Could we really spend a week on Bay Area related posts without some bonafide puffy sneaker thrash? Okay, so here is Vio-lence's 1988 debut Eternal Nightmare, a record, that for me, is somewhat marred by the rather choppy, one-dimensional performance of vocal dude, Sean Killian. However, Eternal Nightmare packs so much chunky wallop and delicious riffery that I can live with whatever Mr. Killian is arbitrarily shouting at me in lilting staccato. Vio-lence often sounded like a less skilled Slayer meets a more skilled Kreator, seriously, not a bad thing at all.
17 comments:
Sean Killian is one of those vocalists most either like or really, really hate. He's one dimensional but the riffs are so awesome on this record you can't help not wanting to give it another spin and forgive him. Definitely one of my favorite thrash albums.
Kill on Command!
I always liked sean killian's voice. Kinda snotty and punk sounding, imo.
Nicely done Aesop! This is my all-time favourite Bay Area thrash record. I love the way that the whole thing sounds and feels like it's teetering on the edge of chaos, like if they play just a li'l bit faster, they'll fall apart. KILLER.
oh yes! what i love about this album is that it really does sound as if it all held together by the thinest of threads, that at any moment everything might go spinning out of control and the whole juggernaut will go careening off the edge of the canyon to a screaming, fiery death- but what keeps it on track is the determination of 5 young metalheads to crack your thick skulls- and i reckon killians vocals just add to the madness of it all, an acquired taste for sure- one of my desert island discs
I've seen them twice and both times were totally out of control. These guys outshined all their contemporaries on the stage.
Just saw Forbidden play last night, go 49ers!
I checked it out when this was released and every 3-5 yrs give it another chance and I still can't get into it.
It's like Bobcat Goldtwait's little brother sang in a thrash band.
awesome album cover.. thanks for this
"less skilled Slayer meets a more skilled Kreator"
that's your byline right there
I learned about this from The Wire
The only thing u get wrong is when u say that Slayer is more skilled than Kreator.
they took that "Bonded By Blood" raging,badass downpicking riff style and came up with killer songs on this album that were fucking rad live. i like sean killians voice- it was better than that "good singer" shit those other bay area bands were doing then- plus dude ruled it live. so many killer riffs- this album is bitchin thanx for posting it homes
HUGE props for posting this record, Aesop. Eternal Nightmare fucking rules. In the canon of 80's thrash, this one never got the esteem it deserved. Maybe Killian's vocals turned folks off, but to me they only add to the unhinged nature of the whole affair. I understand the "less skilled Slayer" comparison, but the relentless tide of riffery makes me appreciate it (as a whole) more than any Slayer record, with the exception of Reign in Blood.
I am loving the Hearse lately. That Mingus post a couple of weeks back is amazing.
this album got me into a thrash phase, listening to everything that's mad and wants to kill, awesome riffs, and i really like sean killian's vocals, sounds like an angry teenager
If you haven't heard the Violence demo on Mechanic records you should give it a listen. I have it posted on my blog and I have always enjoyed the demo more than any other Violence release.
I've never listened to this band, but I remember seeing the full-page ad for it in Circus magazine (or was it Metal Edge?) in 1988(?)... I was 11 or 12, just getting into metal, listening to "Uncle Miltie's Staying Groovy Set" after Virgin Vinyl on KUPD in Phoenix (before moving to [*shudder*] Missouri just in time for the 8th grade... but I digress). Anyway, I remember digging the badass album art. My parents probably still have that magazine in a box somewhere in their basement. Thanks for the burst of nostalgia.
Good to see all the love for this album. It sounds as fresh today as it did the year it was released. One of the best thrash albums of all-time. Killan's vokills, somehow, make this record what it is... frickin' awesome.
I like this guy's vocals. He brings a sort of Jello Biafra over-dramatic fun to the staccato spitting out of words. Far better than the guy from Atrophy, for example.
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