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Wpnfire · 11-10-2014, 10:20 AM

Cerebral Fix - Tower of Spite

Genre: Thrash, Death, Doom.
Release: 1990.

Possibly the most evil sounding thrash metal album in existence--if you couldn't guess by the album name. Heavily based in a technical thrash metal sound, Tower of Spite borders on death metal, but contains very extreme tempo changes that give it a very doomy feel at times as well.

Comparisons are futile. Slaughter in the Vatican meets Power from Hell meets Time Does Not Heal are the closest comparisons I can make, but it still does not match what Cerebral Fix achieved here--let alone account for the doom sound. Singer Simon Forrest is exquisite. He was born to sing on a doomy thrash/death album, and compliments the instrumentation pretty much as well as you can do. Every song is at least somewhat different than the last. "Unity For Who?" opens the album with an incredibly awesome riff, before speeding up to thrash, and then, borderline death metal. The evil sounding, "Feast Of The Fools," is one of the tracks where the doom metal sound materializes, opening with evil sounding maniacal laughter and a sludgy riff.

"Chasten Of Fear," and "Circle of the Earth" start at thrash speed, before descending into doomy territory once more. The album's second longest track, "Quest for Midian" contains a surprisingly epic and melodic solo, totally out of nowhere among the buzzsaw riffs. "Forgotten Genocide" goes crazy with blastbeats. "Culte Des Mortes" revolves on medium speed riffs, with a strong beat that sounds almost groove-laden. The last minute is heavily melodic, and, oddly, fades out. The final track, "Closing Irony" ends as well as "Unity For Who?" opened the album. An extended, introductory, technical thrash-fest complete with buzzsaw riffs, snare drums, and melodic soloing.

For an album that came out in 1990, Cerebral Fix shows that bands were still capable of doing new things in thrash metal. I can think of several thrash albums that have more variety, but none of them cover as much ground genre-wise as Tower of Spite. It is a technical album, but it does not go wild with bravado. It is a simplistic, and well-balanced album. If there is one album that deserves the title of heaviest thrash metal album in existence, it should be Tower of Spite.

Ever wonder what thrash/doom sounds like? Tower of Spite!
Don't like the singer of Dark Angel? Tower of Spite!
Like the intensity of technical death metal but don't like the vocals? Tower of Spite!
What is one of the most underrated thrash metal albums? Tower of Spite!
What does evil sound like? Tower of Spite!

I'm going to give this one a 4/5, because while the songs have pretty much no flaws, I think one or two tracks could be removed. However, I would not be surprised if I am the only one that thinks that, and other people give this a 5/5.

Favorite tracks: "Unity For Who?" "Feast of the Fools" "Quest for Midian" "Closing Irony"

Overall Rating: 4/5

11-10-2014, 10:20 AM	#48 (permalink)
Wpnfire Dragon Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Kansas, United States Posts: 2,744	Cerebral Fix - Tower of Spite Genre: Thrash, Death, Doom. Release: 1990. Possibly the most evil sounding thrash metal album in existence--if you couldn't guess by the album name. Heavily based in a technical thrash metal sound, Tower of Spite borders on death metal, but contains very extreme tempo changes that give it a very doomy feel at times as well. Comparisons are futile. Slaughter in the Vatican meets Power from Hell meets Time Does Not Heal are the closest comparisons I can make, but it still does not match what Cerebral Fix achieved here--let alone account for the doom sound. Singer Simon Forrest is exquisite. He was born to sing on a doomy thrash/death album, and compliments the instrumentation pretty much as well as you can do. Every song is at least somewhat different than the last. "Unity For Who?" opens the album with an incredibly awesome riff, before speeding up to thrash, and then, borderline death metal. The evil sounding, "Feast Of The Fools," is one of the tracks where the doom metal sound materializes, opening with evil sounding maniacal laughter and a sludgy riff. "Chasten Of Fear," and "Circle of the Earth" start at thrash speed, before descending into doomy territory once more. The album's second longest track, "Quest for Midian" contains a surprisingly epic and melodic solo, totally out of nowhere among the buzzsaw riffs. "Forgotten Genocide" goes crazy with blastbeats. "Culte Des Mortes" revolves on medium speed riffs, with a strong beat that sounds almost groove-laden. The last minute is heavily melodic, and, oddly, fades out. The final track, "Closing Irony" ends as well as "Unity For Who?" opened the album. An extended, introductory, technical thrash-fest complete with buzzsaw riffs, snare drums, and melodic soloing. For an album that came out in 1990, Cerebral Fix shows that bands were still capable of doing new things in thrash metal. I can think of several thrash albums that have more variety, but none of them cover as much ground genre-wise as Tower of Spite. It is a technical album, but it does not go wild with bravado. It is a simplistic, and well-balanced album. If there is one album that deserves the title of heaviest thrash metal album in existence, it should be Tower of Spite. Ever wonder what thrash/doom sounds like? Tower of Spite! Don't like the singer of Dark Angel? Tower of Spite! Like the intensity of technical death metal but don't like the vocals? Tower of Spite! What is one of the most underrated thrash metal albums? Tower of Spite! What does evil sound like? Tower of Spite! I'm going to give this one a 4/5, because while the songs have pretty much no flaws, I think one or two tracks could be removed. However, I would not be surprised if I am the only one that thinks that, and other people give this a 5/5. Favorite tracks: "Unity For Who?" "Feast of the Fools" "Quest for Midian" "Closing Irony" Overall Rating: 4/5 __________________ Last.FM My RYM Ratings *My Glitchwave Beta Profile* Last edited by Wpnfire; 11-10-2014 at 10:27 AM.