A record like this is pretty much taylor-made for this blog. And like so many of my recent posts, the cover art represents it perfectly; dated and nonsensical, but yet so good for what it is. Just like their contemporaries in Angel Dust, Risk were a bit behind the times stylistically, but were so fucking good, who really cares? I mean, Metal has progressed so much in the years since this release that any Thrash album sounds antiquated by today's standards. Risk were comfortable in that middle ground between early Speed/Power Metal of the early 80's and the slightly more agressive Thrash Metal of the mid 80's. Thing is, this was released in '89, when Thrash was on it's way out and fans were already graduating to the more brutal sounds of Death Metal and Grindcore. This is where blogs like BlackHandInn come in and bring to light these lost treasures that the previous generation shelved, or the current generation (me) never knew in the first place. Hell's Animals is very nice Speed/Thrash with a satisfying Progressive lean. Serious music with not so serious lyrics. The whole animal theme? I don't get it. And I'm pretty sure the cover was by the same guy who did the early Tankard stuff.
That cover looks like a rejected Joe Camel ad.
ReplyDeleteThe concept is dumb, but the detail work is excellent. Like the music, you really have to be a fan of the style to appreciate it. But if you are, it really delivers.
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