World Won't Miss You

Although I'm not the most ardent thrash fan, old school heavy hitters Metal Church and Reverend now intrigue beyond measure thanks to their vocally acerbic acrobat, the sadly departed David Wayne, he of riotous lines and debilitating cries, particularly with latter Seattle formation known mainly for 1990/91's World Won't Miss You and Play God. Here, we take a peek at the first killer instalment from my far-flung youth, released shortly after the scruffy butcher of Baghdad so outrageously invaded his southeastern Kuwaiti neighbour.

As a fellow apostle sagely pointed out, Reverend would sound like any other raucous speed bringer from that Machiavellian era if it wasn't for how David's un-sanitized voice dominates everywhere in a devastatingly nutty manner which compels to hang on tight for the diabolic ride as each uttered phrase stirs us into a frenzy of aural insanity, such as when I first heard the all-too-awesome nugget pasted above.

Still, it took me several spins to fully assimilate my rattled mind with what I was listening to: Father Wayne at his most devilish and carefree, especially on first two, alongside title track, much like top hits from 1986's homey and inviting The Dark.

The unhinged Jon Oliva style yowl kicking off "Remission" is a great sign of things to come; its plodding bass line is similar to another Dave's on Megadeth's "Dawn Patrol" from the same war torn year. "Another Form Of Greed" also begins with encroaching bass as the none too foolish congregation grooves into a slippery hooker of a Carcass type riff, switching gears at the drop of a disgraced pastor's hat. Even when he glides into soft and sanguine mode on "Scattered Wits", his Mister Hyde side is never far behind, eager to please.

A further aspect I'm soul sold on revolves around how leads explode out of nowhere, often following wicked breakdown patterns which complement our eternally esteemed front man's wry malevolence. Solely from his trailblazing work in Metal Church and then Reverend, consider him a metal god who's left his beast mark on a mad World which misses him.

(Oh, what I'd do for such a cool hat!)

Keep that shit away from me!

Reverend were a short lived, very much missed power/thrash group from Seattle that only lived long enough for two releases, The World Won't Miss You being the first of the two. The lack of recognition that they got is extremely saddening, as this should have been a classic. Blame it on the fact that in 1990, this brand of metal was becoming obsolete. It's a very cleanly produced mash of songs with speed metal backbones and eerie mid-paced tracks alike, with hints of power metal.

The most prominent thing about this release is how beautifully produced it is. Every instrument rips through without any hesitation and plays such a keen factor in the arrangement. The bass guitar is far more essential than the typical metal record, as it lays down the rhythms just as tight as the guitars do. The fast-picking guitars backed by deep, chest pounding bass-lines give this the greatest balance of heaviness and melody. No track lacks melody, every song has strong solos, and musically, this really couldn't be better. "Another Form of Greed" and "Desperate" lay down some of most sturdy riffs that I've ever heard. The overall song parameters are very similar to that of Testament's Practice What You Preach, and the influence makes sense, since this was only a year following.

Not everything is fast shredding, as "Scattered Wits" is a slower, eerie track that creates a feeling of unease, adding some suspenseful touches to this record. "Leader Of Fools" is an acoustic ballad that creates a nice break from the energy. The best track, however, is the title track, as it has the most staggering and complex guitar sections, cut with such a sharp edge. David Wayne's vocals are also some of the best he's ever done in this track, and really, this album probably showcases his best vocal delivery altogether. My favorite line (see the one up yonder) is from the title track, and there couldn't have been a better vocalist to do it. The singing on this record is super memorable, containing catchy choruses, and the higher yells are mighty and right on key.

There isn't a dull moment on this record. Reverend is another fine example of how a metal band breaking up did some good, because had David not split from Metal Church, maybe we'd never get this. Although he probably wrote better songs with them (which says a lot, seeing how good this is), the actual playing and delivery is better on this record. If you're a fan of Metal Church, or mild thrash and speed metal in general, this is an absolute must.

If you want to get into some less mainstream thrash metal, Reverend is a good band for you. While a lot of less popular bands tend to be generic and the production of the album seems lacking, Reverend is the opposite. The album does not have a bad song on it, while a few songs are not anything special they are definitely worth hearing.

Some may argue that Reverend does nothing to further the genre of thrash metal. The album was released within a year of Megadeth’s Rust In Peace, Annihilator’s Never, Neverland, Dark Angel’s Time Does Not Heal and Leave Scars, Heathen’s Victims of Deception, and Toxik’s Think This. World Won't Miss You was released in a time of technical thrash masterpieces, yet they share no similarities to this sound. Instead, the band decided to go a more classic route. World Won’t Miss You may not have introduced anything new or original to thrash metal, but is still a good album from start to finish.

Reverend is basically a slightly heavier continuation of David Wayne’s Metal Church. Although the musicians are different, the sound is similar to Metal Church, which means they write some pretty generic simple riffs and solos and somehow get really good songs out of them. Most of this success in their sound is due to David Wayne’s voice being so original. When the guitars, drums, and bass are playing the band sounds like any other speed metal band but when David Wayne sings you know who it is. If Reverend had a different vocalist on the album it wouldn’t be nearly as good.

The album starts with a decent speed metal song, Remission. The Song is decent from start to finish but can get a little repetitive by the end. The album automatically makes up for Remission with Another Form of Greed. This is probably the best track on the album and the riffs are original and should not bore anyone who’s into thrash metal. The next song is a balladry mid paced song called Scattered Wits. The song is more vocal based than the previous two and David Wayne does a great job with it. If you are not into ballads that is just fine because you should like the next song, Desperate, is a true speed metal song start to finish. The riffs sound great from start to finish and that is good because the song is less vocal based than the previous one. After Desperate comes the weakest track on the album, Leader of Fools. This one can barely be called a metal song, the guitars never become distorted, it’s just David Wayne and a clean guitar, no drums bass or anything, and it’s kind of boring. Good thing it is followed by the title track, World Won’t Miss You, this one is another great song filled with catchy riffs and vocals. The album makes another downfall after that with Rude Awakening. Most thrashers will skip this track since it stays pretty slow the whole time. Though, not a band song, Rude Awakening doesn’t compare to most of the rest of the album. The album makes up for this track with the next three, Gunpoint, Killing Time, and 11th Hour. The weakest of these three is 11th hour but is still a decent song.

The production on the album is perfect. The music is crisp and clean. No instrument overpowers another. The bass is audible at times but not too audible, where it over powers the guitars. Every note played or sung is cleanly heard. There isn’t that muddiness that sometimes happens when too many things are happening at once. As far as production goes, there isn’t a flaw in the sound.

The musicians on the album do not show off. They write some pretty basic speed metal on here. If you are into progressive or technical thrash this album probably isn’t for you. Reverend doesn’t play odd time signatures or unconventional song structure, they keep to a very simple sound that is easy to remember and sticks in your head. If you liked David Wayne and Metal Church then this album should please you. The riffs and solos are better than Metal Churches and you get David Wayne’s kickass voice. As far as the other instruments go, the drums are pretty basic nothing extremely impressive there, but they do keep a solid beat and don’t distract you from the rest of the sound. The bass also seems pretty simple, just following the guitars. Although not revolutionary, it is a great album for anyone just getting into thrash metal and for seasoned listeners who love a good catchy riff.