ABATTOIR - THE ONLY SAFE PLACE
A New Beginning...
After Abattoir's debut album Vicious Attack all members except Mark Caro and Mel Sanchez left the band, so Abattoir was forced to start all over again. Mark and Mel soon found new members and the new lineup handles their seperate instruments well. Guitar virtuoso Juan Garcia (Agent Steel & EvilDead) left the band and perhaps that was the beginning of the end for Abattoir since they disbanded a year later. Anyhow, soundwise there are hints of Savage Grace but you can also expect some Maiden-ish melodies. New vocalist Mike Towers has a good voice, but nothing exceptional. If you think of the stereotypical metal sound of the 80's, Abattoir has it, Maybe not that unique and not much that sets them apart yet their musicianship is somewhat strong and compelling. The production of this album is better than the debut even if the music itself is a bit plain and unoffensive. Maybe Abattoir played it too safe here. It's the Only Safe Place after all.
Soon after the release of the album Abattoir disbanded for the first time and even if the band has done a few reunions since then they never managed to release a studio album. Which was unevitable I guess since this type of music was replaced with death and thrash metal towards the late eighties. No matter what Abattoir will always be in the history books for being one of those few American Speed Metal bands that actually managed to get not only one record out but two. The Only Safe Place is a good album but not an album that made Abattoir into a household name like their neighbours in Agent Steel. The Only Safe Space is a cool album but it has fallen into obscurity over the last couple of years.
After Abattoir's debut album Vicious Attack all members except Mark Caro and Mel Sanchez left the band, so Abattoir was forced to start all over again. Mark and Mel soon found new members and the new lineup handles their seperate instruments well. Guitar virtuoso Juan Garcia (Agent Steel & EvilDead) left the band and perhaps that was the beginning of the end for Abattoir since they disbanded a year later. Anyhow, soundwise there are hints of Savage Grace but you can also expect some Maiden-ish melodies. New vocalist Mike Towers has a good voice, but nothing exceptional. If you think of the stereotypical metal sound of the 80's, Abattoir has it, Maybe not that unique and not much that sets them apart yet their musicianship is somewhat strong and compelling. The production of this album is better than the debut even if the music itself is a bit plain and unoffensive. Maybe Abattoir played it too safe here. It's the Only Safe Place after all.
Soon after the release of the album Abattoir disbanded for the first time and even if the band has done a few reunions since then they never managed to release a studio album. Which was unevitable I guess since this type of music was replaced with death and thrash metal towards the late eighties. No matter what Abattoir will always be in the history books for being one of those few American Speed Metal bands that actually managed to get not only one record out but two. The Only Safe Place is a good album but not an album that made Abattoir into a household name like their neighbours in Agent Steel. The Only Safe Space is a cool album but it has fallen into obscurity over the last couple of years.
Rating:
| INFO |
Label: Combat Year: 1986 Country: U.S.A. Duration: 42:01 Tracks: 10 Genre: Speed / Power Reviewer: Ruthless Rating: 3.5/5 | |||
| TRACKS | LINEUP | ||
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