Dirty Rotten Imbeciles
Thrash Zone

"Thrash Zone"... The name says it all

An album that, just for the fantastic name and the fantastic cover, manages to get people talking, an album that, besides being the best of Dirty Rotten Imbeciles' excellent discography in my opinion, is also the progenitor of an almost completely ignored genre, I'm talking about Crossover Thrash.

Crossover Thrash is one of the various subgenres that bridges Punk and Metal; a sort of evolution of simple Thrash Metal, with a greater Hardcore Punk component than usual. So if Thrash by itself already incorporates Hardcore, Crossover Thrash intensifies this Hardcore component, which is why it is often considered an extreme branch of Punk rather than Metal, but I personally consider it a subgenre of both styles. The paternity of this style seems to belong to S.O.D (Stormtroopers Of Death), who in 1985 (also quite early as simple Thrash Metal was already developing) published a jewel named "Speak English Or Die". Many groups that can be labeled as Crossover had Hardcore beginnings, such as the Brazilian band Ratos De Porao with Crucificados Pelo Sistema, or the more famous Suicidal Tendencies with their self-titled album. Even the ''Dirty Rotten Imbeciles'' initially were Punk, but their first two full lengths, namely Dirty Rotten LP and Dealing With It, in my opinion, do not reach the level of the albums mentioned above, because they feature excessively short and confusing songs. It was Kurt Brecht's father, tired of the continuous mess caused by the boys during rehearsals, who gave the group the nickname, calling them: ''Bunch of dirty rotten imbeciles''. The group took the insult with humor, and it indeed became the name of the band.

After 1985, 1987 can be considered the year par excellence of the genre in question. Our guys released "Crossover", which probably gave the genre its name and represents one of the many cornerstones, along with Join The Army of the same year. D.R.I finally added a Metal component to their initial Hardcore, which can also be found in the less considered but still fantastic "4 Of A Kind" of the following year.

"Thrash Zone" was released in 1989, and it is a work that pleases everyone, whether Punx or Metalheads, being extremely fun, engaging, and exhilarating, but at the same time incredibly mature compared to the past. The sensation you experience when listening to it is the same as when you're jostled by restless people with various patches on, with that unmistakable scent of sweat and alcohol fused together, inside a dark venue where the acoustics aren't the best and where you push to get under the stage. The smell of Mosh breathes through what has now become the anthem par excellence for every self-respecting Thrasher; I'm talking about the opener 'Thrashard', a playful yet violent urge to dive into the mosh pit. The drums are pounding, the guitars are more aggressive than ever, the bass is prominent, and Kurt's voice is as arrogant as it is capable of reaching remarkable speeds, almost bordering on Rap, as can be heard in the incredibly fast 'You Say I'm Scum'. A fantastic voice with a distinctly Punk style. 'Beneath The Wheel' is also practically perfect, sensational, played on sudden tempo changes and effective, aggressive choruses. A music video has also been made for the track. There are also more thoughtful pieces like the beautiful 'Gun Control', one of my favorites. Introduced by gunshots that send a crowd fleeing, the track is a clear depiction of what happens outside our homes, where battles between gangsters are frequent and the lives of many are at risk. In Drown You Out there is probably a critique of Labels, which through sponsors decide what we should listen to: 'HOW MUCH MONEY WOULD THEY LOSE IF THEY DECIDED TO CHOOSE OUR SONG'? A clear reference to the desire to enrich themselves by promoting not the music of these guys, but what most of the masses buy and listen to. A not very different critique is present in the frenetic 'The Trade', where the fake smiles at the cameras, the handshakes with fans, and the craving for popularity are here completely suppressed by what music should really be: thinking with your own mind, making music for art and passion regardless of the success it may or may not achieve. The hardcore and lightning-fast Worker Bee introduces us to the concluding 'Abduction', starting with a macabre riff, perverse like the fantasies of child abductors (subject of the lyrics) until a bass solo leads into the classic 'TupaTupa' of the healthiest headbanging.

There could be no better conclusion for this absolute masterpiece. The Dirty Rotten give their best, managing to secure a prominent place in the Thrash and Hardcore scene of the late 80s.

Masterpiece...