ARTILLERY - FEAR OF TOMORROW
THE FIRST SCANDINAVIAN THRASH RECORD.
In 1985 the notorious NWOBHM-label Neat Records signed a rather anonymous Danish metal band that played really, really fast. Neat were of course a legendary label that had bands like Avenger, Venom, Warfare, Blitzkrieg and Raven signed to them. So when they signed this unknown band from Taastrup, Denmark. It was in line with the signings they had done in the past but with one difference, these guys were from Denmark and not England.
With the backing of Neat Records, Artillery then went into the El Sound Studio in Copenhagen to record what became the first ever Scandinavian thrash metal record. At least if you disallow Bathory's more Black metal sounding 1984 debut.
In fact Artillery were real early with their brand of frenetic metal, their early demos dates back to 1983, so Artillery could be seen as one of the originators of the thrash metal style.
Like most pre-1986 debut albums "Fear of Tomorrow" is considered a classic, it's a record filled with lots of bravado, speed and aggression. This is certainly their most 'early Slayer' sounding record. One could claim that Artillery never recorded such a fierce record ever again because the band evolved more towards the Metallica meets Testament field on later releases. But you can hear that the band had some serious instrumental skills, even if it's a bit sloppy in a mid-eighties fashion.
"Fear Of Tomorrow" is not a flawless album, the production is old school sounding and on the low-budget side, which I certainly can dig. So don't expect this to sound like 'By Inheritance' or any of their more power metal leaning records of late.
Flemming Ronsdorf's quirky vocals was the thing that made Artillery stand out from the pack and on Fear of Tomorrow he delivers perhaps the best performance of his career. Fear of Tomorrow is highly recommended album and a must if you're into the first wave of thrash (1983-1985).
Rating:
| INFO |
Label: Neat Records Year: 1985 Country: Denmark Duration: 41:29 Tracks: 9 Genre: Thrash Reviewer: Ruthless Rating: 4.5/5 | ||
| TRACKS | LINEUP | |
| Flemming Rönsdorf - Vocals Michael Stützer - Guitars Morten Stützer - Bass Jörgen Sandau - Guitars Carsten Nielsen - Drums |
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