Powermad
Absolute Power
1989
Here's another prime piece of forgotten thrash for you. These guys are pretty talented, I gotta say. Great rhythms and top-notch wanking on the gitter. Joel Dubay's vocals aren't too far off from Flotsam and Jetsam's Eric A.K., though he tends to alternate the higher-pitched, clearer style vocals with a more traditional 80s gruff thrash vocal style. Powermad is from Minneapolis. Off hand I can't think of another metal band from Minneapolis. I first heard these guys around the time this album came out because they used to advertise in Metal Edge and Circus and those type of magazines, and my old friend Ryan ordered their cassette based on one of those ads. We thought they sounded a lot like Metallica, though I don't necessarily hear that any more.
Hey, you know, listening to this record for some reason reminded me of a conversation I had years ago with my buddy Eric about the difference between thrash metal and speed metal. At the time I maintained that it was a difference in vocals: gruff vocals meant it was thrash, clear or high-pitched vocals meant speed metal. I don't really feel that way any more, and so I ask you: is there any difference between speed and thrash, or are they just two names for the same thing (with speed metal falling out of favor over the years)?
Absolute Power
5 comments:
Totally two names for the same thing with "speed metal" falling out of favor over the years.
I know this from reading the aforementioned "Circus" and "Metal Edge" magazines, as well as weird heavy metal encyclopedia-type books at Waldenbooks while my mom was off shopping at Talbot's.
Just kidding, I know this because I was into this stuff before I decided I wanted to be kvlt.
Yeah, I think you're right. But there are still times when I hear something and think "speed metal" instead of "thrash metal," and I can't explain why. Old habits, I guess.
Maybe "speed metal" is a subset of "thrash metal." I have no reason to have an opinion on this at all, except for that's sort of what I thought when I read this.
I'm gonna write my doctoral thesis on the difference between the various types of metal.
Wow, completely forgot about this one, probably since the days of me buying said magazines at said outlets back in the day.
We should trade links - this blog is pretty cool - so hit me up!
Thanks for checking mine out.
Post a Comment