Review Summary: A fun and rather necessary German thrash album
Though they may not be the most popular thrash band out of Germany, Vendetta is certainly one of less shameful examples. The band's sophomore effort,
Brain Damage, shows the listener good, complex, and often stylistic thrash. The riffs in this album go everywhere, songs very rarely follow a specific pattern for longer than 10 seconds, so if you're used to hearing a constant, and monotonous metal album, prepare to have your interests revitalized. The guitar can go from solid riffage, to ripping solos in the blink of an eye. This album also contains something that might draw in a larger audience, (in the sense of course that more people knew about this jewel) and that is the vocalist NOT using a high pitched voice like Agent Steel, Anthrax, or Toxik. For some reason, people find that this makes a thrash album more attractive. I never understood it, but hey, I guess we all have our tastes.
The album starts off with
War, a beautiful introduction to a beautiful album. A simple drum line met with a grooving base line, suddenly slams into loud and proud riffs that can't be denied. The whole song carries a unique riff pattern that's hard not to appreciate, and if the guitars don't get you, then the vocals should do the trick. Achim and Michael have one of my most favorite dual vocal setups in all of thrash, and
War is a perfect display of that talent. The 3rd track,
Conversation unleashes another perk to this album: a solo of raging proportions. But seriously, we're not talking about the incredibly boring, 3-notes-on-repeat solo that I’ve heard here and there on another record, but solos that actually sound like effort was put into them.
The 5th track,
Never Die might be the closest we get in this album where a song basically drags along, and is really not that necessary. Don't get me wrong, the song has a great rhythm to it, and the vocals rule, and it's incredibly fast, but I just feel like I wouldn't miss it if it weren't there. There are just too many other songs on this album that could easily take its place, plus it's bare 2 and a half minutes in length. The next track however,
Love Song, starts off with a loud introduction, and breaks down into a sick base line, similar to that that you'll here in the beginning of the album, and the verse takes off, and isn't it ever a glorious trip. But once again, the song is short, simple, and to the point.
And so, for most of the album, you get an exciting, not so easily ignored song list that does well to keep the listener on his toes the whole time, instead of letting him/her drown in quicksand. Why, the 7th track, [Fade to Insanity[/b], an instrumental track, might get you smiling in the beginning due to the classy intro. Once the song gets going, this 7 minute masterpiece never fails to disappoint, and I'd probably have to say this is my most favorite track on the album. The bass can be heard grooving in the background, but won't take your mind off of what's important: an incredibly awesome thrash album by the good men of Vendetta.
So to conclude, to wrap it all up, the final word, this is not a boring album. Probably the greatest perk on the album right there. The guitars are unique, the vocals are unique, and everything about this album cannot be easily cloned. There's barely anything that would require a change, other than a couple filler tracks, and incredibly minor instances where the riffs might seem a little under par, and I’m really nitpicking here.
