Powerlord
The Awakening
6 Track E.P
Shadow Kingdom Records
Reissue 19th August 2014
Out soon!
Written for RAMzine
Powerlord – Oklahoma City
Links:
Genre: Speed Thrash
Biography:
“Powerlord formed in 1984 by the two brothers Tony and Bob Gourley and had only
one release ‘The Awakening’ which was originally unleashed in 1986. Bob had previously
been on tour with Slayer and had also played with Dark Angel for a couple of
years.
Powerlord released this self-financed E.P in 1986 which was then re-released
as a split cd with Maxx Warrior and Messiah Prophet on the German label Rusty
Diamond in 2003. The band split up soon after the E.P was released.”
Stepping back in time - Powerlord
The first track on the E.P ‘Masters
of Death’ chugs to a frenzied groove and the guitar riffs are fast and
raucous. It does take you back to the
80’s when thrash dominated the scene. Although I was never a thrash merchant
back then and I live to regret that, but put it down to taste not maturing
quick enough.
‘Malice’ again chugs and ferociously
attacks the sound barrier with evil shrieks of madness. Impressively fast and
precise which is expelled forcibly to present a dominating and intense track.
------------------------------------------------
“Their music is gripping and
tumultuous and for the time of its first release no doubt sparked a healthy
interest. Nowadays though, sadly ‘Thrash’ is being thrown to the back of the
queue as more dominating genres such as death metal and grind core are taking
the forefront, although I cannot complain – but it’s great to hear the
speed/thrash genre once again even if it does smack of the 80’s!”
------------------------------------------------
This one opens with sinister bells and a roaming guitar. ‘Silent Terror’ plods slowly working
up into a heavy twisting malevolent force. It does lose its speed related theme
but without losing energy and is very complex.
‘The Invasion of the
Lord’ Screams violently into motion. The vocals sounding
harsher and flirting with a lustful appetite. Killer of a track, most
definitely with drums and guitar pushing the boundaries of its fit to bursting
structures.
‘Merciless Titans’ is another track that chugs fiercely igniting a pleasurable energy. Its
repetition fuelling the fire and no doubt in its day caused a lot of hair to
fly. It doesn’t just stop at being fast either as it shows even greater
tenacity as the track flourishes.
Heavy dark and with
military precision ‘(The Awakening)
Powerlord’ is unrelenting, spawning a certain destructive content as it
rampages furiously.
Summary
Although the E.P does carry with it that 80’s feel you can’t help
but get caught up in its predaciousness. It brings back to life a scene when
thrash dominated to the point of overload and gives people like myself a chance
to wallow in what was!
This is the third time the E.P has been released since 1986, making
me think that these guys are not going to disappear altogether but keeping
their ‘fingers in the pie’ so to speak, maybe they are planning a come back?
Their music is gripping and tumultuous and for the time of its first
release no doubt sparked a healthy interest. Nowadays though, sadly ‘Thrash’ is
being thrown to the back of the queue as more dominating genres such as death
metal and grind core are taking the forefront, although I cannot complain – but
it’s great to hear the speed/thrash genre once again even if it does smack of
the 80’s.
8½/10
Track List:
Masters of Death
Malice
Silent Terror
The Invasion of the Lord
Merciless Titans
(The Awakening) Powerlord
Members:
Brian Massey - Bass
Bob Gourley - Drums
Dane Cook - Vocals
Tony Gourley - Guitar
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