Merciless Death (Pol)

Holocaust

Thrashing Madness 2009

Once again Poland’s Thrashing Madness deliver an old school gem from the fellow countrymen Merciless Death.  The 6 track Holocaust album, originally released in 1992, takes on a deathier approach than its predecessor with more mature songwriting and tighter, more skillful handling of their instruments.  Thrash elements are fused with death metal elements into a menacing, brooding golem, smashing all in its wake on Holocaust.  Crunchy thrash riffs succumb to Pestilence references on Confounded with a morbid guitar solo that conjures memories of Carnage’s guitar mayhem.  Darker and more sinister, Bloodthirstiness summons images of France’s Loudblast simmering in a stew of slow motion Slayer for increased toxicity.   Everything for Glory rises next and the speedy riffing and galloping passages dwell in the shadows of Loudblast and Pestilence as it shreds with ferocious obscurity.  I even hear echoes of Schizophrenia era Sepultura lurking within the walls of the tracks on Holocaust and especially on the final track, The Curse of the Pharaohs.  Sweaty and obscure with South American ferocity the guitars saw and hack away with rabid fury to leave only blood devastation as this demo comes to a close.  Five live tracks from 1988 are tacked on to the end of this demo and showcase Merciless Death’s raw energy in the live environment and include some of the band’s early work such as Merciless Onslaught, Eternal Condemnation and Ritual of the Black Host.  Thrashing Madness have once again unearthed and resurrected a lost classic from these unheralded Poles and Merciless Death deserve far more attention than they have thus far received. Holocaust is a prime example of bands that unfairly slipped through the cracks but are well worth investing some time in investigating their work.