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August 29, 2008 |
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01. Hate Machine
02. Invincible
03. Barely Human
04. Ungodly
05. Wrong Place, Right Time
06. Rigid
07. Bloodbath
08. Hell Song
09. Motor Psycho
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I've read numerous, almost unanimously positive reviews for this CD since its release several months back during the second half of '04, and frankly I'm perplexed. Really. I just don't get it, man. I found it far beyond difficult to even listen to this through to its final, blessed conclusion let alone find anything rewarding, or praise-worthy to say about it. As a result, I find myself left with a nagging feeling of doubt. What am I missing? What is it that I'm either hearing or not hearing on this recording that makes me want to hammer-smash the stereo into frikkin' smithereens while so many of my fellow Metal scribes the world over are drooling all over it as though it were the second coming of 'Powerslave', or 'Master Of Puppets', or...or...whatever else a self-respecting rivethead would consider worthy of the raised-horns salute. You get where I'm coming from I'm sure.
My first exposure to Boston Thrashers MELIAH RAGE (currently featuring Anthony Nichols/guitar, Jim Koury/guitar, Jesse Johnson/bass, Paul Souza/vox, and Barry Spillberg/drums) initially came about around '90-'91 via their 'The Witching' video which, like many denim 'n leather-clad youngsters in Canada at the time, I experienced via MuchMusic's then-great 'The Power Hour' Metal show. It was a sweet track too! Great dark, melodic Thrash with a solid riff and stellar vocals c/o then-lead-pipesman Mike Munro. Well, suffice to say my friends and I were impressed enough to seek out and purchase the 'Solitary Solitude' (followup to the '85 debut 'Kill To Survive') album. After a couple a' spins we were, well...disappointed to say the least. It appeared that 'The Witching' was the only track that inspired any of us into headbanging abandon. It wasn't so much that the album sucked horrendously.
It was more a case of one great track followed by a steadily declining succession of tracks that were just kind of...'there'. It was just a very flat experience as albums go. Nothing more. Nothing less. To this day I am baffled that these guys were signed to a label as big as Epic at the time. Very weird indeed.
Well, at the risk of sounding like an arrogant jerk I guess we weren't the only ones who felt that way. Despite a very brief fifteen minutes in the proverbial spotlight, MELIAH RAGE were given the boot by Epic. As the lineup dissipated, MELIAH RAGE faded but quick into the mists of Metal's 'Where are they now?' void, resurfacing briefly again in 1995 with the release of 'Death Valley Dreams', which saw mixed reviews and a short tour before the band - again - just dropped right off the map into obscurity for another nine years.
Which brings us to the present (well...sort of). In 2004, along with the addition of new vocalist Souza and drummer Spillberg, MELIAH RAGE have returned for one more kick at the can. Unlike me, Screaming Ferret Wreckords/Escapi obviously saw some sort of potential hidden in the band and picked them up. The result of this is of course, 'Barely Human'.
So where to begin? Again, I have read reams of notes from other writers about how the riffs on this are 'old school', yet simultaneously 'fresh' and 'energized'. Apparently the songs are 'extremely infectious', 'catchy', and...oh I don't know. Let's just say I beg to differ. Whatever the case - again - I just don't hear what it is about this album that so many are loving. Not a note. I found this release to be just plain boring, uninspiring, and - as was the case almost fifteen years ago with 'Solitary Solitude' - flat and lacking in anything resembling heft or hook. And hey, this is nothing personal either. This is just my flat-out, straight-up my opinion of this thing...after three or four listens on different systems no less. It really does sound just as bad at home as it does in the car! I mean, the production is admittedly just fine. Everything rumbles along with a more than acceptable clarity and tone. It's more a matter of how pedestrian and dated the riffs on offer are here.
You really have heard this all before - believe me - and likely delivered with more fire and hunger at that. Plus, there's something about the choice of melodies in the choruses as translated through Souza's faux-bluesy, heard-it-all-before-in-a-gazillion-small-town-bars, Coors-Light-soaked vocals which remind me a helluva lot of fellow dated Metal peer Jon Thor of THOR fame. In fact, this whole album reminds me a lot of what I imagine a THOR album would sound like if graced with decent production values and slightly-better-than-has-been-the-case-thus-far riffs. I'll say no more on the subject than that. The only glimmer of light in the dark of this album shines through on fairly decent power ballad 'Ungodly' which somehow hits upon a catchy central riff that makes me think that this could have been a pretty cool METALLICA tune had Hetfield and Ulrich Inc. gotten their hands on it somewherez circa the release of ‘'The Black Album'. Oh well. No great loss either way.
At the end of the day MELIAH RAGE once again prove that - admirable soldiering-on of it all aside - they are indeed to Metal what Pauly Shore is to Comedy (in my opinion): outdated and out of gas. 'Barely Human' really does sound like listening to an unsigned, local act from Wherever, U.S.A. Sorry...I realize I've been pretty scathing here, but honestly, given the sheer amount of - IMO - inexplicable and undeserved praise this album has garnered thus far, I feel that an honest, flipside opinion needs to be expressed. Seriously, if I had actually shelled out $20 for this sight unseen/unheard as opposed to receiving it as a free promo...I would be ticked off. Unless real meat n' potatoes, nothing-out-of-the-ordinary, blue-collar Metal is your be-all, end-all...I daresay you will be too. Do yourself a favour and check out recent releases from DEATH ANGEL or METAL CHURCH instead if late-80's/early 90's Thrash Metal is what you're hankering for.
Initial pressing also contains 'Bonus' disc 'Unfinished Business', a somewhat heavier, thrashier demo recording from days of MELIAH-yore as well as an interview segment. Also nothing to write home about.
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