graffitti' classic album. This disenchantment would later lead to his departure from the band in the early 90's, but in 2006, it was a whole new story. Maiden was back, in a huge way, and soon it became clear to the music industry that Iron Maiden were even more popular now than in their 80's heyday. The new album was very much their testament to greatness, as Bruce had always wanted it. It was a stunning turnaround for the band. Real rock, real metal, without industry hype, was being honored in the renewed success of Iron Maiden!

After the show, I followed fans out, and of course, traffic was a major problem. Walking up the main drag leading outside the Ampitheater, I even saw some guys in a pickup being pulled over by police for having a picnic table with the inscription "Iron Maiden" scribbled on the top being set on its side, facing out, in the bed of the truck, clearly blocking the back window and creating a driving hazard with limiting visibility. At least I'm sure that's why they were being stopped. I headed in to a 7-Eleven, bought a few tall cans of brew and called it a night. I had to make it to the Santa Ana airport the next morning to catch my flight back, and once there, that crazy airport security thing with shoe removal and all set me back, making me miss the first flight by a few minutes and I had to wait a few hours to catch the next one... Oh well, the lengths we go through to catch MAIDEN!!!!!

If there was one problem I had with the new Maiden album, it was that it was TOO SHORT!!

The final song summed up the band's thoughts about war and the betrayal of peace and "good intentions":

The Legacy

Tell you a thing
That you ought to know
Two minutes of your time
Then on you go

Tell tale of the man
All dressed in black
That most of them
Not coming back

Sent off to war
To play little games
And on their return
Can't name no names

Some strange yellow gas
Has played with their minds
Has reddened their eyes
Removed all the lies

And strange as it sounds
Death knows no bounds
How many get well
Only time will tell
Only time will tell

You lie in your death bed now
But what did you bring to the table
Brought us only holy sin
Utter trust is a deadly thing

To the prayer of holy peace
We didn't know what was lying underneath
So how could we be such fools
And to think that we thought you knew the answer

I can't begin to understand in all the lies
But on your death bed I can see it in your eyes
Just as clear as all the sweat upon your brow
It really makes sense I can see it clearly now

Tangled up in a web of lies
Could have been a way to prophecies
Unaware of the consequence
Not aware of the secrets that you kept

Nothing that we could believe
To reveal the facade of faceless men
Not a thing that we could foresee
Now a sign that would tell us the outcome

You had us all strung out with promises of peace
But all along your cover plan was to deceive
Can it be put to rights now only time will tell
Your prophecies will send us all to hell as well

Left to all our golden sons
All to pick up on the peace
You could have given all of them
A little chance...at least

Take the world to a better place
Given them all just a little hope
Just think what a legacy
You now...will leave

We seem destined to live in fear
And some that would say Armageddon is near
But where there's a life while there's hope
That man won't self destruct

Why can't we treat our fellow men
With more respect and a shake of their hands
But anger and loathing is rife
The death on all sides is becoming a way of life

We live in an uncertain world
Fear understanding and ignorance is leading to death
Only the corpses are left
For vultures that prey on their bones

But some are just not wanting peace
Their whole life is death and misery
The only thing that they know
Fight fire with fire life is cheap

But if they do stop to think
That man is teetering right on the brink
But do you think that they care
They benefit from death and pain and despair




AMOLAD soldier stage prop:

[ABlairican Pie]

Getting back to Slayer for a moment, June 6, 2006, also marked the first day of a semi-official holiday: NATIONAL DAY OF SLAYER!!!!!!

This was to celebrated in various ways: Wear Slayer t-shirts, plaster Slayer pics everywhere, at work, school, wherever such pictures and images could enhance Slayer's visibility, crank Slayer albums at full blast at work, home, in your car, anywhere! In fact, skip going to work, stay at home blasting Slayer!
Make a block party with tons of LOUD Slayer music, and if cops and police copters came to break it up, that would definitely add cred! Spray paint Slayer logos on churches, do whatever it would take to spread the message of SLAYER!!!!!!

In fact, the day is coming up, and a petition has been handed to to the president in order for him to sign and make National Day of Slayer OFFICIAL!!!

There has been the National Day of Prayer, so why not the National Day of SLAYER!!!

Internet metal radio station KNAC.com even played an entire day of nothing but Slayer on June 6, 2006!


In fact, Dubya LIKES the idea, he's throwing the horns!!! Who'da thunk the president was such a Slayer and metal fan!!!

[ABlairican Pie]

In addition to the first National Day of Slayer, 2006 was the 20th anniversary of the Big Three albums that launched the thrash revolution into a mainstream force in 1986:

'Master of Puppets' by Metallica

'Peace Sells, But Who's Buying?' by Megadeth

'Reign In Blood' by Slayer

By 1986, the thrash underground had been going strong for a few years, but with the rising visibility of Metallica, thrash had become a huge phenomenon. 'Master of Puppets' had finally hit the Top 30 on the album charts, something unthinkable earlier. Megadeth's 'Peace Sells' album became one of the most popular thrash and speed metal albums of all time due to their connection to Metallica (though Dave Mustaine was in an intense rivalry with his former bandmates at the time), and soon the bass line for the title track would be used for theme music on MTV News. Slayer had sparked controversy by signing with a major label, Columbia, when the first track on the album, "Angel
of Death", about notorious Nazi physician Dr. Josef Mengele, who conducted gruesome, barbaric medical experiments on prisoners at the Auschwitz death camp in Nazi-occupied Poland during World War II, offended many at the label who tried to distance themselves from possibly being seen as endorsing the lyrics. Regardless, the album became a huge metal classic, as did the other albums released that year by their peers in Metallica and Megadeth.

Thrash began as an underground reaction against the stifling corporate acceptance of arena rock acts as Styx, Foreigner, and Journey in the early 80's, strangely described as "hard rock". Young musicians such as Lars Ulrich, who hugely embraced the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal at that time, with such bands as Iron Maiden, Motorhead, Saxon, Diamond Head, and Venom, took the rawness and intensity of NWOBHM and made an American facsimile of it in the suburbs of Orange County, Los Angeles, and soon, the Bay Area. An underground scene developed with bands playing as fast, loud, and heavy as possible, with plenty of rage and frustration in their lyrics and
live performances. Tape trading became commonplace, and though Metallica would later attack internet file sharing as piracy, a primitive form of the practice, in the form of bootleg demo tapes and the like, circulated around in the early/mid-80's extensively and was the only way that news of the band got around in metal circles. Metallica had no airplay, no MTV, so the movement and fanbase grew entirely by word of mouth.

By 1986, after two excellent albums, Metallica created their masterpiece, 'Master of Puppets', and while it was hailed as their magnum opus, with excellent musicianship and flawless production, it was also seen by many as the beginning of the end. Part of thrash's appeal lie in its raw sound and lack of perfection, its "in-your-face" immediate sonic assault was most important. Was thrash becoming too respectable? Not likely. Metallica would never make an album like it again, and to this day it remains a milestone in metal, in fact, in many polls it is highly regarded as the greatest metal album of all time. And with the tragic death of Cliff Burton in a road accident in Sweden in the fall of that year, it was certain Metallica would never make such a statement again. Much was lost when Cliff died, he gave the band direction, he was a free spirit, and had he lived, the story of Metallica would have been much different. Would they have chosen Bob Rock, the producer of such "light, hair-metal" acts as Bon Jovi and Motley Crue, their nemeses, as a producer for their 1991 so-called 'Black Album'? What about the Alternapaloozika Metallica, where they cut their hair and played a toned-down metal sound at Lollapalooza in 1996? And what about the dreadful NU-metal-ish 'St. Anger' album of 2003? Cliff was a leader, and with his passing, the soul of Metallica was greatly compromised. Metallica went off into too many directions, trying to maintain an identity, while becoming one of the biggest bands of all time for newer fans who had no real concept of what real metal was.

But by 2006, many fans did, and they had to thank early Metallica, Megadeth, and Slayer to thank for it. Dave Mustaine's musicianship was flawless, his lyrical themes of societal breakdown timely, and rage (over being booted out of what would become the biggest metal band of all time) was spot on. Dave knew Metallica were on their way up in 1983, and he in fact helped start it. He later acknowledged that he acted like a drunken jerk back then, but he succeeded in spades with his own musical vision in his own band Megadeth. In many ways, Megadeth kept the thrash and speed metal attitude rolling while many bands, such as Metallica, abandoned it. He made a few missteps in the late 90's, but by the mid-2000's, he had gotten back on track. His influence on metal was immeasurable. His guitar playing was impeccable, even Slayer's Kerry King, who had briefly joined Megadeth in the mid-80's but left due to personality conflicts with Mustaine, had nothing but admiration for Dave's playing. He noticed that Dave had never looked at his hands while playing, and never missed a beat. He was a superior musician, and in spite of the perception he gave on the appearance of the 'Some Kind of Monster' movie, he was not insanely jealous that Metallica made it big without him. He was doing fine with Megadeth.

And of course, metal would be nothing without Slayer. They had the reputation of being one of the biggest "cult" bands in the world. Their songs would never receive airplay on commercial radio nor their videos on MTV (except for the revived Headbangers Ball, and MTV didn't play videos anymore anyway), and their dark, violent lyrics would not be hummed by fans of Britney or the Backstreet Boys any time soon, but Slayer had a massive following. Slayer confronted the ugliness and dark side of society and of criminal minds in their lyrics, and they were not so easily pegged as "satanic"
by their more religious critics.

What follows next are American thrash bands, some popular, some a little more obscure than others, who gained brief noteriety in the wake of the Big Three of thrash (the Big Four if you include Anthrax, whose fame and importance cannot be ignored or disputed).

[ABlairican Pie]

While Metallica may have popularized thrash in the mid-80's, without question it is Exodus who practically invented it. Though Kirk Hammett formed the Bay Area band in the early 80's, he became frustrated with it and left to join Metallica, whom he found more compatible to his musical style. Vocalist Paul Baloff fronted the band until his dismissal in 1986. He only performed on the legendary thrash classic, 1985's Bonded By Blood, but he had a difficult time singing on the record, being unable to remember his lines and keeping time, among other problems. He lacked focus in the studio. Performing live, however, there was no one more down for the cause of metal.
He was an animal onstage, threatening literally to kill "poseurs"! He had nothing but sheer hatred for any fans of "false metal", such as the hair-metal bunch, or practically anyone who did not share in his uncompromising love for true metal. He was replaced by Steve "Zetro" Souza. Baloff died from a stroke in 2002, sadly. Exodus continues on to this day, and is currently supporting Kreator on tour this spring.

'Bonded By Blood' remains a seminal album in thrash and extreme metal in its ruthless speed riffs and dueling guitar harmonies, as well as for Baloff's distinctive screeching vocals. The album features such popular tracks as
'A Lesson In Violence", "Piranha", "And Then There Were None", and the brutal title track, which bears similarities to early Metallica. The band's debut
features conjoined twins on the cover of the 1985 release, but the 1989 reissue features only a red cover for those who may be put off by the original images.

The band made a new re-recording of the album in 2008.

Bonded By Blood

black magic rites on this black evil night
begin with the slice of the blade
metal and blood come together as one
onlookers they gasp in dismay
taste the sweet blood of one another
sharing without any greed
bang you head as if up from the dead
intense metal is all that you need

murder in the front row
crowd begins to bang
and there's blood upon the stage
bang you head against the stage
and metal takes its price
bonded by blood

metal takes hold death starts to unfold
it's loud like the worlds at an end
your in a blood fury the metal won't stop
onlookers they bang at command
cutting your palm and drinking your blood
the power that few others dare
you feed the need to go out and kill
the same need that your blood brother shares

murder in the front row crowd begins to bang
and there's blood upon the stage
bang your head against the stage
and metal takes its price
bonded by blood


Piranha

slicing jaws a way of life
brought up to waste mankind
loki's pets his little children
deadly eyery time

trapped in swamps by gates of hell

don't ever: let them out
for if you do and they escape
you'll fight a bloody bout

piranha kill in a pack - you'll run
piranha start to attack - you'll done
if you think you can beat - deadly school
if you think you can live - vou're a fool

gates of hell are old and cracked
they tumble and they fall
out rush a bloody wall of death
to kill anything at all
their sole mission is t0 kill
strip your bones and flesh
rip out your eyes tear off your face
an agonizing death

piranha kill in a pack - you'll run
piranha start to attack - you're done
if you think you can beat - deadly school
if you think you can live - you're a fool

And Then There Were None

war's coming start running
eyes blinded by the nuclear blast
hearts beating retreating
all around are bodies burned to ash
children crying and people dying
no salvation from this holocaust
bodies burning and now their learning
in war painful death's the bloody cost

life ends in sin
God cries world dies

and then there were none
the world starts to burn
the world powers learn
tha satans work is done

wheels grinding the glare's blinding
bullets flying all around your head
tanks crushing and soldiers rushing
if you live you'll wish that you were dead
stop praying there's no saving
no salvation from your fiery grave
brains swelling bodies smelling
and Satan comes to see that no one's saved

A Lesson In Violence

if you got something to say
then come my way
i'm guarded by satan
i'm riding on baphomet
i'll teach you a lesson in violence
you won't soon forget

the pleasure of watching you
is whati will get

fight - for what you believe to be right
crushing with all your might
I laugh at their pitiful cries
they run from the fire in my eyes

nothing can save them now

you've learned a lesson in violence
get on your knees and bow
or learn a lesson in violence
I love to stab my victims
until they're dead
a knife to the throat
or a smashing blow to the head
i'm judge and jury
my sentence has just been passed
step into the circle of hell
if you think you can last

fight for what you believe to be right
crushing with all your might
I laugh at their pitiful cries
they run from the fire in my eyes

nothing can save them now
you've learned a lesson in violence
get on your knees and bow
or learn a lesson in violence

[ABlairican Pie]

Another important band in the Bay Area thrash scene of the early/mid-80's,
Possessed, is considered by many to be the first death metal band. Though that may be a matter of speculation (the band Death is a more likely founder), one listen or more of their groundbreaking Seven Churches is a rather convincing argument. The band formed after the suicide of former lead singer Brian Fisk, who was replaced by Jeff Becerra. After getting the attention of Exodus, the band were introduced to Metal Blade Records, but when they were not signed, the band moved to Combat Records. Guitarist Brian Montana left the band and was replaced by Larry Lalonde. After signing with Combat, the band released 'Seven Churches', which became an underground sensation. The lyrical themes on the album were enough to frighten a female mentoring figure to the band, who acted as manager and promoter, until she read the words to the songs that were a little too "blasphemous" for her liking! She had to do quite a bit of confessing at church, claiming that she knew nothing of their lyrical excesses.

The album contained such songs as "The Exorcist", "Pentagram", "Satan's Curse", and the title track, as well as "Death Metal", like the track "Black Metal" by Britain's own Venom, became a theme song to usher in a new genre of extreme metal. The band also appeared at a show in San Francisco with Venom and Slayer in 1986, during which year, they released their second album, the rather disappointing 'Beyond the Gates'. The band then released
'The Eyes of Horror', an EP which was produced by guitar legend Joe Satriani.
The band's music was fast, brutal, and raw, completely unpolished.

Sadly, vocalist Becerra became paralyzed from the waist down following a shooting incident. The band went on to perform in various projects and pursue interests and careers other than music, though Larry Lalonde's big claim to fame was becoming the guitarist in the quirky alternative funk trio Primus, one of the biggest names of the 90's.

The band makes a few appearances with a new lineup in the past several years. Becerra even continues to make music in various metal projects.

The band denies that they were in any way involved in "Satanic" activity, in spite of the twisted lyrics. People who actually believed in all that, in their opinion, were pretty stupid, as far as they were concerned. But it made for great songs to scare parents with!

The Exorcist

Possessed by evil hell
Satan's wrath will kill
He will take your soul
Cast you to hell

Demons dog domain
Keeping me insane
Evil curse my soul
Burning away

Satan's hell will burn
Terrored cries are heard
Everlasting eternity
Warriors of hell

Unleashed men of sin
Hatred hell within
Sinners hate will die
The Exorcist

[Solo: Mike]

I can see the light
I don't want to burn
Help me save my soul
Let me live

Your curse is not my fear
Demons within me hear
I will escape your wrath
666

This is not my way,
Doom, sorrow for eternity
Lights shine below in hell
Forever burning

Words of insanity
Scream out the final plea
Evil voices scream out
Help me!

Demons in my body gone
Sicken thoughts left beyond
Haunted by evil memories
Nightmares and sin

My mind is burnt and black
Shadowed, no way back
Fear of living in hell
Axed my mind

Memories held within
Satan's gone in sin
Grasping to relieve the pain
Scarred for life

Exorcism takes control
Beneath my body help my soul
Save my soul from evil hell
Your spell is lost


Pentagram

There's a sacred city not far from here
Where the Earth is bare and the sky is black
Tormented souls are stricken with fear
And the sinners all know there's no way back

Fly into the Pentagram
There's a lot you'll want to see
Sacrifice the crying ram
And drink the blood with me

Giant kingdom down below
Where the lord of darkness sits and waits
For a poor lost mortal to come in
When he lowers down his gates

Prison of death where time stands still
Forever life of pain
Walking dead assault and kill
The people will be slain

[Solos: Larry, Mike]

There's a sacred city not far from here
Where the Earth is bare and the sky is black
Tormented souls are stricken with fear
And the sinners all know there's no way back

Giant kingdom down below
Where the lord of darkness sits and waits
For a poor lost mortal to come in
When he lowers down his gates

You can't escape your destiny
So take my hand and fly
To an evil land of fantasy
Inside of Satan's eye


Seven Churches

Seven churches down in hell
In the land where Satan fell
Vows of Satan's sacred scripts
Bring out the evil from its crypts

Seven churches
Seven priests
Seven hearts on which they feast

Watch the gods take revenge
Rot in hell for your sins
Sacrifice, to the sky
Terror strikes, you will die

Taste the blood of the dead
As the sky turns to red
Rot in heaven, rot in hell
Reach for the land from which he fell

Seven bibles
Seven crosses
Seven saints mourn for their losses

Watch the gods take revenge
Rot in hell for your sins
Sacrifice, to the sky
Terror strikes, you will die

[Solos: Mike, Larry, Mike, Larry]

Holy water turned to blood
Destroy the earth devil's flood
Pounding death from my hands
Spreading Satan through the lands

Seven prayers
Seven bells
Seven churches rise from hell

Watch the gods take revenge
Rot in hell for your sins
Sacrifice, to the sky
Terror strikes, you will die


Death Metal

Arise from the dead
Attack from the grave
The killing won't stop 'til first light
We'll bring you to hell
Because we want to enslave
Your soul will be frozen with fright
We'll break through the crust
Leave from our crypts
Protected by eternal life
Lay down the laws
From our satanic scripts
Bringing you nothing but strife

Death Metal
Death Metal

Ruling your cities
Controlling your towns
Entrapped in your worst nightmare
Piercing your ears
With a horrible sound
Casting my elusive stare
Lucifer laughs
His needs are fulfilled
The flames are now burning hot
Bodies are burning
The people are killed
Torture the reason we fought

Death Metal
Death Metal

Kill them pigs

[Solo: Mike]

Now we take over
And rule by Death Metal
Enjoy our long-waited reign
Blood's what we want
And we won't settle
Until we drive you insane
Attacking the young,
Killing the old
Bleeding with every heartbeat
Darkness has fallen
And your soul is sold
Claws will dig into your meat
When the sun doesn't rise
And the day is like night
Know that your life is at its end
Rendered helpless
So scream out in fright
Death Metal came in the wind

Death Metal
Death Metal

[ABlairican Pie]

S.O.D., or Stormtroopers Of Death, was originally a side project of thrash metal gods Anthrax, but their album, Speak English Or Die, released in
late 1985, actually went on to become a huge unground hit which sold over one million copies by 1999. The idea for the project came from Ian drawing a his own cartoon figure called Sargent D who spouted provocative lines as "I'm not racist, I hate everybody", and "Speak English or Die". Ian decided to form a band around the theme of this Archie Bunker-esque character. The band, which consisted of Anthrax members guitarist Scott Ian, drummer Charlie Benante, former bassist Dan Lilker, and non-Anthrax member vocalist Billy Milano, wrote rather politically incorrect songs that were intended solely as a joke. The songs, most of which were under two minutes in length, included such controversial titles as "F the Middle East", "Kill Yourself", "Pre-Menstrual Princess Blues", "Py Blues", "Douche Crew", "Ballad of Jimi Hendrix" (a whopping 5 seconds in length),and the title track. The longest song on the album was the epic "Freddy Krueger". Dan Lilker has stated, "The lyrics were never intended to be serious, just to p:censor: people off."

The album became a landmark in thrash metal. However, the band appeared sporadically over the years and released a few more albums, none of which matched the noteriety of their initial recording. The band did record a new album, 'Rise of the Infidels', in 2007. Milano formed his own band called M.O.D.

The following lyrics are simply for reference and not intended as an endorsement of racist attitudes, as when we visited the lyrics to Guns N' Roses "One In a Million" and others:

Speak English Or Die

You come into this country
You can't get real jobs
Boats and boats and boats of you
Go home you fin' slobs
Selling hot dogs on the corner
Selling papers in the street
Pushing, pulling, digging, sweating
Where you come from must be beat

[CHORUS]
You always make us wait
You're the ones we hate
You can't communicate
Speak English Or Die

You don't know what I want
You don't know what I need
Why must I repeat myself
Can't you f***kin' read?
Nice f***in' accents
Why can't you speak like me
What's that dot on you head,
Do you use it to see??

[CHORUS-MOSH PART-CHORUS]


^

Freddy Krueger

His hand spells death
He breathes his vile breath
No way you can stop him once he's out
He haunt you sleep
In the tub he hides down deep
He rips your face and no one hears you shout

[CHORUS]
He's come for you, what will you do
He'll slash you and rip you and cut you in two

His teeth are black
Flex metal knuckles with a crack
Maggots crawling all throughout his skin
He'll get them all
Everyone will hear his call
When the razors grip beneath their chin

[CHORUS-MOSH PART]
As the blood begins to splat
On his sweater and his hat
His rotted mouth smiles as you die
His color's red and green
His skin's not what it seems
He rips at it and tears off his own flesh

[CHORUS]

F the Middle East

F the middle east
There's too many problems
They just get in the way
We sure could live without them
They hijack our planes
They raise our oil prices
We'll kill them all and have a ball
And end their f***in' crisis
BEIRUT, LEBANON-Won't exist once we're done
LIBYA, IRAN-We'll flush the bastards down the can
SYRIANS and SHIITES-Crush their faces with our might
Then Israel and Egypt can live in peace without these dicks

^


This non-political song is directed at poseurs who brag about playing fast but
are going through the motions. They could easily refer to the crop of mall-metal pseudo-thrash metalcore hacks these days:

Douche Crew (D.C.)

Why do you play so fast...to be cool?
If you think you'll last...you're just fools
You try to be something...that you're not
And all you do is fill our ears...with rot
You claim to play hardcore
Well that's a bunch of s***
You're just a bunch of snot nosed kids
A real group of tts
You make your bed you lay in
I bet it's made of s***
You think you're all so macho
I bet you all have cls

[CHORUS]
You're just a douche crew
You're just a douche crew
You're just a douche crew
You're just a douche crew

We offered you our hands
You just turned your backs
You're just a bunch of poser douchbag
F, dickless, hacks
Wearing all their douchy clothes
They like to watch each other pose
They're all the same, so f***in' lame
We'll shove their spikes right up their holes

[CHORUS-MOSH PART]

Ballad of Jimi Hendrix

He's dead.

[ABlairican Pie]

Carnivore was a short-lived New York thrash band whose lead singer, Peter Steele, would go on to form gothy doom-metal titans Type O Negative. The band lasted all of two years, but released two albums during that time, their self-titled debut in 1986 and Relation in 1987.
The band started off with a more traditional metal sound heavily influenced by Black Sabbath and Judas Priest, but by their second album, they incorporated more hardcore, speed, and thrash styles. Their lyrics, like those of S.O.D., were controversial, politically incorrect, and anti-religious, such as those to songs titled "Jesus Hitler", "God Is Dead", "World Wars III and IV", "Predator", "Race War",
"Thermonuclear Warrior", "Male Supremacy", "Angry Neurotic Catholics", "Ground Zero Brooklyn", and "Five Billion Dead". Many listeners failed to see the humor in the provocative lyrics, which were not meant to be taken seriously. This did not stop others from banning Type O Negative, Steele's later band, from playing in places such as Europe, where some angry listeners insisted he was a "Nazi", due to his misunderstood lyrics. Many of the lyrics were more of bleak social commentary than of satire.

Phil Anselmo of Pantera also cited Carnivore as an influence.

As before, the lyrics below are included for reference and not intended as endorsement of any anti-social attitudes:

Thermonuclear Warrior

The atom germ wars gone precipitate genetic mutation
social degeneration
creatures born of malignant science
the children of technology
plutonium anthropology
who will cleanse the mess left by the past
who will expurgate the scared cytoplasm
to rid the earth of abomination I proclaim my nomination
as the thermonuclear warrior
Strands of malformed DNA strangulate our future
chromosomal executioners

I seek the dying, sick and deformed
all who would taint the species
stabbing and choking and burning
and drowning exterminate subhuman feces
to every problem an answer must lie
to this I have a solution

Crush kill destroy
I will smash any resistance
crush kill destroy
the reason for my divine existence

You may ask what's right have I
to take human life this way
well I'm in control I make the rules
and I don't need your o.k.
genocide is my way of life
it's a fact I will not hide
the millions I've killed to sterilize
euthanasia's not homicide

Crush kill destroy
I will not tolerate imperfection
crush kill destroy
I will impede the spread of infection
I was born my own master


World Wars III and IV

A bomb hits the city all life instantly vaporized
but I'm not so fortunate burning right before my eyes
stumbling I trip over pieces of descending flesh
leaving a pile of smoldering humanoid mess
radiation
coming in waves
leading me to
a nuclear grave

Are you ready
will you be
will you fight WW III
are you ready
are you sure
will you fight WW IV

Humanity somehow stood up on its mutated feet
reeling with pride man just would not accept his defeat
into the missiles deadly disease and poison gas
launching them off terracidal journey kills the last
vomiting blood
I choke on my tongue
the gas from above is filling my lungs

Silence and darkness the species of man is extinct
the boiling oceans into which the continents sink
gravity gone the moon collides with a dead earth
flaming world out of orbit flying into deep space
prey for your death
if you survive
you'll die in pain
in world war V

Angry Neurotic Catholics

I'm suffering from depression
The anger turned within
What do I gain for all my pain
Perhaps I seat in heaven?
Don't do what you want
Do what you're though right
Your life is built on paranoia and guilt
Don't forget your valium to night
The agony I must endure
My mind is painful and swells
The punishment for what I've done
Is forever the paints of Hell
How come what is natural
Has to be a sin?
Why would God give me this urge
If I cannot give in?
They say don't give up
That Jesus loves me
But there are something he doesn't forgive
And am there fare worthless
And I don't deserve to live
I went down into my dazement
Confused and depressed
Put Black Sabbath on
Razor blade on hand
A wilkenson I think
Ten slashes on each arm
My only wrong doing
Was being born human
And following my instincts
I never was happy
I never was save
So I shall be extinct
The last I am pure
Witness mysanguneous penance
I don't need anyone
My souls been set free
Death is total independence
Stand up straight
Stomach in
Shoulders back
Sound off
Angry neurotic catholics
It's a sin
Angry neurotic catholics
It's a sin

Ground Zero Brooklyn

Home watching star trek
Everything's O.K.
Little do I know
Soviet missiles are on the way
The bastards set loose
The war Gods Tyr and Loki
Weatherman's predicting rain
But fire it'll be
Minutemen launching, air sirens
Warheads detonating cremating haunting
I'm living at - Ground Zero
I'm burning at
I'm frying at
From my bed I hear the sirens
Screaming of foreboding
Populus escapine highways over loading
Bridge is down tunnel's flooded
Only got six minutes
Head between my legs, I kiss my balls goodbye
They're finished
Mx's blasting, skyscrapers crashing
Fall out liberated, we're wasted
Jesus I beg of thee
Don't take my life
Return me to the womb
From which I was torn
Birth is a sin
And the punishment is death
I wish you had left me unborn
I s*** my ponts as I wait for the reaper
Lie in fatal position
Tears stream down my cheeks
As I call for my mother
And say an act of contrition
We'll fight this war with germs and atoms
Destroy our only home
Our mutated descendants battle the next
With sticks and stones
Are we not savages
Innately destined to man and pigs?
Blame it on the environment
Heredity or evolution we're still responsible
Our intelligence any progress
At geometric rates
Yes socially we remain belligerent neonates

Race War

Black against white
Yellow versus red
The fighting won't stop
Until we're all dead
Burning riots destroy the masses
Nightfall brings death,city reduced to ashes
Don't call me your brother
We fell from different cunts
And your akins an ugly color
Race war
We're going to a Race war
Hate war
We're going to a Hate war
Heyndicial homicide
Bloodshed, rampage torture is not subsiding
Chaos, bedlam, violent ethnic uprising
Moslems against christians
And the arabs versus jews
The catholics and protestants
No one wins we all loose
Everybody's gonna die
Xenophobic tendencies
Instilled in us at birth
Are mislodled racism
Hostilities getting worse
Accept the fact my distant cousm
Insocateel environments
May just be the key
Human beings suspicious
Soon fear grees to hate
We'll have each other by the throat
When forced to integrate
Mothers watch their children die
And each other hand
Cain and Abel set the course
Ethnocentric command
Race ware
Hate war

Jesus Hitler

Jesus Hitler
Adilf Christ
Is this the second coming
Or the fourth Reich?
His mother a nun raped by nazi
Near the end of the second great war
Gave birth to the son who will change the future
For better or worse he's not sure
I am what should never have been
The ultimate abomination
Have I returned to save the jews
Or to destroy them?
Hear thee my fellow nazolics
Keep der race pure practice eugenics
And swear to the holy swazafix
I have returned
Reich and Roll!
Hess to my left and Hitler on right
Will it be war or peace
Tantalization on his throne of blood
Commands both man and beast
A pair of souls trapped in the body of one
Both prisoners of reincarnation
Torn between good and evil
I have returned for salvage elimination

^

[ABlairican Pie]

Dark Angel was a Los Angeles thrash band which was formed in the early 80's just as the Bay Area thrash scene was taking off. The band's over-the-top, "faster-than-fast" tempos earned them the nickname "The L.A. Caffeine Machine". The band went on a deliberate attempt to be even heavier than Slayer, living by the motto, "Too fast my ass". The band's first album, 'We Have Arrived', was followed by their seminal sophomore release, Darkness Descends, released the next year to take its place with other pivotal records by Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Metal Church, Kreator, and Sepultura, making it a banner year in the era of thrash. The album featured such tracks as "The Burning Of Sodom", "Hunger Of the Undead", "Death Is Certain (Life Is Not)", and the title track.

The band released a few more albums before breaking up in 1991, as the thrash scene, and Dark Angel's members themselves, ventured into different directions. The band regrouped briefly in recent years before vocalist Rob Rinehart's difficulties with singing sidelined him temporarily. The vocalist became a born again Christian and formed a band called Oil. Former member
Gene Hogland remains one of the best drummers in the metal underground, playing with such bands as Death, Testament, Strapping Young Lad, Dethklok,
and currently with the reunited Fear Factory.