The album kicks off with an impressively dark and malevolent opening track and then moves directly into the speedy title track. The band does manage to create a hellish atmosphere through riffs and drums that seem to attack the listener from all angles. The vocals are somewhat buried in the mix, giving them kind of an echo chamber vibe that adds to the haunting atmosphere. Frequently a background howl or scream comes through to add to the lead vocals, which further increases the feeling of a hellish chamber. The guitar solos and leads sound positively bright in comparison, providing some light in the darkness.
The album mostly moves at a lightning pace but things initially slow down in "Valley of Death", only to come crashing back down halfway through where the tortured screaming in the background hits its peak. After that it dives back into the maniacal "The Nazarene" and, in my opinion the best song on the album, "Bells of Hades". That song features crushing riffs and almost constant guitar soloing, along with probably the best vocal performance on the album. Other highlights include the deliberate "Babylon" and the almost anthemic "Eve of Destruction".
This is a very strong album all the way through and I am enjoying it more and more with each listen. It is even more impressive with the context that it came out in 1987 when hair bands were all the rage. This is a particularly dark and nasty take on traditional heavy metal that sounds increasingly so when viewed in light of what was mostly coming out at the time. I consider this to be a forgotten gem. And yes, this album still has not totally sunk in yet.
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