Onslaught
Power From Hell

Bristol, 1983. Nige Rockett (guitar) and Steve Grice (drums), workers in a paint company and yet another victims of the now rampant Thatcherism, mesmerized by the album of the three monkeys, decide to form a band following the footsteps of the big names of hardcore of those years: Discharge (indeed) and Exploited (for whom the band's original lineup would open some concerts). With the addition of Jase Pope (vocals) and Paul Hill (bass), the lineup is complete, and the first Onslaught finally sees the light. Within a few weeks, the first symptoms of what would prove to be a lethal pathology for the band begin to show: the uncontrollable instability of the lineup. Pope and Hill last just a handful of months and live performances before abandoning the wagon, giving way to a delirious turnover of singers and bassists that not even the release of the first full-length album can stop. Meanwhile, as the years go by and with the growing success of thrash, the band's sound shifts slowly but inexorably towards more distinctly metal sounds. Towards the end of 1984, two pieces of good news: the lineup is enriched with two new and valid members (Jase Stallard on bass/guitar and Paul "Mo" Mahoney on vocals), and, most importantly, a small local label (Children Of The Revolution) declares itself willing to produce the band's first full-length.

And so we reach 1985, the year of release for "Power From Hell". The assault, entrusted to the title track, is masterful and disconcerting. On one hand, the immediacy, primitive and raw aggressiveness of very fast, harsh, rough riffs, yet direct and decidedly engaging in their simplicity. On the other hand, a production that, in its mediocrity, bets everything on the guitar sound: of rare and precious heaviness, oppressive and cavernous. The early hardcore still peeks through (particularly in "Thermonuclear Devastation", not coincidentally among the few remaining tracks of the very early period), and there's also room for more cadenced episodes ("Lord Of Evil") in which the influence of papa Cronos is more evident. But it's with the fastest and most violent tracks that this album carves out its own little spot in the history of metal. Alongside more traditional episodes (the instrumental "Skull Crusher 1 & 2" or the two "The Devils Legion – Part 1 & 2", in which even the vocals are more solidly anchored to thrash stereotypes), there are others ("Angels Of Death" and "Steel Meets Steel", especially) where the songwriting deviates towards an atypical sound due to the intrinsic germs of that proto-death of which Possessed are considered the undisputed heralds. A sort of sound blending that seems to want to push the thrash paradigm towards a new limit, towards a new attitude, if possible even more aggressive because darker and more primitive. In which the same vocals seem to anticipate the times: not simply shouted and angry, but guttural and dark, to the point of being considered a forerunner of that growl that will be the bane and boon for many future death bands. Calling "Power From Hell" a masterpiece, in my view, would be reckless. It is certainly a great 80s thrash/death album (a definition to be taken, in any case, with all the caution in the world), raw, fast, and dark, but if one takes a look at the calendar, its indispensability is dramatically compromised by the comparison with the numerous milestones of the genre that were seeing the light in those very months: "Hell Awaits", for example, the slightly earlier "Morbid Tales" or, again, Destruction's debut. Not to mention some content flaws that should not be overlooked: the approximate technique and excessive length of some tracks, for example, or the overly pronounced "homogeneity" and compactness (linearity?) of the product as a whole. Much more correct, therefore, in my view, is to recognize its historicity and importance for a scene, the Anglo-Saxon one of the second half of the '80s, preying on a sort of aphasia of extreme metal. With the failure of NWOBHM, the United Kingdom found itself unable to represent a valid alternative to the overseas thrash revolution: at the time of "Power From Hell"'s release, in practice, there were no other bands of the genre that boasted even a minimal following outside the underground circuit (perhaps with the sole exception of Warfare: Sabbat, Acid Reign, and Deathwish would reach their respective debut albums only 2-3 years later). Even Venom, precisely in 1985, would have released what would be considered by many as the first misstep of their career (ironically titled "Possessed"). It is only fair, therefore, to attribute the due merits to a band that had the courage to carry forward its musical proposal in a context that was at least hostile. Secondly, and again in my view, it is equally appropriate to recognize this album – and again with due clarifications – the merit of having inspired and influenced the future death scene, particularly from the sound viewpoint. The comparison with "Seven Churches" by Possessed, in this regard, is inevitable and, given the almost contemporaneity of the two releases, almost obligatory.

Becerra's proto-growl will rightly remain in history as the main and never hidden source of inspiration for what can be considered the charismatic father of death: Chuck Shuldiner. The uncompromising and exasperated violence pouring from Lalonde and Torraro's guitars in "Seven Churches" is perhaps not even approached by the Bristol quartet's debut. Yet labeling "Power From Hell" as just another '80s thrash album would mean overlooking and underestimating some aspects that, on the contrary, constitute its backbone and lifeblood: a grim and evil guitar sound, rarely heard in a "typical" Bay Area album, vocals by "Mo" Mahoney that, following the lesson of master T. G. Warrior, exacerbate, in a darker tone, the genre's characteristic bawdiness, and again, the occult themes and affection for Satanic iconography. Not forgetting (as determining as it may be) the repeated use of the term "Death Metal," just as in Possessed's debut (so much so that there is still debate over which of the two bands can claim paternity). Already the following year, the group would release what many (including the undersigned) consider the pinnacle of the band's production: "The Force", yet another semi-masterpiece this time of pure '80s thrash. But this, as they say, is another review.