Erosion - Thoughts (1990)

Continuing their quota for hideous or underwhelming cover images, Erosion returned two years post-Mortal Agony for their second album, a step forward in aggression that doesn't sacrifice the band's minor, clinical tech-thrash leanings. Thoughts is not necessarily more thoughtful than the debut, but the band seemed to have a firmer grasp on what they are trying to achieve here, which is to alternate the sheer force of mosh oriented thrash with spikes of claustrophobic calamity. Chris Zenk has dialed up his own vitriol here, with vocals that only begin with Mille or Tom Angelripper, tortured enough that it feels as if his entrails were being systematically removed with a crude, sharp instrument throughout the recording process.

Alas, Thoughts is an example of an album which had a lot of ideas going into its inception, but few that will remain rattling around your skull once the 33 minutes have ended. Riffs often feel very disjointed, as if they were simply being thrown together into loose structures that don't really alter the emotional or violent impact of the composition. Examples would be the blustering of "The Scourge" or the gravity defying title track, which both contains some cool guitars colliding against much filler writing. "Thoughts" in particular shows some real progression from the debut, almost as if it were a leftover from Voivod's Dimension Hatross sessions with a more blunt and hostile vocalist at the fore. A little deeper into the procession, "Nightmare" lurches forward on heavy legs, straining for momentum but evoking at least a few moments of atmosphere, while the instrumental "Strike" provides a good chunk of the album's better riffs, and would have only benefited from vocals.

The only track that I'd actually dub 'shit' is the final piece, "Change", which is some bizarre rock festival that feels sporadic and tacked on, though there is some structure to the guitars. Zenk has an overbearing venom in his voice here not unlike Sabbat's Martin Walkyier, but really, this song just does not belong with the rest. It sucks. But then, the rest of Thoughts is hardly worth getting excited for. I don't much care for the crunchy, crisp tone of the guitars here, which serves to somewhat drown out the bass, and even though the band play very well in time, there is this pervasive, sloppy effervescence that leaves an unwelcome stench behind. That said, it's not a bad album if you like a mix of raw aggression and proficiency in your thrash. Just don't expect it to dwell in your own 'thoughts' for very long.

Verdict: Indifference [6/10]

http://www.erosion-de.com/

Erosion - Mortal Agony (1988)

Mortal Agony might just be the ugliest sight in all of 80s German thrash metal (in this case more due to the awful lettering than the surreal, mad science imagery), but it's definitely not the ugliest music. The band spent a few years post-formation honing in on a ballistic hybrid of their Teutonic contemporaries Destruction and Sodom with a few Bay Area influences, most notably Exodus in the rich, thrashing guitar tone, and the result is a debut that is still listenable over two decades later. The album does seem a little lop sided in content, with most of its strongest tracks placed towards the beginning, yet it reeks of a potential that the band sadly never saw through in the remainder of their career.

As mentioned, the guitars are a huge component of the band, not only for their excellent tone, but also the willingness to take a few risks that pay off. These are heard in the strange structure of "The Unborn", a paranoid nightmare given molten flesh as Chris Zenk's haughty barks erupt over interesting riffs that marry Kreator's Terrible Certainty and Voivod's Dimension Hatross. Or "Erosion/The Way of Force", the album opener, which cycles through a meaty and disposable instru-mosh sequence to a vicious precipice of angry mid-paced riffing ala Exodus and Vio-Lence, in addition to some great speed licks and escalating percussive breaks. Also curious, the chugging apocalyptic "Aftermath" and the calamitous "False Prophets", but there are also a few energetic, standardized chargers like "Bilharzia" and "Nuclear Frost" that do not disappoint if you like your thrash pissed off. For some reason, I just feel like the album trails off in quality, with the final moments ("Humanity" and "The King") offering nothing new that we hadn't already heard prior with better riff casings.

Compositional comparisons could be drawn from this to Destruction's Release from Agony, but Erosion took on more of a weighted, abrupt ballast than the surgical, drug addled atmosphere created by Schmier and Mike Sifringer. Both albums take a few chances, which don't implode on the respective bands, but where Release from Agony is more layered, labyrinthine and cold, this record seems more hell bent on pleasing the mosh pit, like a mix of Release from Agony and Pleasures of the Flesh. The musicians are pretty good, with Chris Zenk mixing up some Tom Angelripper and Mille Petrozza tones with the snarling bark of Sabbat's Martin Walkyier or the rupturing force of Holy Terror's Keith Deen; pretty unique among a slew of second tier German thrash bands who were merely recycling Petrozza or Schmier. That said, Mortal Agony doesn't really have enough of the 'moments' that define a great thrash album. It's solid, and effective more often than it isn't, but only worth checking out if you like to delve deep into the underground gems you might have missed.

Verdict: Win [7/10]