Speed metal band from Milwaukee, USA.
Realm - Endless War (RC Records/Roadrunner) 1988
1. "Endless War"
(3:26)
2. "Slay the Oppressor" (3:40)
3. "Eminence" (5:23)
4. "Fate's Wind" (3:42)
5. "Root of Evil" (5:05)
6. "Eleanor Rigby" (1:58)
7. "This House is Burning" (2:22)
8. "Second Coming" (4:33)
9. "All Heads Will Turn to the Hunt" (4:23)
10. "Mang" (0:46)
11. "Poisoned Minds" (4:16)
12. "Theseus and the Minotaur" (4:19)
Realm play "Bay Area"-style thrash metal with soaring clean, yet aggressive vocals, not unlike Anthrax, Violence, or Agent
Steel. (Realm is actually from Milwaukee.) Their style is slightly more complex than the average thrash band, being a mixture of high-speed metal and progressive overtones, putting them into similar music territory as Watchtower and Coroner. The band has speed, but they offer plenty of variety so that the songs and overall album never gets boring. Their cover of the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby" is awesome, and reason enough to own this disc by itself. However, the entire disc will kick your butt and send you into spastic fits of spontaneous moshing. I can't even imagine why these guys didn't become a much bigger band. As usual with good American metal, this band was more popular in Europe. Basically, "Endless War" is one of the best melodic, technical thrash metal albums to come out of the 1980's.
I am also quite intrigued by the band's lyrics. Check out the two songs below.
I searched and searched for this CD after picking up the band's second album "Suiciety" and thoroughly enjoying it. I soon discovered just how rare "Endless War" was on CD. I can't even tell you how many times I bid on it on eBay only for the price to go much higher than I was willing to pay. Argh!!! Neither of Realm's two CDs had been re-released yet so both were high sellers on eBay, consistently selling for around $50. OUCH! My good friend in Germany found me this copy for $18 used and traded me for an equally rare thrash CD, Powermad. Thanks Olaf.
SLAY THE OPPRESSOR Slay the Opressor ...evil plost against
man |
EMINENCE My heart pounds with fury Nightmare cease to exist Oh Lord give me strength I must face the beast within All my life something's been calling Who has filled me with this longing Why is the world so cold The sun shines but I cannot smile Something deep inside of me had died I don't know how long I can carry on this lie Awaken by the pounding in the distance Relentlessly it shook my soul Where does it come from, why do I only hear I ran to witness what I knew I would see Blood red skies engulfed the hill I could not hold back my tears There he was on the cross He was dying yet nobody cared. |
Realm - Suiciety (Roadracer) 1990
1. "Cain Rose Up (Scream
Bloody Gore)" (4:05)
2. "Fragile Earth" (3:40)
3. "Energentic Discontent" (3:50)
4. "Gateway" (3:29)
5. "Final Solution" (3:46)
6. "The Brainchild" (5:00)
7. "LaFlamme's Theory" (5:04)
8. "Dick" (3:41)
9. "Knee Deep in Blood" (3:17)
10. "Suiciety" (9:43)
This was one of those impulse buys. I saw it sitting on the shelf for $3.99 at a used CD store and decided to give it a try based on the year (1990), the label (Roadracer) and because the cover art look as though it belonged to a technical thrash band. Well, my assumptions were correct. This is excellent, technical thrash metal that is reminiscent of Powermad, Laaz Rockit, and early Anthrax. I love the speedy riffs topped with the clean high vocals that was common of the thrash scene at the time. The lyrics are interesting also as they focus on political and social topics such as the idiots who drink and drive ("Dick"). Of course, after digesting this CD, I began an instant search to find the band's first album, which I discovered was long out of print. My $3.99 find was quite a find, as I discovered that this CD was also out of print at the time and selling on eBay for obnoxious prices.
If you
like REALM, check out:
Powermad | Laaz
Rockit | Toxik | Agent
Steel | Atrophy | Deliverance