Znöwhite - All Hail to Thee EP (1984)

All Hail to Thee is one of those releases which dwells in that gray area between the LP and EP, and there are undoubtedly those that consider this the first Znöwhite full-length, but in light of its short length (under 17 minutes) and 7 songs, I'm going to consider it an EP for the purpose of this review. Either way, it's the first 'official' release from perhaps the most underrated band ever to hail from Chicago, and a scorcher. Mind you, this is not the crunchy, brutal apocalyptic thrash of their brilliant album Act of God, but a filthier street-level entity with some of the best female vocals of US metal in the 80s (Nicole Lee). The band was a 3-piece here, with Ian Tafoya playing both bass and guitar, and Sparks on the drums.

Several of the tracks here are pretty short, below 2 minutes in length. One gets the impression the band likened themselves to some sort of crossover punk-thrash band, but in truth these are some of the better pieces here. "Sledgehammer" is gutter level thrust thrash with a memorable chorus vocal, wild if simple lead, and then gone in a flash. Like good, hot sex. "Saturday Night" is like a Midwest, female fronted Motörhead, with Lee's air raid vocals elevating it just beyond and one of the other band members gettin' wicked in their with a brief monologue. "Do or Die" is the the shorted, but sweetest as far as frenetic speed/power thrash with a raunchy bite to the riffs and piercing vocal melody.

As for the rest, I'm a little mixed. "Somethin' for Nothin'" has a killer tone, and a decent little breakdown with a descending, muddy thrash riff, but I don't exactly enjoy how Lee's vocals function over the crest of the guitar. "Bringin' the Hammer Down" is actually pretty nice, with a raw, roiling tone and some of the better 'fixin' for a fight' vocals, including some melodic backing from the band. The solo here is pretty cool, as are the little NWOBHM melodies that soar through the violent thrashing. "Never Felt Like This" is probably the closest Znöwhite has ever come to a ballad, really just a slow, straightforward metal tune, but once again, the vocals just aren't that intriguing and the riffs very boring. "Rock City Destination" is another swarthy, blues-rooted bar metal anthem like "Saturday Night", and it's a good closer for the EP.

Nothing this band recorded prior to Act of God would truly prepare me for the crushing wasteland that would ensue, but both the All Hail to Thee and Kick 'Em While Their Down EPs have charms of their own. The kind of charms that resonate from late nights of broken glass, rattling trash can lids, dumpster diving and graffiti from the waste of an inner city. You could consider this a 'Chicago before the bomb' scenario, whereas Act of God represents that period 'after the bomb'. A perfect little Cold War chronology. If it is obscure, raw American speed and thrash that you seek, you could do worse than to check out this band's back catalog.

Verdict: Win [7.25/10] (this town is shattered)

http://www.myspace.com/znowhitethrash

Znöwhite - Kick 'Em When They're Down EP (1985)

Act of God stands as one of my favorite all-time thrash metal records, but before evolving to that level of competence,
Znöwhite put out a few fast and dirty EPs with a pure old school fury. The lyrics were all over the place, ranging from the more serious fare the band would adhere to later, to tracks about partying like "Live for the Weekend", in which the line 'It's Friday night and you're hard as an anvil' is actually uttered. Okay, what am I complaining about, that's awesome.

Kick 'Em When They're Down is the second of their EPs, following up the equally raunchy All Hail to Thee from the previous year. There are five tracks on this album, and Nicole Lee's sharp, aggressive vocals dominate the pumping drums and blazing guitars. Though the band was already producing the sharp and metallic, hostile tones on their earlier material, it's not quite at the level of holocaust thrash like Act of God. Regardless, all of these songs are fun, with the faster "Live for the Weekend" and "Too Late" my clear favorites. "Run Like the Wind" and "Turn Up the Pain" are slower tracks, but still pretty good. Lee remains one of my favorite female vocalists in metal for a reason, her biting tone is brash and unforgettable, while Ian Tafoya's rhythms are always kickass and the leads are quick and filthy. Znöwhite is one of the best metal bands to ever hail from the Midwest, insanely underrated. I'd suggest you start with Act of God over the EPs if you are new to their sound, but the earlier material is not a long stretch from what they'd become.

Highlights: Live for the Weekend, Too Late

Verdict: Win [7/10]

http://www.myspace.com/znowhitethrash

Znöwhite - Act of God (1988)

Judged solely by its interesting cover art, you wouldn't expect Act of God to be one of the most refined and brutal thrash metal releases of the 80s. Nor one of the very best. To up the ante, Znöwhite is also quite possibly the best female fronted thrash band to ever have existed, at least on this album. All Hail to Thee was a decent if average effort, more like a straight up Midwest street thrash style, but Act of God transformed the Chicago quartet into something so much more.

Of immediate note is the sheer force of sound being delivered with this album. The guitars are chunky and vicious, you can almost hear the rust flaking off them. This is the perfect apocalyptic thrash record, gunning in some doomed bucket of steel across a landscape of nuked cities. Nicole Lee's vocals are simply intense, like blades raining from the burning sky, yet still melodic enough to provide catchy chorus parts. "To the Last Breath" opens the album, a thrashing juggernaut of punctual chords and octave slides which feels a lot like killing someone by smashing their head repeatedly with a blunt object. The leads are frenzied and spurious, the atmosphere created is like no other thrash album of its day (Realm would be close, but their style was focused more on technical flair and hyper melody than the brutal, humble edge of Act of God). "Baptised by Fire" creates a chugging flow of build-ups that converge into a thrusting speed metal riff which cruises beneath Lee's siren-like vocals. The anti-Nazi anthem "Pure Blood" teases us with a slower, somber riff but yet again picks up into the triplet-hammering WWIII thrash that dominates the record. "War Machine" is one of my favorites of the album, the guitars develop a subtle groove to them with punchy, invigorating riffs. And the bridge is performed with subtle melodies, soon consumed by the gang shouts of the chorus.

I am the war machine that stares you in the face
Eyes to the sky and you know the end is near
I am the war machine; I can burn the sun from the sky
Take away tomorrow; bring truth to all your fears

"Thunderdome", the mandatory Mad Max tribute which no post-apocalyptic thrash album should be without, opens with a silly sample before jackhammering your face in with its incredibly brutal grooves and flighty breaks of speed. Simply incredible. Two men enter, one man leave! "Rest in Peace" starts with a slow flow and then the drums break for another of those battering rams of thrusting force. "Diseased Bigotry" is hands down my favorite off the album, because it surpasses perfection. If you could bottle all the aggression of thrash/speed metal, apocalyptic warfare and utmost hatred, THIS is what it would sound like. A fucking orgasmic cycle of some of the best riffs ever created into absolute punishment. The vocals are vicious, and for fuck's sake, this track is as good as anything off Master of Puppets and Reign in Blood... It's a hard one to follow, but "Soldier's Creed" is a bombastic mid-paced thrasher which begs for fist pumping and horn throwing. The album ends with the near 10-minute "Something Wicked (This Way Comes)". Because you see, being Mad Max fans was not cool enough, Znöwhite were also into Ray Bradbury (kind of like this blog you are reading)?!

Molesting famine takes to the land
Molten tear drops from a heart of stone
Wretched injection forged from deception
Souls of wrought iron scorched to the bone

To dub Act of God underrated is not nearly enough. Thus, I demand this band be payed reparations for the criminal neglect of their magnum opus. With the exception of Lee, the remainder of Znöwhite called it quits not long after this album, first replacing her with Debbie Gunn (Sentinel Beast), and moving on to form Cyclone Temple, who were sadly not this good. This may be a good thing in the end, as they had achieved their masterpiece early and thus did not tarnish its good name with their later, mediocre output. If only some other bands had followed suit...

Happy Fourth of July, you old beast.

Verdict: Epic Win [10/10] (let them not see the casualties)

http://www.myspace.com/znowhitethrash