One of the problems with a genre exploding in popularity is that a shitload of bands start playing that genre and suddenly record stores are swamped with bands of varying levels of quality. It becomes difficult to separate the good bands from those who really did not deserve any sort of recognition whatsoever. Such was the case with thrash in the late 80's/early 90's (and is beginning to happen again now). Still though, some gems get kind of lost in the shuffle.Which all brings us to Intruder's Psycho Savant. This is actually an exceptional album and a completely hidden gem. I had never heard of the band until a few weeks ago when I was at the local excuse for a record store whose only redeeming value is the wall of cassettes in the back. I saw this tape in the bargain bin for $3.00 and decided to pick it up, guessing as to its metal classification only by the cover art.
As it turns out, this is a great album that came out right before grunge "killed" the metal scene and is thus an afterthought album. At a time when many of the bigger metal bands like Metallica were softening their sound, this album stands out as a last ditch effort to retain the glory days of early 1980's thrash. Sounding like a progressive-tinged mashup of Exodus, Anthrax, and Testament, Intruder clearly had technical chops, savvy songwriting ability, and infectious riffs. If only this album had come out a few years earlier, Intruder could have been a much bigger name than they are.
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