V I O - L E N C E
Bay Area thrash metal! Vio-lence was formed under the name Death Penalty in 1985. They quickly changed their name to Violence, and then the two-tiered logo with hyphen forced the name change to its permanent form. Guitarist Rob Flynn had played in Forbidden before they recorded any albums and formed Machine Head after the demise of Vio-lence.

Eternal Nigtmare Vio-lence - Eternal Nightmare (Megaforce) 1988

1."Eternal Nightmare" (6:04)
2."Serial Killer" (2:56)
3."Phobophobia" (6:27)
4."Calling in the Coroner" (3:54)
5."T.D.S. (Take It as You Will)" (5:01)
6."Bodies on Bodies" (5:47)
7."Kill on Command" (4:59)

One of the all time fastest, heaviest, and of course, most violent thrash CDs ever to be released. For years this was one of those ultra-rare, hard to find CDs! It sold on ebay consistently for $50+ until it was finally re-released in 2005. Fortunately, I happened upon a stack of cheap, sealed, rare discs at one of those stupid chain stores. I bought the whole pile and traded them for some rare discs I wanted. In this case I traded Rage of Angels for this original copy "Eternal Nightmare".

Oppressing the Masses Vio-lence - Oppressing the Masses (Megaforce) 1990

1."I Profit" (7:04)
2."Officer Nice" (5:23)
3."Subterfuge" (4:38)
4."Engulfed by Flames" (3:53)
5."World in a World" (4:11)
6."Mentally Afflicted" (5:48)
7."Liquid Courage" (5:26)
8."Oppressing the Masses" (4:58)

"Oppressing the Masses" was the final disc missing from my Vio-lence collection. I didn't ever think I would find this one, at least not for a reasonable price. I picked up this disc new and sealed from an internet trader on the Perpetual Motion Board for $10.

Vio-lence's softmore effort is very similar to their debut with a slightly better production. "Oppressing the Masses" is fast, furious, and tight but the band has also added some mid-paced mosh parts to make things even better. Perhaps this is why many consider this disc to not be as good as the first. I happen to like the mid-paced stuff. "Oppressing the Masses" is a great thrash disc by a very underrated band.

Torture Tactics Violence - Torture Tactics (Caroline) 1991

1."Torture Tactics" (5:18)
2."Officer Nice" [live] (5:47)
3."Gutterslut" (3:22)
4."Dicks of Death" (3:39)

"Torture Tactics"- the CD is a rare EP that contains songs that were supposedly omitted from the "Oppressing the Masses" CD because their record company at the time thought it was too violent and controversial. (Wow! A record company with morals, who would have ever thought? Yea, right!) Anyhow, the song is no worse than anything else that was being put out by the thrash bands at the time. Of course, the name of the game is, "let's be offensive for offensive's sake." Stupid lyrics, but killer music. "Officer Nice" was a fake live track. The live intro is taken from Vio-lence's Hallendale, FL, show from August 1988. I had seen this used several times and passed it up, due to the very reasons I just listed, but as I saw the price going up on Ebay, I decided I better snag one before they are "rare and hard to find." Well, wouldn't ya know, a quick check on eBay has copies sold for as much as $20. Yikes! It's just not worth that much, although even if you offer it to me, I won't sell my copy.

Nothing to Gain Violence - Nothing to Gain (Bleeding Heart) 1993

1."Atrocity" (5:00)
2."Twelve Gauge Justice" (4:47)
3."Ageless Eyes" (4:08)
4."Pain of Pleasure/Virtues of Vice" (5:45)
5."Killing My Words" (4:22)
6."Psychotic Memories" (5:23)
7."No Chains" (5:03)
8."Welcoming Party/This is System" (6:56)
9."Colour of Life" (3:39)

Killer thrash album with lots of rhythm changes, tempo changes, and even some cool acoustic parts thrown in to create the right mood. The band slowed the tempo down a bit on this one, which in my opinion, improves the overall vibe as it give the songs more room to breathe. My copy of "Nothing to Gain" is an European import with a different cover from most of the copies I have seen.

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