Risk - Turpitude (1993)

Turpitude is the 5th and final album from Risk, and it's just as well, because this the first upon which the ambition of the band seemed to finally catch up with them in years. The content is not a far cry from its predecessor The Reborn, but the band had sacrificed some of the epic compositions there for a more bland repository of atmosphere, dull power/thrash. There are very few tracks here which provoke the urge for even a second listen, and without exception these are the ones that sound closest to out-takes of The Reborn. When comparing that album to the band's entertaining early work like The Ratman EP or The Daily Horror News, one can hear the strained but not unnatural progression. But line this up against the debut and you have to wonder 'where did all the spirit and fun disappear to?'

Straight down the drain. The acoustic intro to "Cry" cedes to a basic series of slow, smudged riffs that serve only as a catalyst to the more interesting, swarthy vocal melody, while a mystical guitar line hides off in the backdrop. It's not awful, but really needed to be followed with some energy, which "Materialized" is not, just another pedestrian stream of dull chugged mutes that accompany similar vocals to the first track. There are many other indistinct tracks here, like the groovy but forgettable "So Weird" with its awkward chorus, "And We Don't Care" or "Show No Mercy", which sounds like a half-retread of "Materialized". At best, you get some modern power/thrash with similarities to late 90s Rage: "Squeeze My Skull and Brains" and the sad "Hopeless Ground", but even these sound like the band had thrown in the towel, and not fit to even shine the boots of The Reborn.

It's a terrible thing, when a band like Risk dishevels at the seams, after so many years, starting as Faithful Breath in the damned 70s. What's even sadder is that all of the members here seem to have given up on metal entirely after this recording, retiring to their families and other interests. Turpitude was not the proper note to leave on, almost as if the 'wrongdoing' implication of the title should be taken literally. But the saga of the monkey, crocodile, hippo and piranha will always live on through their inspirational debut album and the reasonable qualities of the follow-ups that led up to this one.

Verdict: Indifference [5.25/10]

Risk - The Reborn (1992)

The Reborn is only too fitting a title for the fourth Risk full-length, because it marks a huge transformation in sound and production values that stood far above the first three. They've gone for an all out, apocalyptic concept album here, and even a cursory listen will reveal that the band have emerged from some chrysalis and taken on a more refined, matured mesh of power and thrash metal which has some slight similarities to late 90s Rage, only more polished. This album is smooth as a baby's arse, as clean as a freshly forged plastic, and the band experiment far beyond their earlier years, using male choirs, far Eastern melodies and dire, thoughtful lyrics that you just weren't going to find on a speed metal record with a hippo mascot.

That isn't to say it's necessarily an improvement in all categories, because in the end, The Reborn is slightly less appealing than something like The Daily Horror News, which was really fun and catchy. At times, this is simply too mellow of an effort. But I laud the band for at least trying to reinvent themselves without caving in to the alt.pressures of the 90s, and surviving the exodus of long time axe slinger Thilo Hermann with grace and style. The sitar-laden weaving of "Arise/Last Warning" transports the listener into this brooding, ancient East, and it provides the centerpiece for the album, 10 minutes of escape into the band's fantastic vision of the end times. But after this, there's a lot of variation in both tempo and quality, from the slower, tranquil plodding of "Be No More" with its downtrodden, clean vocals, to the excellent, epic sway of "Lullaby" which reminds me of something Rage might have done with their Lingua Mortis orchestra.

"The Night Will Fall", "Turn Back to Ecstasy" and "Armageddon (Fight Back)" are all fine slices of power/thrash metal, with Heinz Mikus taking on an almost modern Biff Byford-like melody to his vocals, and "No One Will Remember" is an effective closure to the album, glistening with sadness and acoustic guitars that escalate into some beautiful melodies in the bridge. In the end, though, there's just not enough charm and character here to count it among their best work. The creativity applied here was remarkable, and the professionalism obvious, but few of the songs scream to the listener 'repeat at will'. I can sit through it, enjoy it, and then forget about it all too easily, aside from the airs of bleak mysticism and maturity. But it's good enough to be heard, and I would certainly recommend it to fans of the later Rage concept albums, Running Wild, Grave Digger and perhaps Saxon's later, power-infused works like Metalhead and Killing Ground.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10] (cursed to be no more)

Risk - Dirty Surfaces (1990)

After emigrating from their native jungle into the cities streets of Hell's Animals, the quartet of monkey, crocodile, piranha and vested, shade and cap-sporting hippo decide to swim with the sharks for the third Risk full-length, Dirty Surfaces. After the band's previous effort, I had half expected them disappear more fully under the tide of pure, precision thrash metal, but this album is actually a pretty welcome surprise, returning to the infectious and melodic speed and thrash hybrid of debut The Daily Horror News, with the same lineup as before. There's a lot of character here, memorable riffing that is anchored by Heinz Mikus' distinctly Germanic vocals, and though it's not up to par with their 1988 effort, it's still one of the band's better offerings.

Their intro tribute to Jaws is actually quite tasty, as swollen synths threaten to devour children in a mass, escalating panic, offset by the smooth but blistering speed of "Pyromaniac Man", one of the most exciting songs here. Bass-driven verses are slathered in raucuous riot rock chords and the demi-thrash burst of the chorus is tremendous fun. "Legends of the Kings" takes on a more serious tone, with fine threads of melody imbued into the rolling propulsion, and mystique spun into Heinz' performance. "Warchild" is extensive, nearly seven minutes long (not the only such track here) with an extended, acoustic intro and a lolling, pure heavy metal, gait, but the band then increases its pace once more with the great guitars of "Paralysed" and "Like a Roller Coaster". Other gems include slowly building "Letter from Beyond", dire grooves of "Dirty Surfaces" and the great speed/thrash closer "Iron Wheels" (the last two being CD bonus tracks).

In fact, there are no real duds here, and the entire album is engaging, enjoyable to experience, though it does lack the staying power of the Risk's debut. All of the band members offer some solid executions. The vocals of Mikus and the riffing of Keymer and Hermann take the center stage, but the bass tone of Peter Dell is thick in the mix and poignant enough. Certainly the lineup gives off the impression that they're still having fun with this mix of their heavy metal roots in Faithful Breath and the increased velocity present in the late 80s, early 90s, and if you've found yourself drawn to their personality before, I can think of no reason you wouldn't take away a similar sensation from this, even if the songs don't remain in the brain for long after.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10] (no one's madder than I am)

Risk - Hell's Animals (1989)

After the superb debut The Daily Horror News, and the promising follow-up EP Ratman, anticipation for further Risk output was running high. Here was an outfit with all the potential to join their countrymen Rage and Running Wild as a top shelf speed metal act, honoring their decision to steer away from the classic styling of their previous incarnation, Faithful Breath. Well, Hell's Animals was not long forthcoming, and it marked an even further deviation from the past, adopting a more directly thrash approach than its predecessor, which only possessed traces of the day's leading edge of aggression. That's not to say that Risk are necessarily bad at the straight up thrash, because there are some decent riffs and ideas present here. But they do not excel in the area, and almost without exception, every leap backwards towards faster, speed/power momentum dominates this album.

It opens with "Monkey Business", which in all honesty sounds like California's Forbidden with the muted melodic, arching rhythms and the haughty, barking vocals (though they're not so melodic as Russ Anderson). The lead and bridge rhythm are the highlights of the song, and this also goes for the following "Perfect Kill", a slower, crisp thrasher with a nice break in the bridge. "Dead or Alive" is an improvement, somewhat closer to The Daily Horror News in tone, with some solid, grooving chords to break up the speed spurts. "The Secret of Our Destiny" makes for a better thrash piece, a winding mosh rhythm plodding forward beneath glistening banks of almost jazzy chords and some superior, quick licks firing through its overall structure. I also enjoyed "Torture and Pain" with its progressive feel and melodic muting, and closer to the end of the album, the excellent power metal piece "Russian Nights" which might have fit in cleanly with the debut album (it's my favorite song here, with vocals similar to early Skyclad-era Martin Walkyier). "Megalomania" and "Epilogue" are also quite good.

There are few duds on the album. I didn't particularly care for "Sicilian Showdown", but it has a choice guitar riff or two, and the "Skid Row" instrumental seems like a throwaway, but then it's a bonus at the end of the album. The production is clear and the guitar tone punchy, and I'd say the mix is actually superior to The Daily Horror News. But what this album lacks is the truly memorable moments found on that album. No "Roadwar", "Speed Kills" or "Revolution Now" to be found here. Hell's Animals is entirely competent and I wouldn't kick it out of bed for eating crackers, but I almost feel like it's 'too thrash'. Yes, 'too thrash', words that I certainly never imagined I'd be thinking, much less typing, but it appears to be the case for this album, which is a few steps below the debut in my affectations.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

Risk - Ratman EP (1989)

Risk might just be the only band in all of metal's history to concoct a nearly 11 minute long opus about the rat species, and truly this is one of the most uncanny things I've ever heard. However, taking into consideration that thrash bands of the late 80s were releasing EPs with their cover of the Ray Parker Jr. Ghostbusters theme (Xentrix), tributes to alcoholic extra terrestrials (Tankard), covers of Mussorgski (Mekong Delta), or pretending to be punk bands (Sodom), it's probably not as out of place as one might think. What's even more impressive is that, for the most part, this release is actually good, a positive successor to the band's excellent debut The Daily Horror News. We're a long way from Faithful Breath now...

The centerpiece here is the 10:40 minute "Ratman", which opens with the sounds of manhole covers being removed, titillating, cutesy synthesizers and pitch shifted narrative about a man's descent into the sewers. The song is actually fragmented into a number of segments called "Invitation" (the intro I just mentioned), "Ratman's Delight" (a catchy, twisting melodic thrash passage), "Ratdance" (which is loaded with amazing, clinical riffing and tight leads), and lastly "Delirium", which sounds like a strange parody of the old Batman theme transformed into a pummeling thrash. This last piece is the least interesting, but up until that point the song is just stunningly good, and would have been worthy of appearing on a full-length.

It's not alone. There are three other tracks here, beginning with "Germans", a sort of patriotic while simultaneously non-patriotic gang thrasher which clocks in at nearly 90 seconds. It's goofy and disposable, but so bad it will definitely make you smile. There's nothing at all stupid about "Violent Science" though, which had also appeared as a CD bonus on The Daily Horror News. A great, mid-paced thrasher with nice, psychotic vocals. "Skid-Row Kid" is a surprisingly moody thrasher which opens with a downcast slew of chords and then rips into memorable precision, speed/thrash metal much like the content of the debut album. A lot better than the title might imply, but then, so isn't this entire release...

You might not think something like Ratman would be possible, much less actually worth hearing, but I assure you it is that. Most of the title track is entertaining, as are the rest, and it makes a fine bridge into the band's sophomore Hell's Animals.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10] (I'm the big star of the drain)

Risk - The Daily Horror News (1988)

Risk is one of the rare cases of a classic metal band finding successful new life with a change of identity and style. From 1967-1985, they released six full-length albums as Faithful Breath, evolving from hard rock roots to a heavier style more typical of their day, before they decided they would partake in the faster, speed/thrash scene that Germany was very well known for by the mid 80s. Rather than drag their original vision through the mud, they adopted the name Risk, which surprisingly hadn't been taken by anyone important in the metal universe. The Daily Horror News was born, the first and still best effort under this new visage, despite the lamentable cover art which makes...only a strange kind of sense with the title.

No, this is not fucking Donkey Kong metal, but a work of memorable velocity and impressive songwriting which immediately placed the band among peers like Rage, Scanner, Helloween and Running Wild. It's primarily speed/power metal, but there are moments where they bite down a little harder for some thrash. The band's classic metal riffing influence obviously goes a long way towards making each track distinct and full to the brim with hooks, but I'd also point out the vocals of Heinz Mikus, which sound like a mix of Rock'n'Rolf Kasparek and the silky, grimier tones often adopted by Andi Deris through his work with Helloween. I thoroughly enjoy his performance here, with the same wonderful reverb common to Running Wild records from from the 1984-1989 period, and it's damn well consistent. You've just got to survive a moment of jungle beasts and radio samples to carve out the coconuts within...

"Living in Chaos" is the first layer of flaky white goodness, a speed jaunt that sounds strikingly similar to something that might occur of Kasparek were fronting Rage. "Roadwar", however, is one of the best tracks on the album, pretty much a pure power metal number which once again sounds like a particular pirate metal outfit of this period. Gang shouts, uproarious riffs, and fluid lethality all build into a superb chorus. They slow the pace for "DNS Madness", which I assume refers to one of the acids involved with possible cloning, but it's still got hooks aplomb, even the predictable chorus delivers. "Revolution Now", "Rommes Fritz" and "Speed Kills" ramp up the intensity, and I'm particularly enamored of the lead sequences in "Rommes Fritz", and "Strike" and the bonus track "Violent Science" are both likewise remarkable, the latter hitting a nice hard thrash pace through the verses.

The Daily Horror News had a lot to contend with in 1988, and perhaps this is the reason so few have actually heard of the band or album. Running Wild's Port Royal and Rage's Perfect Man both came out the same year, and both are unreal (two of my favorite albums ever), so that might explain why it was left in the dust, but this debut absolutely deserves mention alongside them, a trinity of German 'R' bands hauling ass with the best material of their careers, all within a short span of time. The mix here simply slays, still sounding fresh and bright over 20 years later, and the individual performances here are all noteworthy. But what is most magnificent is that an already established band (in Europe at least) were able to undergo a transition like with this dignity and class, retiring their prior identity instead of molesting it. Whether Risk ever got the credit they deserved is up for debate, but if you're a metalian of taste, acquire this record however possible. It is that good.

Verdict: Epic Win [9/10] (no speed limit at all)