Artillery- Fear of tomorrow

Not exactly a proper review per se, but just an album I had to talk about and it also ties into my lost treasures post from the other week. I am still working on that Spreading the disease review and I promise it will be out next week. Anyway, this was the 1985 debut from Artillery who are from Denmark. I think that I may have heard one song by them on a compilation in the mid 80's, but I remember very little about it. What I do remember are some good reviews on this album and their second one as well. Artillery were a band whose albums never showed up on the shelf of any store I went to and I may have bought them if they had because I was aware of their good reputation. However, they were a band whose album I often considered ordering while looking at catalogs such as Metal Disc. For one reason or another, I always chose something else. The other day I was surprised to see this cd at the record store for a decent price because I was under the impression it was out of print and was an import. I bought it knowing with my luck that it may not be there when I came back again. My expectations were it would be good if not spectacular and that's close but not entirely true. Right away I was surprised at just how heavy these guys were. Not heavy by today's standards, but when compared to other 1985 releases by bands like Slayer, Exodus and Destruction it was heavier than those guys at times. There were songs that dragged, the vocals seem a bit dated by today's standards and there are times where the production is a little fuzzy, but there were times when they spot on with riffs and double bass drums
were sounding like thunder. More than half the songs have some really heavy riffs going on and not just noise like Possessed, but rather really tight riffs. I can't help but think this album had a some influence on Slayer's Reign in blood. You have to listen very closely to a few songs and realize that this album came out in between Hell Awaits and Reign. The other band this album may have influenced is Sodom. Sodom's first two releases were average at best, but by 1988's Persecution Mania they had adopted a heavier, sharper sound. The sound that dominates Sodom's Persecution Mania and Agent Orange can be heard on a few songs on Artillery's debut. Artillery's second album Terror Squad is supposed to be even better, but it is out of print. Their third album 1990's By Inheritance received generally average reviews. The band broke up in the early 90's but came back just a few years ago with a reunion album called B.A.C.K.
Artillery's Fear of Tomorrow may not be a classic, but it has a lot to offer. For one reason or another they may not have gotten the credit they deserved for being an influential early speed metal band. Still they have impressed me enough to keep a lookout for their other releases.