COUP de GRACE
Thrash metal band from Minneapolis,
MN formed in 1987.
The Coup de Grace (Red Decibel) 1990
1. "Daylight Dawning"
(4:43)
2. "Burning With Optimism" (3:13)
3. "Sad But True" (3:18)
4. "Bombs Away" (2:49)
5. "Me, Myself and I" (4:59)
6. "'Til the Bitter End" (5:06)
7. "All of the Above" (2:33)
8. "Barbed Wire" (4:00)
9. "So Be It" (5:18)
I checked out Coup de Grace simply based on the fact that they were labeled "thrash metal". A quick check on-line and the major hype over these guys was that the album was produced by Soul Asylum's Dave Pirner. OK, that means absolutely nothing to me at all. Thankfully, the music has nothing to do with Soul Asylum at all. Rather what we have here is a mixture of melodic thrash metal, traditional heavy metal and some groove based riffing. Generally when I think of thrash, bands like Slayer, Kreator, Exodus, etc. come to mind. Coupe de Grace doesn't sound like any of these bands. Rather, they are far more melodic and less chaotic and heavy. Unfortunately they also don't seem to possess the killer instinct or the instant hooks of those bands either. It took me several listens before I could begin to appreciate this album. The exception to this would be the most excellent "Barbed Wire", which fast thrash riffs and a fantastic, slow, doomy solo break in the middle. I actually think this CD would have been better with a slightly more raw, heavier recording. Coupe de Grace's debut is not a bad album by any stretch. Most thrash and speed metal fanatics should find something to enjoy here.
I would say that the debut showed enough promise that their second CD would be something to look out for. Unfortunately according to a reliable source who has heard the band's follow-up, they spent too much time hanging around Soul Asylum and it showed in their music.