Customer Reviews

Unstoppable Force/Mad Locust Rising

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In their mid 80s heyday, this Los Angeles band managed to generate quite a buzz among underground metal circles, thanks in no small part to its original sound, brutal enough to attract thrashers, but at the same brimming with enough technicality and melodic ideas to attract more traditional minded metal fans.
Despite releasing two albums and an EP that are still regarded as 80s metal classics, the band never really took off, mostly because of Combat Record's inability to promote their work correctly and partly because of musical differences within the group's creative core, vocalist John Cyriis and guitarist Juan Garcia.
The music on this, their second album, sounds very similar to German proto speed metal bands of the era like Rage, Running Wild and Helloween, but with a much harsher guitar sound, less emphasis on major key melodies, some Mercyful Fate inspired progressive tricks and a more pounding rhythm section, a sound that Annihilator would popularize a few years later. John Cyriis' vocals sound eerily similar to Rob Halford's earlier work, using his impressive range and screaming to color the songs, yet he also showing restrain when it's called for, in a style very similar to Queensryche's Geof Tate.
So, in closing, this can be an extremely satisfying album for any serious 80s heavy metal fan. Watch out for the import edition, which includes the Mad Locust EP.
USeless Metal Trivia Note # 1: Guitarist Juan Garcia would resurface later on Evildead, a very accomplished thrash band on its own right.
Useless Metal Trivia Note # 2: The band reformed in 1999 without John Cyriis and has released three albums since, despite the vocalist's threats of legal action regarding the use of the name.