BLESSED DEATH

USA / с 1984 г. / thrash

• KILL OR BE KILLED 1985
• DESTINED FOR EXTINCTION 1987
• HOUR OF PAIN 1991, 2006

LARRY PORTELLI - VOCALS + LYRICS NICK FIORENTINO - LEAD + RHYTHM GUITARS JEFF ANDERSON - LEAD + RHYTHM GUITARS KEVIN POWELSON - BASS GUITAR CHRIS POWELSON - DRUMS

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METAL BEER HORROR MAGAZINE:

BLESSED DEATH-Hour Of Pain-2006-Independent

This is BLESSED DEATH's third album officialy, and it's important that I mention that because the third album is the most important album in the career of almost ANY musician or band for a reason. If a band doesn't have their shit together (stylistically) by their third record, it's almost a garauntee that you'll never see that band make a fourth record. The third record in a band's career can make or break a band...it's too bad that, at their peak, New Jersey thrashers BLESSED DEATH never got that oppurtunity when it could have counted the most for them. "Hour Of Pain" was originally titled "Born to Die" and was SUPPOSED to come out in the early 90's, but didn't for some reason. Lack of label support? Lack of funds to release it on their own? Who knows...but thankfully the band has decided to release this record so that people who loved the insane style of thrash that BLESSED DEATH played could eventually hear it. That's what drew me to BD in the first place...the wreckless (not sloppy) speed and the over-the-top vocals.

First thing you'll notice is the sound of the record...it's rather thick and gluey...almost demo quality. That might have been from the master tapes sitting around collecting dust for fifteen years or it might have been due to the budget at the time, but this has a raw sound to it...more like "Kill or Be Killed" than "Destined for Extinction". If you're not into that, then you MIGHT be turned off to purchasing this. Then again...if you're not into the "raw" sound on a thrash metal album, you're not giving the material itself a chance to stand out, and that is where "Hour of Pain" truly shines.

"Fallen Walls" kicks the album off and it is a monster of a song...plodding and ominous...almost epic in a sense. "Shadows of the Living" is probably the best song BLESSED DEATH has ever written due to a great riff, those familiar vocals, truly kick-ass solos, and a feeling that this could have fit in amongst the tracks on "Kill or be Killed" or could have helped "Destined to Extinction" as far as diversity of music is concerned. The first four tracks show that BLESED DEATH had grown up as songwriters, slowing down the music to allow the listener to appreciate what talented musicians they truly were and that, when they wanted to, they could write outside of their comfort zone and accomplish the same kind of power that their previous albums had only hinted at, and buried with, an avalanche of speed and over-the-top lunacy. The fact that vocallist Larry Portelli isn't shrieking and screaming like a rabid madman over these tracks only helps these tracks deliver on their intentions of showing off the bands songwriting abilty. If the first five tracks on this album show the direction that BLESSED DEATH were truly headed then it's a true injustice that nothing else ever came out under their name. From "Black Snow Sky" on, however, this is the BLESSED DEATH we've all come to know and love (or despise of you've never liked this band)...crazy vocals over equally crazy music. "Atomic Fear", "Global Confusion", "Born Dead", "Into The Void" and "Terminal Rage" show that BLESSED DEATH can still thrash with the best of them, all these songs are blazing fast (which is good) but are let down by the suspect production which blurs the bass and drums together while the guitars (sans solos) struggle to escape the quagmire which is created. Personally I like the production but when these guys start to turn it on, it does them no favors, robbing them of the power that a clearer sound could have delivered.

To be honest with you, I'm glad that this album didn't make it out when it was supposed to come out because it probably wouldn't have helped BLESSED DEATH in any way back then. It would have probably been overlooked as being just another thrash album when it is much more than that. This is BLESSED DEATH maturing, writing material which excelled over their past work. "Hour Of Pain" is much more relevant today for the fact that there aren't alot of bands out there releasing material of this kind of quality today. This is an essential blast of thrash metal if you love the old-school sound. If you are (or were) a BLESSED DEATH fan in the past, then this is absolutley neccesary. If you've never heard BLESSED DEATH before, then this is a good starting point...you get to hear the band slow it down more than they did in the past and create some truly killer songs while also getting a large dose of their brand of Thrash which is some of the best metal New Jersey ever produced.

Chris

METAL BEER HORROR WEBZINE