Rumble Militia - Stop Violence and Madness (1991)

If you can step past the obviously implied anti fascist, peace love and politico happiness of this album's title and cover art, then you can experience just how far Rumble Militia had strode past their first attempt at thrash altercation: They Give You the Blessing. I mean, it comes on the heels of an EP titled Destroy Fascism which highlights the "No Nazis" tracks, the band adorning their leather and metal haircuts, taking yet another stab at history's favorite villains. Personally I like a little madness and violence in my thrash metal, and thankfully the German band does deliver this, in spite of the title, through the more pissed off audio content on this, their best record, glossy and moshy and delivered on the early Century Media roster.

To be clear, this album is enormously stupid, but it's also quite fun, as the band march through the usual banes of the 80s, taking stabs at criminals, crooked cops and the media. A pure mosh thrash intro cedes into "Boys In Blue", with a mid-paced gait that erupts into its gang shouted, obvious chorus cursing (a riff in there reminds me of "Hard On You" from Flotsam & Jetsam). "Reflections of Your Videoprogramme" arrives with a Halloween musical sample and then a thrust of ballistic, thick guitar tone that is almost impossible to resist as it charges into the wild leads and shout adorned verses. As pedestrian as the breakdown is, reminding me of Gwar due to the vocals, you're just too caught up in the velocity and neckbreaking to give a fuck, and that also sums up tracks like "Stop This Shit" and "Waiting For Death", which also knock your block off if you can manage not to choke on laughter at the vocal/lyrics.

The only real complaint I have with this album is that the band occasionally do abandon this culmination of aggression to return to their rock/punk roots, in "You're Sure" and the faster "Way of Violence" and "Kindergarten ('82)". The songs themselves are not all that bad, mind you, and "Way of Violence" in particular builds up an unexpected atmosphere, but I do wish the band had just gone all out fucking thrash and done away with the disjunction. However, if I'm looking for a fun crossover experience, and my craving for something like D.R.I. or M.O.D. is on cooldown, Stop Violence and Madness is certainly an album that proves reliable. Just expect nothing of depth here. Loosen up, shut down your mind and your expectations and experience the giant tones of this blubbering, nigh on incompetent thrashcore, and you'll probably come away smiling.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

http://www.rumble-militia.com/