Flotsam And Jetsam
Doomsday For The Deceiver

The undeniable beauty of incomprehensible undervaluation.

This phrase could describe myriad groups and myriad musical works that, despite being magnificent innovators or incredible interpreters of the most disparate musical genres, have never managed to attract the curiosity and admiration (sometimes morbid) that many people feel for works and groups that are sometimes very deserving, but in many other cases decidedly mediocre. Let's say that many groups (or albums) remain in the oblivion of unpopularity even though they have all the characteristics to deserve the commercial success obtained by those who sometimes have no merits at all.

This boring introduction is to present to you a group that was still missing among the numerous reviews on DeBaser: Flotsam and Jetsam, which perfectly embody what has been said. So... A bit of history...

The group, sadly known only as the debut band of a certain Jason Newsted (for the very few who don't know, he is the former bassist of Metallica), was born in Scottsdale, Arizona, thanks to the aforementioned and then-unknown bassist, back in 1982, immediately standing out with the release of a couple of excellent speed-metal singles, including the legendary “MetalShock” (from which a well-known Italian magazine got its name) and by participating in the seventh edition of the Metal Massacre compilation (which, thanks to the legendary producer Brian Slagel, had already launched bands like Metallica, Armored Saint, Slayer, etc.).

Their sound, at the time, proved to be as innovative as it was markedly anchored to “priestly” and “Motorheadian” influences of seventies memory (with a keen eye on the new Thrash movement made in Bay Area, which was emerging in those years), and it highlighted a speed and a rational and controlled aggression in sound, typical of much more experienced artists, demonstrating an unexpected maturity and intelligence. In the summer of 1986 the turning point came... While the hard'n'heavy music world mourns the sudden and tragic death of Cliff Burton, Flotsam and Jetsam (with at the helm the one who would become the uncomfortable replacement for the poor Metallica bassist) released their debut record with the production of the indomitable and omnipresent Brian Slagel and his Metal Blade Records: “Doomsday for the Deceiver.”

Personally, I consider the album a little gem of the eighties' Speed-Thrash music and certainly one of the 10 most important and representative albums of the American Thrash Metal scene. But probably (and unfortunately), I believe I'm one of the few who thinks so... Oh well... But let's move on to this incredible album... So... Three things immediately catch the eye (or, more precisely, the ear)...

The first is the incredible, pulsating and dominant presence of the bass (played with a pick) in practically all the songs, with imaginative lines never too bound to the rhythms imposed by the guitars. Very young at the time, our Jason manages to stand out nonetheless for dynamism, precision, and virtuosity with a sound always on point and technically impeccable, bringing brutal scenic depth and, I dare say, “malevolence” to the songs (almost all written by Newsted both in music and lyrics, where he had the artistic and creative freedom he would never obtain in Metallica).

The second is the strange (for the genre) and high-pitched voice of Eric A.K. which, with its acute and scratchy timbre, strays quite a bit from the usual vocal offering of Thrash bands in general (much more brutal and “angry”) and approaches, in my opinion, the performances of classical Heavy singers of the almost contemporary N.W.O.B.H.M. (also demonstrating a veneration, by the singer, for King Diamond)... In short... A voice that, precisely because it significantly deviates from that of other groups in the same musical movement, is often (and still today) criticized by many, whereas, personally, I think it fits perfectly with the sound of “Doomsday...” and that it is even better (and more appropriate) than many other thrash singers who were, and still are, praised by critics and the public (who said Hetfield?).

The third is the obvious and devastating desire to break through by a young, promising group full of ideas, openly showcasing a cohesion and a “fun vibe” that surprises with freshness and “genuineness”. All the performances by the different members are noteworthy for their energy and violent attitude, from that of the two guitarists Michael Gilbert and Edward Carlson, who give us a cascade of sharp and angry riffs, to that of the dynamic, precise, and fast drummer Kelly David-Smith, who stands out for inventiveness and variety.

The production is raw as per tradition for those years (especially for debuts) but makes the sound even more compact and sincere. The album, in its progression, is very varied and presents itself (broadly speaking) as a summary of what American metal was in the early eighties (even though very linked to the emerging Thrash movement, and it is noticeable)... It transitions with singular naturalness from the Heavy-Speed sounds of the monumental “Hammerhead” and the “nervous” and “frantic” “Desecrator” to the typical (but not for the time) outbursts of technical Thrash on pieces like “Der Fuhrer” or the whirling “U.L.S.W.”, then confronting more classically typical rhythms with the magnificent “Iron Tears” (which one could listen to indefinitely) or the massive “She Took An Axe” (based on the macabre deeds of Lizzie Borden). But there is also room for Hard-Rock-oriented digressions masterfully blended with Bay-Area Thrash sound (excuse the pun) like on the solid “Fade To Black”. Above all tracks, however, standing out for beauty and attitude, are two pieces that I consider truly memorable and able to equally confront masterpiece songs of eighties Thrash: the long and majestic “Doomsday For The Deceiver” and “MetalShock” (already mentioned previously), two cornerstones of the genre that alone are worth the purchase of the album.

An album to be jealously guarded, which has its strong point in the successful blend of melody (anything but banal or immediate) and brutal sonic assault. In short... One would really have to try hard to find some defect or insecurity in this work, but if we really want to be picky, the only ones that could be defined as such are the not total mastery of their instruments by the two guitarists during the solos, which in some cases are not perfectly executed and with some uncertainties in melodic inventiveness (but what should we say about the Hanneman-King duo then?) and the horrible and banal cover. In conclusion...

This is an album that should not be missing from the shelf of anyone who defines themselves as a metalhead, but unfortunately, it didn't get the public and critical recognition it fully deserved and it gets placed, with all honors, at the top of the “Misunderstood Masterpieces” chart.

What a shame... Truly a shame.