SSA - Deal With It (Assbackwards Music, 1994)

These guys from Ohio weren't exactly known .. well, I can't tell, but I guess. SSA put out their one and only full-length Deal With It in 1994 on their imaginary label Assbackwards Music. The fun fact is that SSA literally means Ass backwards. It made me chuckle a little.

But now to the music. The album starts off with a wah-wah guitar sound not expecting me all too great things. However, this turns out to be pretty great. Decent thrashing, good vocals, nice acoustic middle-part. And it goes on that way. Only anomaly has to be the last track called Sunshine, which is some sort of ultra-soft poppy grunge .. That end of the album left me somehow confused, nevermind. While I must admit it certainly isn't the most creative output, in 1994 and years after even big players in the game put out pantsy releases - Deal With It can certainly persist against, say Stomp 442 or .. Load.

Deal With It is as rare as obscure thrash can get. Well, I don't know this record for all too long but I only seen it once on auction sites, and that was the copy you're seeing here.

Creeper - Creeper (indie, 1992)

Ladies and gentlemen, here's what could be America's best kept secret in thrash metal. And a hell of a rarity too! Creeper from Arizona, Florida did one full-length in 1992 (they were never heard again afterwards) play a midpaced type of thrash metal with some cool, refreshing ideas here and there. That being some jazzy drum fills or the vocals of the song Enslaved being sung through a guitar amp.

Musically and also vocally could be considered Metallica-worship, even though some of the riffs here are definitely heavier. I don't really like the production though. The drums sound way too polished and machinesque. Nevertheless, it's a interesting addition to your collection. Come on, hunt it down!

Through The Flesh - Nails (SJC White Wolf Music, 1990)

Funnily I know this small and totally unknown band for years. Funny because I digged into the underground of thrash and death metal only since a few years, certainly after I got to know Through The Flesh. I accidentally clicked on an eBay auction in 2010 (I think?), and suddenly was attracted to the somehow goofy artwork (look at that hand ..) and the complete obscurity this small record seemed to come out from. Seller stated it would be thrash metal so I began to seek after it without even knowing how it sounds like (there weren't and still aren't any samples all around the net). Then about a month ago (since 2010, imagine!) I saw it on discogs rather cheap (still more than double the price it was on Ironforce, so nice business made I guess) so I had to get it, and yeah .. now I have it.

Musically this was a huge let-down for me. It has four tracks, two have a somehow odd acoustic intro and then kick in. And also only half of the songs have hints .. I say hints .. of rather mediocre, mid-paced thrash. One track even has some rap metal in it. All in all it seems thrown together and the band wanted to put as many ideas as they had into the four songs. Less is sometimes more, I guess.

They have a second full-length from 1991 called Wounds, also on SJC White Wolf Music, which seems to be their own label, I'm searching that one as well.

Tyrant Trooper - Insane Sickness (indie, 1995)

Like almost every music genre, death metal had an expiration date in the 90s. In 1995 when Insane Sickness came out the metal landscape was infested with groove and nu metal, mostly thanks to Metallica and Pantera. However, what Tyrant Trooper from Connecticut offers on their only full-length is unbelievably good. When they started out in 1987 they played a blend of thrash/speed metal until around 1993. You see they always came a bit too late in the game, but that doesn't make Insane Sickness any worse. From the awesome artwork to the riffs to the instrumentation overall, everything is pure US death metal without mercy. The only thing I could criticize is the length of the songs, with the longest one clocking in at almost eight minutes. But hey, skipping wasn't invented for nothing (not every song of course).

Insane Sickness was self-financed by the band, only a thousand copies were made. Most of them are in safe collector's hands, others are offered on eBay for ridiculous prices. If that doesn't stop you, go ahead and get it!

Requiem - Earthquake (Oxymoron Records, 1991)

Requiem from Washington are not really getting an award for originality when it comes to their bandname, however their one and only release from 1991 serves some indie goodness and surprises with clean production and refreshing ideas. The sound overall is in the vein of Stygian or Dark Angel, very fast forward presented thrash.

I have no idea in which quantities this indie CD was pressed, certainly not too many, and I didn't stumble upon a single copy on the internet in a long time. I managed to fetch a copy from discogs but as you can see in the pictures it's not in perfect shape. But if you should see this one anywhere, don't hesitate to get it.