Meliah Rage
Kill to Survive

The history of heavy metal is filled with bands that are semi-unknown to most, yet they still boast a hardcore base of more or less loyal fans; this happens regardless of their abilities or the quality of their music: it just happens that way...

 Meliah Rage belongs to this category of bands that, for one reason or another, did not manage to gain the attention of the wider public, despite possessing good skills and offering a style that, during those years, was receiving favorable feedback. The band was formed at the end of the '80s by guitarist and composer Anthony Nichols, residing in Boston. The rather unusual name of the band seems to have originated from the fury that took over an ancient local indigenous tribe, the Meliah, whenever they entered battle under the influence of opium.

 Musically, the quintet (completed by Mike Munro on vocals, Jim Koury on second guitar, Jessie Johnson on bass, and Stuart Dowie on drums) is generally categorized within the thrash metal genre; this definition is only partly correct because, along with the tight rhythms typical of early Metallica/Testament thrash, the band combines a taste and melodic search borrowed directly from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal of the early Iron Maiden and more obscure bands like Grim Reaper. An explosive mix that results in a powerful, raw, and aggressive sound, in line with their near contemporaries Metal Church or Vicious Rumors: in short, call it thrash metal, call it US power metal, the essence remains the same...

The album itself is very short, just 7 tracks that play smoothly: from the opener "Beginning of the End," one of the most powerful tracks of the entire work (with an initial attack "borrowed" from someone much more famous) to the concluding "The Pack," a classic example of high-speed speed metal. In between, the heavy groove of "Bates Motel," the furious assault of "Deadly Existence," which contrasts with the following "Enter the Darkness," with its catchy rhythm and melodic lines of verses and choruses that immediately captivate the listener; there's also room for a long instrumental simply titled "Meliah Rage," showcasing all the characteristics of the band's sound: tight rhythms are complemented by more cadenced moments, with numerous guitar solos tying everything together. Missing from the list is the title track "Kill to Survive," literally removed by the record company due to its contents deemed too explicit and violent, which would have caused numerous problems due to the strict control exercised by the PMRC on the music industry at the time (only to be included just a year later on the live EP "Live Kill"...)

 Despite this good debut, the band did not have an easy path and failed to emerge in the crowded "metal scene" of those years: this album was followed by another good work in "Solitary Solitude," but then the advent of the grunge wave wiped everything and everyone away, forcing the band to abort the project of a third album (which was eventually released in 2002 under the name "Unfinished Business") and to disappear from the scene for a few years, only to reappear sporadically with numerous changes to the original lineup and with works of fluctuating quality. Lately, partly with the return of Munro, the band seems to have found some stability, culminating in the 2009 release of the convincing "Masquerade."

A band to rediscover; a band not composed of virtuosos, but of honest and capable craftsmen who tried to chase a dream, like many other bands of their time for whom better fortunes were reserved, which unfortunately were denied to Meliah Rage.