Faith Or Fear
Punishment Area

THE REVIEW

In 1989, this sole album by Faith Or Fear, a thrash band from New Jersey influenced by Overkill, was released. Interestingly, among the ranks of this band was future guitarist of Bobby Ellsworth's band, Merrit Gant; many will know this group only for this reason.

This quintet of musicians appears on the cover of this decent full-length "Punishment Area," characterized by ten smooth tracks (11 in the reissue), with some melodic parts; see the intro of "Have No Fear" and "Rampage" (nostalgic). However, there are no significant qualitative peaks in the songs, even though "C. D. S", "What Would You Expect", and "Shadow Knows" leave an impression on the first listen, or at least are the ones I prefer. The pace picks up with "Nothing Uncommon," marked by continuous stop and go that, however, breaks the tension and the piece seems never to explode; the same goes for "Ripoffs," which accelerates and slows down but doesn't hit hard. On "Nothing Uncommon," there's a brief, lightning-fast solo, where the guitar produces a sound similar to a sudden brake on slippery asphalt, quite analogous to a lead in "The Arrival" from "Abigail" by King Diamond. Probably a tribute to Andy Laroque. The vocalist Tim Blackman works hard with an East Coast vocal timbre, clearly enunciating the words and also contributing to the songwriting. In this regard, here's a passage from "What Would You Expect," with lyrics written by him: "Corruption in the government but what would you expect some things will never change and on this you can surely bet tell me where we're heading, to tell as time runs out, in a deadly battle we fight a losing bout". Consequently, politically charged lyrics supported by music that doesn't prioritize Slayer-like speed but frequent tempo changes and good solos.

Another important factor: all members contribute to the writing of the songs, although the two axes, Chris Bombeke and Bob Perna, take center stage. And the production? A bit raw, perhaps similar to "So Far, So Good... So What!" by Megadeth or "Under The Influence" by Overkill. Personally, I don't mind this LP, I listen to it from time to time, and it saddens me that Faith Or Fear did not achieve notoriety. The core issue lies in the quality of the compositions, which maybe have their strength live but on record don't fully convince, despite being enjoyable. After the album's release, our heroes put out a demo in 1990 with four tracks (as can be seen from their official website) and then oblivion, even though they change their name to Wagonhead.

One element I don't like is the band's logo: very ugly, invading the cover. In 1999, this LP was republished, and Faith Or Fear reunited, at an unsuspected time, with founding drummer Dan Hansen. However, I would like to make a consideration. It's not enough to say, "We were there," and reunite after years of anonymity; the reunion is fine, but it must be accompanied by a quality product, otherwise, you become a caricature of yourself.

And in Thrash, it's difficult not to repeat oneself. So, we await their second discographic chapter (if it ever arrives).