Nothing to Fear

This is one of the nine or ten thrash metal albums that I don’t know a single metalhead who doesn’t like it. And yet, whenever we discuss US thrash, or thrash metal in general, very seldom does one mention Wrath and the opus reviewed here, including me. The band output never reached the shores of Bulgaria in the 80s, and it wasn’t until the influx of the Internet that fans from more remote corners of the world found out about this great outfit. The album reviewed here belongs to a precious group of works like Wargasm’s “Why Play Around”, Znowhite’s “Act of God”, Blessed Death’s “Destined for Extinction”, Viking’s “Man of Straw”, Sentinel Beast’s ”Depths of Death”, etc. that constitute some of the finest moments from US thrash metal history, and yet that never managed to break above ground, remaining largely unknown for the majority of the fanbase.

Wrath were one of the first acts on American soil, alongside Watchtower and Juggernaut, who pushed the ways of execution towards more serious, technical/progressive means, and their debut was already a carefully assembled affair of less ordinary leaps and bounds with interesting attempts at breaking the mould without altering it drastically the way the Watchtower guys tried on “Energetic Disassembly”. While the latter’s sometimes not very accessible mathematical equations sat more comfortably with the European side of the movement (Mekong Delta, Deathrow, Sieges Even, Target, etc.), the album here was pretty much the template for most of the technical/progressive masterpieces that followed in their homeland, all the way from Realm’s “Endless War” and Blind Illusion’s “The Sane Asylum” to Defiance’s “Beyond Recognition” and Sacrament’s “Haunts of Violence”.

The debut was a tasty compendium of power, speed, and thrash whereas the sophomore has focused on the thrash side of the blend, the band emerging victorious in every department. The overall layout and riff applications recall both Megadeth’s “Peace Sells…” and “So Far… So Good…”, one released a year earlier, the other a year later, but the musicianship of the Chicago team was bolder and more elaborate, something which Dave Mustaine and Co. eventually achieved on “Rust in Peace”. If there ever was a complaint made in this opus’ direction, it was in relation to the contribution made by Gary Golwitzer whose high-strung overdramatic vocals are clearly an acquired taste, but perfectly fit the complex, diverse delivery following the moods and swings unerringly in their own pathos-like way. “R.I.P. (Ripped into Pieces)” is a relatively immediate brisk opening piece with steel gallops breaking the “idyll”, with shouty choruses and Golwitzer’s glass-shattering dramatic siren soaring above the musical proceedings which may have inspired Attacker for their “Second Coming” a year later as the approach is almost as relentless. “Mutants” complicates the environment with more elaborate labyrinths the pounding rhythm-section intercepted by more intense, speedier “excursions” and more frequent time and tempo changes, the brilliant lead sections adding the requisite melodic flavour to this outstanding progressive thrasher. “Hell is Full” sets the deep atmospherics from the get-go with a nice balladic passage followed by gorgeous technical thrashing, the guys shifting the rhythms at will speeding up gradually until a momentary whirlwind of fast-paced crescendos is reached for a bit, the leads providing a great melodic closure.

“Painless” is the next in line symphony of outstanding technical riff-patterns the band taking care of the melodic escapades earlier this time, both sides walking hand in hand as slower pounding configurations are applied more prominently here giving the song a more officiant epic stature, the latter cancelled by the speedy skirmish in the second half. “Fear Itself” is a superb heavy intricate shredder with seismic technical guitars accumulating inertia bit by bit the screamy leads joining the fray sooner this time alongside steel invigorating gallops, with abrupt time shifts creating a lot of drama all the way to the exemplary fast-paced finale. “Sudden Death” thrashes with passion from the start Golwitzer adding more memorable lines here which work just fine with the bouncy up-tempo riffage, with more impetuous gallops added to make this roller-coaster even more appealing, turned to a smattering head-banging riff-fest at the end. “Incineration/Caustic Sleep” trusts the ballad once again to serve a promising inauguration as more complex riff-formulas follow suit later staying more within the mid-paced confines; expect a more dynamic stroke later to move the heads around in affirmative energetic nodding. “When Worlds Collide” enchants with a supreme melodic cavalcade bringing the best from the epic American power metal field, but it’s all fierce cutting’n slicing thrash afterwards with a wide array of rhythms some of which are pretty wild going over the guys’ beloved gallops, the fiesta never-ending here, Golwitzer matching the standout rifforama every bit of the way the latter surrendering to another tasty melodic epitaph. “Victims of the Void”, the bonus track, wraps it on with the final portion of brilliant technical juxtapositions with some of the power and speed metal swagger from the debut also felt along with an increased presence of melodic hooks and, of course, the staple shredding gallops, all making a truly spell-binding exiting showdown including Golwitzer who sounds more restrained and more lyrical consequently pulling out one of his finest performances.

Looking for the definitive lesson in thrash form the catalogues of Metallica, Slayer, Destruction, Kreator, Megadeth, Sodom, etc., one forgets to look for those a few layers underneath, and to come up with gems that can easily outshine most of the mainstream. I’m not sure what role the cover art had played in the fanbase’s decision to check out an album back then, but if it was a fairly important issue then I can understand the band’s obscure status as Wrath are clearly one of the champions when it comes to tasteless, ridiculous covers; just look at the one here and try to imagine how many metalheads had passed on this opus, before, now, and possibly in the future… it's a main contender for "the best album with the ugliest cover" award. Well, if the guys had wanted to leave the music do the talking then screw all awful, shitty covers cause the music here talks louder than a whole discography. Yes, it’s an undisputable peak in the band’s career, and they should be proud of putting their signatures underneath it. Thumbs up everyone, especially this fabulous guitar duo Scott Nyquist and Mike Nyrkkanen, true weavers of magical riff-formulas who literally leave their hands, hearts and souls here. Kudos should be paid them for staying true to their project and visions as neither of them has taken part in other formations although Nyrkkanen is no longer with his colleagues; he had obviously refused to become “stark raving mad” like the others on the new opus which sees Golwitzer also missing from the line-up. Not to worry, it seems like the beginning of a new journey the remainder of the crew quickly gaining inertia for another “fearless” spell with the music industry…

the early examples of technical/progressive thrash remain the best; just remember Watchtower’s debut again, the exploits of Have Mercy and Ulysses Siren… and the album reviewed here. Even the templates from the German field (the Mekong Delta debut, Living Death) at the time, if you like, sounded naïve and rough-around-the-edges compared to an accomplished, well-rounded recording like this. Yes, a bunch of wrathful musicians from the good old Chicago town were on top of the game that had started becoming more engaging and more complex, and their answer to those new at the time demands is still a highlight on the world metal arena all these years, regardless of how many fans will continue cringing at the sight of this brave verdant, Hulk-like cover.

Wrath! The mighty thrash metal band Wrath! All hail...uh...OK, who the hell is Wrath? Honestly, I don't know. Hell, I don't even know much about the obscure (?) Chicago thrash metal scene, which is where these dudes hailed from. All's I do know is that this obscure but spunky little group from the mid-west unleashed their 2nd studio record, "Nothing To Fear", in 1987, and that this album is hailed as a little known thrash masterpiece in many fan circles. So a while I ago I got a hold of a copy from a friend of a friend of a cousin's brother-in-law twice removed, and took a couple listens over time. Well I definitely don't see "Nothing To Fear" as some undisputed thrash classic (shit I barely even see it as full-on thrash metal, but more on that later), but it is quite a good metal album regardless, and certainly above the a number of the lesser (and even more popular) albums out at the time.

Five little known young men make up Wrath. Drummer Mike Fron is probably the strongest member of the group; his skills on the kit are quite sharp and technical compared to the competent but amateurish skills of his fellow bandmates. The bass of Gary Modica is actually not invisible in the mix! It's low in the mix, yeah, but it adds nicely to the sound layers and he gets a few moments to shoe off his fills. Mike Nyrkkanen and Scott Nyquist play our guitarists for the evening. Admittedly their efforts are good but average; the rhythm guitars are pretty damn good but the leads, while still good, are kinda hesitant and sometimes uninspired. Then we have the vocals of Gary Golwitzer. Good...fuck. His vocals are ridiculous! But notice how I didn't say bad, mostly because after a few minutes you get used to them. He has this weird, kinda nasally squeak to his voice and a kind of ranting/whining, not mention little to no actual singing ability; kind of a less angry Sean Killian. Still, he's got character, I'll give him that much.

But looking at this album as full thrash...I just don't see it. I mean, I do, but it just never struck me quite as thrashy as say "Bonded By Blood" or even more technical/progressive stuff like "Ride The Lightning" or "Victims of Deception". It always felt less like true thrash, and more like...I dunno, US power metal with punkish crossovers. I guess in a way that does equal out to thrash.

But anyway, that's just a nitpick. How about the songs? Actually, they're all really pretty good, each sounding similar but but different enough o each do their own thing. You've got more straightforward speeders like the catchy opener "R.I.P." (Ripped Into Pieces) or the choppy bruiser "Fear Itself", which is probably the heaviest song on here. Then we get a bunch of bigger, more atmosphere and riff-driven mini-epics. "Hell Is Full" is, for example, is pretty cool with its slight tempo shifts and a focus on bass and rhythm lines. I really like "Painless", even though it's probably the least heavy song on here. Despite that, it's a very, very catchy tune with an interesting focus on melody. In my opinion the best tune on here is "Incineration/Caustic Sleep", if not totally for the awesome mid-paced riff in the song's first half. But combine that with the track's mood shifts and interesting progressive swing and you've got one hell of a cool song in your ears.

Overall, Wrath's "Nothing To Fear" I feel isn't the unheralded forgotten thrash gem many hold it as, but even still it's a pretty damn cool listen. The band members have good grasps on their instruments, though some of 'em could've used some more work. Additionally all of the songs are pretty kickass; often pretty memorable with a lot of riffs thrown around. This is a hard album to get a hold of, though if I'm not mistaken a new vinyl of it is readily available. But if you can get a hold of it, then I do recommend it. It's a pretty good album; there's nothing to fear...

I first heard of these guys while watching the movie Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III back in grade 10. What an awesome movie, leatherface is the shit, especially as a metal-head. Anyway, moving on, I heard a tune on the movie that I REALLY liked, so I looked up forums on the movie and asked about the soundtrack, a friend of mine named had the soundtrack and knew the names of the song I was looking for. He found it for me, and unfortunatly he couldn't find the soundtrack. I couldn't get the song called "When Worlds Collide" by, yes, Wrath. Later on, I ended up finding it and instantly found myself loving the fuckin thing.

Something inside me wanted more of it, so I looked up more on the band and looked up the album called "Nothing To Fear" which is where "when Worlds Collide" is from. I read a few reviews on it, and they were absolutly positive, BUT with the exception of the singer's voice, but either way, I couldn't really care any less. After hearing a few samples of the album, I KNEW it was a must have.

Finally, months later, I strived and finally found it! I must say, this is by FAR the BEST Thrash Metal album that I have EVER Heard in my life. Yes, the vocals were annoying, but the brutality and intensity makes up for it.

The album starts out with a fast paced progressive song called R.I.P. (Ripped Into Pieces) Gary Golwitzer's laugh at the begining is crucifying and amazing! THE BEST DAMN LAUGH I HAVE EVER HEARD IN A METAL SONG!!!! WHOA! VERY FAST AND I HEAD-BANG TO IT! A FAVORITE 10/10

Next up, Mutants- This is one of the most impressive songs on the album, it starts out slow, but really cool and hard. This song helped inspire me to my own riff creating. As well, this song is probably the best on the album next to When Worlds Collide. Gary's vocals are awesome, and really suites the song, because his voice is not all that annoying on this number. An instant 10/10

Hell Is Full! NICE! I love the intro to it, it starts out on a 12 string accoustic guitar playing a kind of eerie and creepy style riff, then the bass comes in making it even creepier. Then it gets heavy. These guys are VERY original with this. VERY NICE! HELL IS FULL!!!!! m/ 10/10

Our 4th track is called Painless, which is a pretty good tune! Not one of my favorites, but still a decent one. It's a slower thrash metal song, and the intro gives off a some-what epic kind of introduction to it. I'll say a 7.5 to an 8 out of 10.

Fear Itself- I guess it's true, Nothing to fear, but fear itself! The intro is VERY Technical. You could still some-what say that it is your basic throw-away, but an up number of the throw-away section. 8/10

Sudden Death is a definate Head Banger! This one is a song that I could just picture them playing live EVERY show! This song helps to pick the album back on track. One of the better ones. 8/10

Incineration-Caustic Sleep is the seventh track, and it starts off slow with a nice accoustic guitar intro. Beautiful at the start. Then we get heavy! DAMN! ARE WE EVER HEAVY! This might make you want to mosh if you listen to it, especially back then in the 80's. 8/10

WHEN WORLD'S COLLIDE!!!! THE VERY REASON WHY I GOT INTO THESE GUYS IN THE FIRST PLACE! WOW! I fucking love this song and I understand why it was on the soundtrack of Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III! It is probably the best song on the album in my opinion! VERY HEAVY and epic. This song would HAVE to be played EVERY show. Also, by reading other reviews, this one appeared to be a favorite. 10/10

Victims In The Void is the final song on the album. In my opinion it's the song that I would consider to be some-what weak at first but then as it progresses. I wish they could have picked a better song to end the album, because this song is just a throw-away, kinda funny for a throw-away to be at the end of the album, but a decent way to end the CD! 8/10

In the long run, consisting the fact that most of the songs range from an 8 to a 10, I'll give the average, and say a 9 for what it SHOULD be, but I still say it's a definate 10 out of 10!!!! This is the BEST thrash Metal album I have heard in a long time! I LOVE OLD THRASH!!!!! Wrath is now one of my favorite bands, not to mention that these guys have helped inspired me with creating riffs on guitars!

The high-lights of this album are R.I.P, MUTANTS, Hell Is Full, and WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE. I HIGHLY recommend this album, even though Gary Golwitzer's singing can be very annoying, it doesn't change the fact that it's still an amazing thrash album. Gary sounds like a ron halford type vocal being sang by a pterodactyl, but I am not going to hold it against the band, because this album is still kick ASS!