
"Missionary of Mercy" is not the best song to open the album, but nonetheless it does. I don't love Jackson's vocals on this all that much, but once you get past the initial thrust of the verse rhythm, the guitars are simply intense. "Puppet Regime" is just mindblowing; the initial riff winds and curves about the fretboard like a shredder on mescalin, and the perky speed licks that frolic below the verse are unbelievable, in a good way. The solos in this track are also quite excellent, and it may just be the best Pariah song in their entire discography. "Canary" comes close though, which more interesting, complex riffs that dance about the beat like a cartoon parody of thrash. An interesting title for a metal song, but it works well when it arrives in the chorus. The title tracks alternates between an emotional acoustic with some of Jackson's 'tender' vocals and a grooving thrash metal rhythm...the vocals don't really work for me during the latter, but there are still a few interesting riffs.
Every hour is dark, life is scarred
with degradation and scathing remarks
pride just chose to hide
leaving you alone with no strength
to carry on, but you carry on
"Retaliate!" brings back the guitar force with an immediately catchy, popping note selection that thrusts straight into the next, with a nice sporadic lead and punctual heaviness to the pre-chorus that breaks into a glorious charging speed metal rhythm and killer chorus. "Hypochondriac" wins out for its wild leads and rhythms, though the verse vocals are pretty lame (they get better at the chorus). The album closes with the scorcher, mid-paced "Enemy Within", which builds to another great lead, and "The Brotherhood", which features some pretty hot, bouncing riffs and a few nice gang chorus bits. The lyrics throughout the album are very typical for thrash at the time, anti-corporate anthems and other social political ideals out in force.
Blaze of Obscurity was a great album, and certainly deserved more attention that it got. But then, this was 1989...many huge bands were just having their careers hit the upswing, and Pariah were not coming out of a popular background with Satan. I don't love the vocals here, they drag it down a notch in quality...though Jackson still delivers when he breaks away from the Grimmett style. But it's a must listen for fans of great 80s guitar work in thrash and speed metal, with some rhythms that still sound fresh 20 years after the fact.
Highlights: Puppet Regime, Canary, Retaliate!, The Brotherhood
Verdict: Win [8.25/10] (won't you sing for us)
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