Customer Reviews

Mind Wars / Terror & Submission

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The editorial review for this album states that Rob Flynn of Machine Head was in Holy Terror back in the 1980's. Nothing could be further from the truth. At the time, Rob Flynn was in a second rate thrash band from San Francisco called Violence (actually I think it was Vio-Lence).

TERROR AND SUBMISSION & MIND WARS were two very good metal albums when they came out in the late 1980's. I still have the cassettes and started listening to them again earlier this year. I thought it was time to upgrade to CDs. Unfortunately, Blackened Records only did a fair job with the re-issue here. In particular, the re-mastering of TERROR AND SUBMISSION was poorly done. The guitars have been pushed way up in the mix. Being a guitar nut, I would ordinarily approve of this. However, Holy Terror was a complete band with a very good rythm section (particularly bassist Floyd Flannary). Listening to the CD of TERROR AND SUBMISSION was almost uncomfortable for me. It just felt unbalanced. Mike Alvord's guitar, which is panned to the left, has a scratchy sound to it at times that wasn't there when the album was originally released. The track-order on the Blackened Records release is different as well. When TERROR AND SUBMISSION first came out on Roadrunner Records, the track listing was as follows:

1. Evil's Rising

2. Mortal Fear

3. Distant Calling

4. Alpha Omega - The Bringer Of Balance

5. Blood Of The Saints

6. Black Plague

7. Terror And Submission

8. Tomorrow's End

9. Guardians Of The Netherworld

For some reason, I found the different track-order to be a bit distracting. However, if you've never heard the album before, I'm sure you won't notice. MIND WARS is much better. The CD sounds great and the track-order is the same as when the album was originally released. My only complaint is that there is a minor skip near the end of "Judas Reward" (that may just be on my copy though). MIND WARS is also more raw sounding than TERROR AND SUBMISSION.

Holy Terror was labeled as a thrash band, but I would disagree with that assessment. True, Holy Terror had some fast songs, but they had more in common with the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal bands that came out in the late 1970's / early 1980's than with the thrash bands that followed. In other words, Holy Terror had more melody in their sound than groups like Slayer or Possessed. For example, "Guardians Of The Netherworld" almost sounds like something Judas Priest would come up with. Singer Keith Deen had a cleaner vocal style as well. Guitarists Kurt Kilfelt and Mike Alvord could flat out PLAY. Listening to them trade lead breaks back and forth on "Tomorrow's End" is a guitar player's wet dream. Kilfelt is more the shredder type, while Alvord displays more melody. Alvord's solo on "Terror And Submission" is a masterpiece.

Hopefully, another record label will be able to secure the rights to TERROR AND SUBMISSION and do a proper job of re-mastering it.

The thing that bothers me most about a good albulm such as Terror and Submission, is that good music hardly ever gets recognized. Sure there are various other bands with suposed talent...yeah right. Most bands of today really suck, but yet there are a few underground groups that remain undiscovered. It's a shame that this group went to waste, especially with good vocals, music, and lyrics. Most bands of today don't offer 1 of the 3 traits of a good albulm as I have mentioned above. If I could go higher than 5 stars for Terror and Submission...I would

Both of these albums are among my favorite all time Thrash masterpieces, however, as a collector I feel obligated to let would be buyers know that on track 3 of Mind Wars on this set, on the song "The Immortal Wasteland", there is a defect... a digital POP / SKIP in the song that is quite noticable. It is clearly an issue on the master itself, as the CD I had was brand new and scratch free. You would be better off tracking down the japanese import or the original 1988 RC disc of MIND WARS if you want to hear the album completely defect free. I know for some it will not be a big deal, and without this obvious defect, I would have rated this set a 5, however, if Powerage, the now defunct label who released this 2 CD set had taken better care to inspect the master before it went to press, the MIND WARS disc would have been flawless.

"Mind Wars", one of the excellent albums included in this two-disc set, is easily one of the most underrated thrash/metal albums of all time. The vocal arrangements on Mind Wars are absolutely amazing, and the vocal style ranges from thrashy growling to melodic clean vocals. The music is generally fast throughout, and sounds genuinely passionate. It is a shame that this band never recieved the recognition they deserve from the metal community... pick this one up and give it a chance!

Man! I've been looking for Terror and Submission on CD for years. This is great stuff for those who remember what good metal was, back before Metallica's infamous "black album."

I've tried for 6 years to find this music on the file sharing sites and you can't find it anywhere. I gladly bought these albums because it was some stuff I really enjoyed back in the late 80's. This is some really great fast paced metal! I love it!

Both of these albums are among my favorite all time Thrash masterpieces, however, as a collector I feel obligated to let would be buyers know that on track 3 of Mind Wars on this set, on the song "The Immortal Wasteland", there is a defect... a digital POP / SKIP in the song that is quite noticable. It is clearly an issue on the master itself, as the CD I had was brand new and scratch free. You would be better off tracking down the japanese import or the original 1988 RC disc of MIND WARS if you want to hear the album completely defect free. I know for some it will not be a big deal, and without this obvious defect, I would have rated this set a 5, however, if Powerage, the now defunct label who released this 2 CD set had taken better care to inspect the master before it went to press, the MIND WARS disc would have been flawless.

DON'T BUY THE BLACKEND REISSUE!!!

THIS CD SET IS DEFECTIVE!!

YOU WILL BE AS DISAPPOINTED AS I AM IF YOU SPEND YOUR MONEY ON THIS PIECE OF GARBAGE! BLACKEND IS A DEAD-END! NO LIE!

FIND THE ORIGINAL PRESSINGS ON R/C RECORDS.