The Visitor

In my last review, I explained all the reasons to love I.N.C.'s debut record "Razorback". That record was a flawless debut, and they followed it up with their strong sophomore effort "The Visitor" from 1988. This album contains more humor than their last release, so let's dive right in and take a look at this album!

So it begins with "Dry Heave", which starts off with the sounds of god knows what. Then, the killer riffs come in. The guitar work from Tony Fabrizi and Erik Barath on this record is great, but I feel like they took a slight step back. The reason being is because the riffs were so good on "Razorback" that it would prove to be quite difficult to match what they had already accomplished. Dennis Gergely's vocals and bass lines are as good as they were before, his vocals sound great when he signs this particular line...

"Your words and thoughts are equal to a fuckin' drunken Dry Heave!"

The bass is pretty good, it's slightly less audible than "Razorback" but still good. Gary Duguay is the one member who stepped it up the most in my opinion, his drumming is much more intricate and focused. His fills are creative, and he does a good job. Before I mention the songs, I want to say that I feel like the production on this album wasn't as original or unique as it was on "Razorback". The signature guitar crunch of their previous outing sounds less distinctive. It just sounds a little more restrained and dry. I guess the production is a dry heave? Hooray for bad jokes, moving on...

"Bed Time Stories" has a amazing main riff! It's heavy, it's crunchy, and it's badass. This track is one of my favorites on the record, the chorus is especially memorable...

"Helpless minds, controlled emotions,
another kind of brain corrosion.
Technological takes it all
Biological takes control
Loses sleep, dreams of hell.
Another night. Dead brain cells
Life to her seems so gory, come to mommy
It's Bedtime Story!"

"What Are You Looking At?" is the best track here, with a awesome riff and some awesome solos. Gergely's vocals here are some of the best on the album, and his screams are even better! This is another awesome track! "Scammed Again" begins with a rather humorous intro with a audio clip of a phone saying something along the lines of "Sorry, the number you are trying to reach has been disconnected." The riffs are strong, and the vocals are on point. This is one of the best here, I especially recommend this one. The record ends with an odd but rather fitting 2 part cover of The Cars "Just What I Needed/Candy-O". The band go full on thrash near the end, and it is a great way to close out the record.

So even though "Razorback" is better in nearly every department, you can't go wrong with this album either. The riffs are strong here, the solos are killer, the vocals and screams are great, and the drumming is on point. The reason I didn't give this 100% is because the production could use improvement, but it doesn't ruin it so it isn't a big deal. I recommend this to fans of Nuclear Assault, Exodus, Anthrax, and Gothic Slam.

Highlights: "Dry Heave", "Bed Time Stories", "What Are You Looking At?", "Hypo-Dermic Coastline", and "Scammed Again"

Indestructible Noise Command. It’s gotta be one of the worst, yet creative band names ever. What does that even mean? Well maybe we’ll never find out and who knows of the band members even know. What they do know is how to make pretty good thrash that to me is pretty unique.

“The Visitor” is their second album and I can’t really compare to their first because I am not familiar with that album with the exceptions of a few songs. This album’s production is actually really good. The guitars are very heavy and the drums sound excellent. The bass is pretty quiet though, you can hear it if you listen really closely.

“Dry Heave” is just amazing. It starts with some ‘about to vomit’ noises and then explodes into a crazy awesome thrash song. This song just kicks ass from beginning to end and is easily the best song on here. “Bed Time Stories” is very heavy and contains a lot of chugging riffs and has a very catchy rhythm during the chorus. “What are you Looking at?” has some awesome gang vocals but isn’t really anything special. This album definitely delivers in the thrash department as pretty much every song is fast. “The Visitor” starts out with a really interesting riff with some thrash behind it. “Hypodermic Coastline” starts with a Mexican like intro that is very interesting but then goes into the usually I.N.C. thrash that seems forgettable to me. The last song is just weird but actually pretty interesting

The riffs on here are heavy. They utilize a lot of chugging riffs that just make it sound very heavy, but maybe they overuse it a bit. It seems just about every song has a lot of chugging. I mean, yes it’s heavy, but how many different chugging riffs can you possibly have? The solos are also pretty good, not too much shredding here and that’s always good. The drummer is spot on, he is able to keep up with the speed and his fills are spectacular. His fills are all over the place and he does some pretty unique things. The vocals are also another highlight of this album. His vocals are just plain good. If I had to compare with anyone, I would say it’s almost like Coven vocals. His normal vocals aren’t too low, not too high, just in between. He is also able to hit the highs perfectly.

This album is good but some of the songs are just plain forgettable. “Dry Heave” and “Bed Time Stories” seem to stick with me the longest but the other songs are just average. They don’t really do anything for me.

Best tracks – “Dry Heave”, “Bed Time Stories”, and “What Are You Looking At?”

Oh, Christ...cover the eyes man, cover the eyes. Well, I guess it could have been worse, because at least this cover art features some semblance of a logo, and who knows...maybe the aliens really did look like that, and it's an accurate rendition. But what really matters is the music, and I.N.C. deliver here an album that wallops its predecessor in every category. The songwriting is tighter and more impressive, without losing any of the bands bludgeoning guitar tone. The sense of humor has been ramped up, especially through the first three tracks, and in lesser hands...this may have shattered my appreciation for the album. But Indestructible Noise Command are having a genuine good time, and I remember listening to this album many times over when it came out.

The roster was not altered for the sophomore outing, and Gergely's vocals have honestly improved, with more of an aggressive snarl to them which slices through the dense rhythmic chugging like a fine knife through a thick head of cheese. The songs are also a lot shorter in general, with a few that pass the 6 minute mark, and of these, only "Bedtime Stories" manages to briefly grind on the nerves for a little too much of the chug rhythm.

But first, the inimitable "Dry Heave", a song both punishing and fun. Funishing! After an opening segment of some of the most extra-terrestrial vomiting that I've ever heard, I.N.C. charges straight into one of the happiest thrash metal rhythms of all time, eclipsed only by the laughable and awesome chorus: Your words and thoughts are equal to a fuckin' drunken dry heave! It sounds like a television commercial, but the verse guitars are so explosive that I feel the strings of my 16 year old moshing control begin to tug at me. "Bedtime Stories" follows, which is mostly a moshing slog ala Speak English or Die, improving wherever it picks up in pace. "What Are You Looking At?" is the longest song on The Visitor, but it's built over dynamic thrash riffs, and one of Gergely's most insane vocals, as he opens several verse lines with Tom Araya-like screams. "Thunder Struck" is another riffing beast, a dark hammer of thrash knocking you upside the jaw, even though the lyrics are a little quirky.

'Impossible to stop the pain once i have begun
Break your legs in seven places
Than I'll let you run
Traveling at the speed of sound
Hear my engine roar
When you think it's over I'll be coming back for more.'

Say what? Next, "The Visitor" arrives with its implied alien invasion, a tale of humanity that must endure the unknown to protect their domain over Earth. Okay, so it's not quite this epic in value, but the riffs are worthy of any War of the Worlds parody and there is a great breakdown with some busy bass and chuggernaut guitars. "Scammed Again" is one of my favorite I.N.C. tracks, Gergely screaming in step with the opening guitar volley, and then more of their super fun anthems like "Dry Heave". A very calming song, with a message of peace to all the cons and crooks of 80s advertising. I love it! "Hypodermic Coastline" has a nice intro, with some Spanish guitar work that has little in common with its lyrical theme...for this is about the pollution of our Earth seas, and has the best scream of the word 'Bacteria' in all human history. And of all fucking things, the Indestructible Noise Command crowns off the album (and their career) with a cover of The Cars' "Candy-O", which sounds fun with the chugging guitars but not a far cry from the original.

The Visitor holds a lot of good memories, but beyond the nostalgic factor it's also not void of musical merit. Most of the songs are packed with catchy rhythms and I'm surprised the band did not achieve a higher measure of success, confined to the vinyl dustbins where most thrash of the late 80s was unfortunately sentenced to a long death. The album is, at times, stupid, but never pretends otherwise, and the riffs are a little more complex and engaging than on Razorback. It still sounds pretty good, having lost only a little audio shine since its release. If you enjoy fun thrash metal, like Anthrax' earlier work or some of today's retro crop like Municipal Waste, then it might tickle you to listen to this.

Highlights: Dry Heave, Thunder Struck, The Visitor, Scammed Again

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

Like the first offering, this album has clean production, technical riffage, and clearly discernable lyrics. And in my opinion a much more modern sound than any bands from the northeast U.S., circa 87-88.

When comparing "The Visitor" to the first album, "Razorback", you'll notice that the beats per minute have been raised a little on most songs, and quite a bit on a few in particular...Which, as Martha Stewart has been known to say, "is a good thing"...Songwriting is still intact, as well as the overall musical talent of the band. Simply put, this is clean thrash, and very easy to listen to. Minus any truelly headbanging moments or ultra-killer songs in particular.

Something different at the end, a Cars cover duo featuring Candy-o and Just What I Needed may not be for everyone...I, as a longtime Cars listener, didn't mind it at all. In fact it seems the band loosens up more, musically speaking, on this track than at any other time you'll hear them...Unfortunate these guys never experimented that much elsewhere.

Basically if you like the first album, definately get this one. Still, don't expect any trully headbanging moments as this bands main focus was always on cleanly played technical riffage and clear vocals.

This may not be for everyone, some may even find the sound "stiff" or boring.

Others, however will get some good long term listening out of an album like this.