Onslaught - Killing Peace
Candlelight Records - CDL318 - March 6th 2007
By Michael Koger
It seems like every band from the 80s has been coming out of the woodwork in the past couple of years. UK thrashers
Onslaught are just the latest ones who played their first show in over a decade in 2005. After a couple of lineup changes, vocalist Sy Keeler returning to the band, and a flashy production job courtesy of
Sabbat axeman/produce extraordinaire Andy Sneap, we are presented with
Killing Peace,
Onslaught's first album in nearly twenty years.
The album opens up with the simply titled track,
'Burn'. Headbanging riffs, pummelling drums, and anti-christian lyrics...sounds like a thrash record to me. Sy Keeler's vocals have definitely changed since 1986's
The Force, but he still shows that he can keep up with the best. Age means nothing to these guys. The lyrics can be a bit cheesy at times. Take a look at these lines from the opener:
"I hate you religiously/I hate you relentlessly/I hate your philosophy/I hate christianity". It's not hard to see where the band stands on Christianity. Lyrics like this are littered throughout the album. It slightly reminds me of early
Slayer. Keeler's cheesy lyrics aside, the man can still sing. On the third track,
'Destroyer of Worlds', we hear how fast he can sing the chorus (which is a litany of people who are going to die) without getting tongue tied. It's quite amazing and dizzying at the same time. The choruses are catchy, and you might even find yourself singing them long after the album is over. The vocals, ranging from semi death growls to nicely pulled off screams, are clear and audible.
The music isn't overly complex. This isn't
Coroner (though they should reunite as well).
Onslaught set out to write a thrash record, and that they did. A lot of thrash purists will cry blasphemy at the modern sounding production.
Onslaught recorded
The Force in 1986, and they weren't going to do it again 21 years later. This is how modern thrash should sound: Uncomprising and heavy. You can hear every instrument, and the mix is just perfect (something standard for Andy Sneap). There is a fair amount of tempo variation but not enough to distinguish the tracks from one another. This may be the one downfall of the record. If the music doesn't showcase anything memorable, it relies on the vocals being memorable, which they are for the most part. There are memorable hooks on a few of the tracks but not every one.
Killing Peace is nothing new, but it's a hell of a lot of fun to listen to. Put it on nice and loud, have some friends over, open some beers and rock out.
Official Onslaught Website
Official Candlelight Records Website
