No Life 'til Metal - CD Gallery

1. Not My World (7:09)
2. Vision (5:02)
3. One by One (5:32)
4. P.O.W. 13 (5:54)
5. Malpractice (6:58)
6. Fight the Fight (6:23)
7. P.G. 13 [instrumental] (7:27)

BONUS TRACKS ("World War III" demo)

8. Red Zone (5:57)
9. In God We Trust (4:50)
10. Talking Down (5:20)
11. Lines of Death (6:03)

Originally released in 1988 on the arcane, collectible, German label, Aaarrg Records. "One Nation Under God" was one of those lost, underground gems that most metal fans didn't even know existed until this resurrected release over two decades later. Last Descendants are, for the most part, power/thrash metal from the Bay Area with a lot of progressive metal tendencies. This is not your average thrash-for-thrash-sake type band. Rather, Last Descendants "One Nation Under God" has much in common with bands like Mekong Delta, Believer and Artillery. The band have managed to balance catchy songs with fairly complex, technical song writing. They also manage to balance speed and mid-paced tempos to create an album that is never boring, even during a seven-minute long instrumental ("P.G.13"). It's also worth mentioning the gruff, thrashy vocals of James Waits whose aggressive style fits the heavy music perfectly.

The Stormspell Records re-issue is digitally remastered, and expanded with the 1986 "World War III" demo as bonus tracks. The four added bonus tracks are traditional heavy metal, perhaps crossing the line to American power metal with some progressive tendencies. The demo tracks feature vocals by Kenneth Ueda, who has a much cleaner style than James Waits. These four songs are a nice addition, but honestly, it's the original seven tracks that are the main draw here. The 2010 edition also comes with a thick booklet crammed with tons of photos, old flyers, lyrics, band bio-info and an exclusive interview with drummer William C. Ackerman. This might be one of Stormspell's best re-issues. It's certainly one gem I was unaware of until this re-issue.