Demolition Hammer Epidemic Of Violence (Thrash Metal) (5/5)

Riffing is an art that has, unfortunately, been drowned out by the wad of commercially oriented garbage released today. In what reality could bands such as Bring Me The Horizon, Black Veil Brides or Bullet For My Valentine stand toe to toe with a titan such as Megadeth, Iron Maiden, Kreator or Slayer? There is perhaps one particular sub genre of metal in which the riff is everything, that makes or breaks the album. This is, of course, thrash metal, and few bands could boast such riffs as Demolition Hammer.

Formed in 1986, the first album released by this band almost missed the window for key thrash releases, being released in 1990. Tortured Existance was a poorly produced album, with very few standout tracks, but still retained an intense feel to it, and hinted at the absolute thrash monster of an album that would be released two years later. Demolition Hammer had laid their blue print of aggressive vocals, killer drumming and insanely talented guitar work, but their masterpiece was to come.

Fast forward to 1992, and Epidemic Of Violence was released, combining blinding speed with highly technical and well written guitar riffs, as well as some crazy drum work and some of the most demented thrash vocals this side of Sodom. Clocking in at 40 minutes, with 9 songs speaking of various acts of violence, there are very few bands out there that can lay claim to the throne of thrash metal kings quite as well as Demolition Hammer.

From the opening of Skull Fracturing Nightmare, the listener instantly knows they are in for a treat. The master craft riff work is right at the forefront, with Derek Sykes and James Reilly really thrashing away. The vocals from Steve Reynolds spew absolute venom, without ever sounding too ridiculous. The drumming from Alex Marquez may well be some of the best in the thrash genre. He is completely flawless throughout this release, keeping a solid rhythm, and with some crazy speed changes.

Pyroclastic Annihilation has some of the best riffs found throughout the album, with a huge amount of them and not one being sub standard. This song is very technically written, and has some very well formed changes in tempo that give it somewhat of a progressive nature, but without ever forgetting that it is on a thrash album. The vocals add to the intensity somewhat, and even the bass is completely audible, as with the rest of the album, clunking along forming some nice grooves for the rest of the band to build upon. The riff at about 3.00 is undoubtably one of the best written riffs in thrash metal history. This song stands head on with such thrash classics as Holy Wars and Angel Of Death as one of the best thrash songs in history.

The leads for this album are unnaturally talented, being both fast and listenable. Seriously, there are very few people who can lay down solos quite as intense or well written as the two guitarists on this album, with their interchanging leads that add to the heavy nature of the release perfectly without ever distracting from the big picture.

Throughout this entire release, the listener is gifted unrivalled brutality, that savagely assaults his or her ears until they feel they can take no more, and even then it does not relent. This is a dark, evil journey through the twisted violent impulses that only Demolition Hammer can deliver through their fast, technical, guitar lead assault. This album comes highly recommended to absolutely anyone into any form of metal. For some, it can be a gate way into heavier music, and for others it can be a reminder of what real guitar work is all about. Either way, just buy the fucking album. 5/5