Penetration Point

Although an invariably charismatic figure on the metal scene all these years, Nastie Ronnie somehow failed to lead his gang to the very top. One could perennially speculate regarding the reasons, or rather the factors, which impeded this from happening, but the truth is that Nasty Savage were one of the most interesting acts to ever grace the metal underground. Like hundreds of other young budding metal practitioners, they were enchanted by the thriving American power metal movement of the early/mid-80’s, and quickly joined the fray with their naïve, but highly inspired self-titled debut in 1985. Deeply immersed in the heroic power metal idea, with dark shades clouding the more optimistic nature of the latter style, Nastie and Co. had by all means an auspicious start.

Two years later the guys served a tasty surprise moving towards the thrash metal arena with the excellent “Indulgence”, an appetizing collection of highly energetic, semi-technical anthems. With this album the band polished their characteristic delivery: pounding, mostly mid-paced rhythms without too many fast-paced excursions. Their visions, however, reached higher on the fabulous 4-song EP “Abstract Reality” which saw them epitomizing a more intricate, complex approach bordering on the progressive. The transition to a full-fledged, accomplished technical thrash metal outfit was complete on the album reviewed here.

“Penetration Point” is an immaculate display of complexity and vision, and fits perfectly into the late-80’s landscape in the US when a gust of creativity swept the scene and gave birth to Watchtower, Toxik, Realm, Hexx, later-period Forbidden and Heathen, etc., not to mention underground geniuses like Premonition, Silo (later Vision Purple), Skitzo, and others. If Watchtower are too busy and overly complex for you, Toxik too melodic and not necessarily very thrashy (think “Think This”), and Realm too jumpy and unpredictable, then here comes this album to answer your prayers. This is vintage old school technical thrash all the way starting with the impossibly catchy “Welcome Wagon”, a feast for the ears with steam-rolling technical guitars marching forward remorselessly, not to mention the infectious chorus. “Irrational” serves highly irrational music (kidding here!) which is built around the faster parametres and is another delight with its spinning riffs and the sudden pounding, technical shifts.

“Ritual Submission” is a full-on intricate thrasher which doesn’t miss out on the melodic hooks, either, made more attractive thanks to a great main galloping motif the latter constantly “fighting” with the abundantly provided technical quirks. “Powerslam” slams the next in line portion of heavy elaborate rhythms alongside an unexpected headbanging passage (for the band’s standards) in the middle. “Sin Eater” is a labyrinthine piece which almost reaches the hard to decipher riff-patterns of Watchtower, the alleviation being another speedy distraction disguised under a vitriolic lead section. The title-track continues up the road to a more complex expression with another slab of highly-stylized riffage which is handsomely amplified by another galloping passage, a throwback at the guys’ power metal beginnings. “Puzzled” may not exactly puzzle you since this is the most direct composition here, steam-roller semi-technical barrage which speeds up quite a bit near the end. The wrap on is nothing short of outstanding, though, with the gorgeous instrumental “Horizertical” and the closing “Family Circus” shooting the album straight to the top with some of the most perfectly executed technical rifforamas ever.

One can’t possibly write anything about this album without mentioning David Austin, the guitar virtuoso responsible for the superb technical escapades. The man shreds with gusto always aware of when he should stop perplexing the listener, and serve a more straight-forward passage thus never turning his performance into a blatant exhibition of dexterity. It’s a shame he never got the exposure other less deserving guitar "heroes" did; maybe a solo album released soon after this effort could have helped him carve a more lasting trace on the metal scene.

And Mr. Nastie Ronnie, of course, possessing a very characteristic semi-clean baritone which to these ears could fit well on a death metal, or at least a semi-death metal, album even. He sings in an intimidating husky manner for most of the time, but his versatility clearly shows on the several cleaner passages, and by all means on the times when he shrieks like a banshee to a shattering effect, a not very expected, but interesting application.

This is an addictive listen which sees the band reaching the pinnacle of their musical evolution. It’s hard to see how they would have been able to top this masterpiece if they had voted to carry on through the difficult 90’s. After a climactic release like that a split up seemed the only logical aftermath unless Nastie Ronnie and his cohort had decided, more or less reluctantly, to join the growing grunge/aggro movement. The majority of the technical metal wizards from both sides of the Atlantic had settled for the same alternative, and those who decided to give themselves another chance (Forbidden, Deathrow) failed, the sole exception being Mekong Delta who were the only outfit that not only managed to thrive, but also to create their magnum opus (“Kaleidoscope”, 1992).

The resurrection wave which began in the late-90’s woke up a lot of dormant spirits, and the Nasties had no second thoughts rising to the occasion. During this hibernation period they had also turned to psychos as evident from the title of their new album (“Psycho Psycho”). Alas, they had also lost the splendid technical flair from their past exploits this new work showing them playing fairly conventional classic power/thrash spiced with casual references to the still relevant angrier side of the genre from the 90’s. Not a bad effort at all, it could have delighted the fanbase much more if there weren’t the flooding memories of the guys’ much more impressive past repertoire. It can at least serve as a base on which the band can build a magnanimous follow-up and challenge their own past creations. I doubt they would be able to surpass their “Penetration Point”, but they are still active, and who knows, they might as well produce another enchanter to top the new millennium’s list of video… sorry, metal nasties.

Nasty Savage's third full-length effort Penetration Point poses somewhat of a quandary in the band's catalog. Musically, it's the natural evolution of the previous releases Indulgence and Abstract Reality, a slab of semi-tech thrash metal which, while not ahead of many of the band's European or US peers, was still quite fairly standout for 1989 among a sea of weaker US thrash acts that sounded like bad Anthrax or S.O.D. clones. However, some of the lyrics and song titles seemed like the band had brought back a little of the humor of their waking years, albeit cast in a more urban, late 80s schtick rather than a reversion back to the metal knights and pleasure dungeons of the debut. But don't be fooled, because there's generally a method to the madness.

The album opener is a good example of what I mean. "Welcome Wagon" opens and closes in a very brief vocal sample which seems like a bad joke, but the riffs are purely wild thrash metal in the spirit of the band's previous album Indulgence. The lyrics, while presenting a pastiche of strange pop references and cliches, and delivered in a number of schizophrenic vocal passages which seem like Nasty Ronnie is rekindling the joker inside him, are actually pretty serious. "Irrational" commences with a pretty yet clinical sequence of clean guitars, with new bassist Richard Bateman (the 4th in four releases) making his presence felt, before the bouncing thrash rhythms that feel like a tour through the local asylum. "Ritual Submission" becomes even more clinical, with a nice tech rhythm somewhere between the first Pestilence album and Deathrow's later 80s transition, flowing into some solid speed/thrash with a tight solo segment. It is "Powerslam", however, which serves as one of the album's more memorable tracks, with its sense for mid-paced momentum that should have seen it up among the 'Toxic Waltzes' that were all the rage among the average thrash fan. And what's more, the song is actually a tribute to professional wrestling...

'Clothesline, forearm smash
Squared circle, deathmatch
A piledriver on the floor
Non-stop action
No holds barred'

I don't know whether to run screaming or admire the band for this, but hell, if Mickey Rourke can validate the entire profession with a killer film in 2008, why not Nasty Savage with a great tech thrash tune almost 20 years before? Structurally, it's one of my favorites of their career. And at this point, the album really picks up steam which will last it until the very end, beginning with the frenzied "Sin Eater", with its lunacy inducing verse smothered in almost free-form, barking poetry that disperses for the excursions into the underside of sanity that are the raging, busy guitars. "Penetration Point" spirals us directly back into the madhouse with a slew of psychopath riffing, and this is another of the album's highlights (and the band's career highlights), as it shows the advanced level this band were at compared to numerous American acts lagging far behind.

"Puzzled" rambles forth at a similar pace to "Powerslam", but injects a wonderful, smarmy groove in around :20 that precedes Ronnie's suburban splatter. This is followed by "Horizertical", a rather excessive instrumental track clocking around 5:30 minutes of the band's more adventurous rhythmic whims. It's certainly not bad, but for the most part the riffs are of the variety that might have been served with some of Ronnie's vocals, though they do flare up into a more anthemic sequence reminiscent of some instrumental guitar rock & metal of this time. "Family Circus" ends the album on a high note, with pumping thrash and scurrilous speed metal infusions, and lyrics that parallel both the long-term popular comic strip and a more sinister, suburban implication of disenchantment.

As silly as some of the vocals may seem in their delivery, or in the lyrical component, they're fairly meaningful, some even relevant today. Combined with the best riffing of the band's more inspired thrash phase, Penetration Point remains my favorite Nasty Savage album, edging out Indulgence and the s/t, and honestly the last one worth hearing. The band's later reunion album Psycho Psycho isn't bad, and in fact the darker production gives it a more brutal edge than any of the band's 80s work, but there is simply some magic missing there that can likely be attributed to the passage of time, and the riffs don't really compare in my opinion. It's the 1985-89 period of this band that best represents their contribution to the US power/thrash dynasty, and Penetration Point is the jewel which sparkles brightest atop their crown.

Highlights: Ritual Submission, Powerslam, Puzzled, Family Circus

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com