It always seemed to me that unlike the general public (66 % on MA), I don't hate
Cryptic Writings, on the contrary, I always felt like I was the album's (and, to a degree,
Risk's) apologist. Honestly, I don't even mind thrash bands doing this type of punk-ish throwback, since I for example utterly love Anthrax's Got the Time. Also Friedman sounds really great. In fact, the song sounds quite a bit like a more mainstream version of Toxic Holocaust (who would come later, but have the same throwback energy)
And I mean that as a compliment.
Damage, Inc. is a great hectic closer, which admittedly helps salvage the B-side of the album, since Disposable Heroes are overlong and kinda pale next to the title track, Leper Messiah with its constipated feel really kills the momentum and Orion... is a bit incoherent and overlong too. Excepting the intro, which should have been much shorter or even cut altogether, the song is appropriately frantic, the riffs are awesome and the start-stop method is rather cool.
These songs are more similar to each other than I would expect from a random number generator and both should, indeed, be here, since there have been much worse ones previously, I might just as well vote for either, but I'm feeling like supporting the underdog here.
Megadeth.
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Ah, the famous
Crimson Idol album. I admit it is one of my bigger omissions in the metal world, however you can't really blame me - what would an Italian-descended Czech Catholic be doing listening to a band that puts their White Anglo-Saxon Protestantism right there in their name?
I'm not really sure what I expected, taking into consideration the album's immaculate reputation and the length of the track, but it surely wasn't a "love, set me free" power ballad. Really, I like it, it's perfectly crafted, catchy, very sentimental, very beautiful. And yet, my immediate reaction was "that's it?"
Of course I would bring out the lighter to swing it with gusto, but with me, you never can tell whether it's not just that aforementioned Italian heritage giving me a certain predisposition to liking the sticky sweet, the sentimental and the kitschy.
I am somewhat surprised that
nobody has voted for the KK song as of yet. I mean, I weren't exactly inclined to check the band out, seeing as I don't listen even to Priest proper much nowadays, let alone this spin-off, but this song is rather good, in fact I could definitely do with tracks like these on the somewhat overrated
Firepower album. I'm honestly surprised at both how the lesser guitarist from the JP can captivate me with merely the guitars so much, at how great Ripper Owens sounds - and always have and probably always will - and at how sufficiently epic this all feels. To speak complete truth, I think that they should have come back from the subdued section, ending the song on a faster/heavy note again... but then, maybe not, that would be much more clichéd approach and this gives it a certain untrivial feel, like the one I appreciate on 'Arry's Hell on Earth.
Quite intrigued to check out both albums as I am, I can't help myself but to go against the landslide and vote (quite unexpectedly) for
KK's Priest, because the song definitely deserves not to end up having
zero votes altogether. Also, for better or worse, it is the less "American" of the two songs.
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The next match is ridiculously easy - Wake Up Dead is one of the better tracks off
Peace Sells - just listen to the guitars! - the jagged, always sarcastic attitude is invigorating and quite addictive and yes, while not the best track ever or anything, it's about a million times better than Chemical Warfare.
I don't like Slayer and I especially don't like early Slayer. Araya sounds way too often like an inebriated Chad Kroeger, there is absolutely nothing memorable whatsoever, like I said - when I want brutal thrash, I usually check out the Germans or Morbid Saint or even the early death metal albums, this is just too much neither here nor there. I guess I could get used to it, but why bother?
Megadave.
I'll try to put Part 2 here soon.
