Devastation “Idolatry” CD

Yet another example of why I love me some god damn thrash metal. Devastation hailed from Corpus Christi, TX and released three records from the late-80's to the early-90's. Their debut wasn't that hot, their sophomore effort was much better but nothing to write home about, and then it happened: "Idolatry", most definitely one of the finest examples of ridiculously beefy and true to form thrash metal following the 80's heyday of the genre. Now, they weren't the most original band on the planet (this record in particular is often compared to Dark Angel for a reason), but there are no snoozers within the eight tracks that make up this album. The band was all about riff after riff after riff in slightly long songs averaging five to seven minutes apiece, bordering on early death metal influences at times, but never going quite that far. And if there's one thing I love, it's a pedal to the metal thrash track with a two-minute intro of nothing but thick, dissonant guitars and churning picking patterns. This record's full of that shit, too. Seriously, this is without a doubt one of the last great thrash records that hit the streets before grunge devoured metal, and these guys never got even close to the level of attention they deserved. It was actually hard to choose which two songs to post. "Forsaken Hatred" was the easy pick as it's the definitive classic of the disc (the intro alone is pure gold), but "Legacy of Faith" is energetic as fuck, even though the title track's burly midpaced chugging and textbook acoustic intro won out in the end.

If you dig real deal thrash metal and these tunes don't make you go apeshit, you're an idiot:

Devastation "Forsaken Hatred"
Devastation "Idolatry"

Like many releases on the once mighty Combat* label, this disc was remastered and reissued in Europe a few years ago with a handful of live bonus tracks. I actually haven't picked up the reissue yet because money's tight, but the Cyclone Temple remaster was so strong that I ought to stop slacking and grab that shit while it's still readily available:

@ The End Records

*As an aside, I'd just like to send the most enormous "Fuck you." of all time out to the shitwad morons at "Combat" (and I use that designation quite loosely) for recently relaunching the label in order to cash in on the bullshit deluge of metalcore nonsense currently plaguing the scene these days. To even attempt to consider the notion that one of the greatest thrash labels of all time (once home to fucking Megadeth, Nuclear Assault, Exodus, Death, Dark Angel, Forbidden, Possessed, Devastation, Cyclone Temple, god damn Venom... and tons more) will be the new home for fucking bullshit tripe like Horse the Band is absolutely disgusting and inconceivable. A complete and utter disgrace to the legacy of the label. And even more so what with so many contemporary bands who are deserving of an established label to call home making a solid run of retro thrash in the proper sense. So fuck you, fuck your silly new logo of a panther eating a tank (What the hell!?), and fuck your limp-wristed roster of shamefully embarrassing metalcore. You make me sick, and I hope this endeavor tanks in the most financially disastrous manner possible for all parties involved. Fuck you, fuck you very much, and goodnight.