When Deceased last played in D.C., Tranquil Terror was on the bill, and there was a lot of catching up to do amongst many show-goers that night. It was a treat seeing Tranquil Terror’s set, as the rhythm section is from the classic lineup of Virginia death metal band Abominog, and the guitarist is a founding member of Deceased. At the show, Tranquil Terror’s bass player shoved the band’s two CDs into D.U.‘s hand.
The band classes itself as “classic thrash metal,” and while the band’s first album, Killzone, has lots of classic metal influences, the band doesn’t thrash here as much as, say, 1980s Metallica or Anthrax. Killzone features acoustic guitar work and power ballads (“Bringer of Pain,” “Tranquil Terror”) but generally is an unpolished heavy metal record with some up-tempo bits. The songs range from around five to nine minutes in length, which itself is kind of heavy metal.
The band’s latest album, Iron Statue, is a great deal thrashier than the first record. The vocalist and drummer here are different than on the previous recording, and that’s made a lot of difference. Besides the faster tempos, the songs are shorter and rage harder, and the vocal style stands out as having a less-classic-metal approach. Unlike the first record, the lyrics are included on Iron Statue, and we must say, “We have to stop using mother earth like a whore / or mother earth might not put out anymore” from “Existence is Futile” is a lyric the likes of which we haven’t seen.
Iron Statue and Killzone are both available on CD from Lost Apparition Records.
Band photo: Tranquil Terror
