Abattoir 'Vicious Attack'

Abattoir - Vicious Attack (Roadrunner 1985)

An ominous thunder storm sets the scene as the Abattoir boys launch into 'Screams from the Grave' spitting forth such lyrical genius such as 'The grinding of metal, the clashing of steel, blood chilling screams streak thru the night'! Yes, this record ticks a number of boxes which those who throw disdain upon the majesty of metal will immediately pick up on. Slightly dodgy cover seemingly depicting the 'Maniac', of the song 'Vicious Attack (Maniac), tussling with a victim, songs about war, metal, maniacs, evil and a mediocre cover version of the Motorhead standard 'Ace of Spades' - it's all here.

I picked this up in Avalanche records next to Queen Street station. I finally relented after about a year of seeing it sitting in the second hand section gentling pining for me to put it out of its misery. It's on Roadrunner which is (was) a fairly reliable label and the thanks list mentions Megadeth, Slayer and Metallica so I thought it was worth a punt.

It fairly average fare to be honest, Abattoir inhabit that metal middle ground between Judas Priest and thrash metal. This was often called 'Power Metal' or maybe 'Speed Metal' (basically speeded up Priest/Maiden) and it was a genre I never really got to grips with as it was never really heavy enough and the vocalists were often too 'air raid siren' for my liking. This kind of stuff is having a huge resurgence at the moment; particularly in Scandinavia where the kids are adopting the full 'sleeveless denim over a leather' look in their droves. The band sum this look up perfectly and do look pretty cool if you like that sort of thing. It does have elements of Agent Steel and Judas Priest (even a hint of Nuclear Assault on 'Game of Death') and Mel Sanchez is a demon on the four strings; like Frank Bello meets Steve Harris.

Not a particularly special record to me although it does remind me of train journeys to Weegieland to practice with The Process. I'm going to prise this off the deathdeck and hope for better tomorrow!

Peace