Re-animator-Condemned to eternity/Deny Reality

Kraze
1989/1990/2011

In the late 80's-early 90's thrash bands were popping up everywhere. The UK was no exception. Although not nearly the hot spot of say Germany or the Bay area of the United States they still had several bands churning out high powered thrash for a few years like Onslaught, Acid Reign, Sabbat and Xentrix. One of the better acts out of that bunch in my mind was Re-Animator. The band recorded a two song demo in 1988 and managed to secure a record deal with Music For Nations subsidiary Under One Flag. This re-issue includes their debut 1989's "Deny Reality" EP and their 1990 lp "Condemned To Reality". These guys are not going to be accused of being terribly original because their sound is a combination of a number of bands like Testament, Nuclear Assault, Megadeth and Sacred Reich. That's not terribly important because these guys knew a thing or two about creating killer riffs and keeping the pace going. The music is extremely tight on both albums which is better than what many thrash bands of the day were doing on their early efforts. These guys were not afraid to make the songs a little longer either as there are quite a few going over five minutes and even two tracks going past the seven minute mark. It's certainly not filler either as they make every second count. My only real complaints about these albums are that the bass is kind of low in the mix and the vocals could have been a little stronger. After this the band decided to go in more of a funk metal approach for their next two albums before calling it a day. This band frequently gets unfairly dismissed, but this is really strong thrash that's worth checking out. The re-issue has the two albums on one disc for a fair price. Definitely worth getting a copy.