Rage - Execution Guaranteed


I rock rough and stuff with my Afro Puffs... oh, wait, wrong Rage. Regardless, rock, excuse me, Metal on with your bad selves.

Now people who absolutely hate this album generally fall into two camps. A) people who love their first album and feel like this gives up speed for silliness and the vocals are subpar at times. B) people who think the synths are ridiculously counterproductive. I dunno, i think it's fine. I don't hate this at all. Yes, it's a little clumsy in places, and some of the solo work is vapid noodling, but if you're making the obvious comparison to Megadeth meets Skid Row at a Candlemass concert, this has a definite stamp of originality. It's completely normal silly for late 80s non-mainstream indie metal. Not embarrassing at all, in my opinion. I'd throw this on in the background for almost any occasion, it's approachably enjoyable and surprisingly creative. I can see how the "atmospherics" might turn off the real hard-core speed/thrash crowd.

Now, are the synths good? Absolutely not, but it's a (pardon the pun) execution problem, not a conceptually functional problem. So is the Allman Brothers-esque guitar solo interlude on Deadly Error. Right idea, terrible choice of actual sounds. The riffage is pretty stellar across the board. This is a highly experimental Thrashfest of Horrorn, but it manages to steer clear of some of the worst Hair Metal cliches. Rudy and Jochen don't need "Peavey" to actually cue their solo time in the lyrics.

I suppose i should mention this is a German band. You have to think in terms of Kreator, Accept, or Halloween rather than holding them accountable to Bay Area standards. They really are Speed Metal rather than Thrash. Still, this isn't cheesy or cringeworthy at all. Quite lovely.

Well, this certainly has been a strange week in the Bunker of Beefitude. Nothing turned out as expected, i blame diving face first into Mission Earth rather than building up to it, but i certainly didn't do it on purpose. Oh well, any suggestions for tomorrow's album? My brain is totally tapped out and Fridays are the worst. I need all the help i can get.

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