Coroner - Punishment for Decadence (1988)

Punishment? I feel rewarded for such an experience.
Simply Absorbed from the start as the title track goes. And just as I found the "key", there came the Masked Jackal, which once again reminded me of their debut R.I.P, a flash of the past if you will. It's astonishing how their musicianship has advanced, or with dignity to their earlier stuff, changed, from speed to thrash and yet again in a way that was previously inconceivable. Not even Exodus managed to undergo a refinement of this scale between their first two albums. What I also like is how every song has the ability to amaze you, riff upon riff. Not blow your intestines out but on the fine line of appreciation for the complexity coming your way. Other than that I have to admit that I am left speechless concerning the song structures.
Marky on the other hand had no problems of this sort. Perpetuating themes of death and its tempting nature induced from being manipulated with on a daily basis. Not what I would label as depressive (since there are certain bands out there, that ...), but in a way a grim reminder of the negative aspect of decadence and how it relates to individuals living a naive life. For the conclusion I am inclined to mention three gemstones; Sudden Fall, Masked Jackal, definitely a song to go through - it even spawned a music video afterwards if you care for those, and for desert Skeleton On Your Shoulder.

Hexenhaus - A Tribute to Insanity (1988)

Meow. One of only a few bands that got me hooked upon first encounter. A Tribute to Insanity was a very pleasant experience and I consider myself lucky just to be aware of the band's existence.
The culprit was probably their guitarist Mike Wead, who was also representing both Mercyful Fate and King Diamond, and by knowing that Hexenhaus was one of his first bands, I was tempted to give them a go. Now, the thing about checking up certain "fairly unknown" artist's beginnings is that you'll either stumble upon complete utter garbage with cover songs being their only worthy artistic output, or something awesomely fantastic with a force so strong, subduing to no-one.
My impression was the latter, maybe with some esoteric bits here and there ... still, the overall experience is overwhelming. I already feel the need to mention the median song: As Darkness Falls. I think anxiety is the leading role here, as the rhythm guitar tends to behave very nonconformistic and constantly raises the tension whilst the dry and penetrative drum beats keep the constant drive. Suddenly, we have a breakdown and you really don't know what to expect after that ... It all kind of settles after the amazing solo bits, which is a fine way of disclosure for the upcoming songs. You will be able to find similarities in all songs, it's just that the referred one embodies the entire idea the most and the best.
So, it's not in the fields of energetic and compulsive creations, I'd say it's more of a haunting but groovy experience. For me at least. But then again, it does surprise with a few skull-crashing parts, just to throw you off-track, like for example Memento Moris - The Dead Are Restless.
Compliments to extraordinary musicianship and evident effort that bypassed the poor production quality.
And also for featuring Jean Delville's masterpiece for the cover art, which a few years later also found its place on the cover of Morbid Angel's - Blessed Are the Sick.

Sieges Even - Life Cycle (1988)

I'll never judge an album by its cover again, but how couldn't I, it's ... hah.
My expectations were not even close to what was to come when I first gave it a go. I was expecting something similar to what was written somewhere in the depths of the web; them being one of those Watchtower clones or whatever. Now, I can't really give a good comment on this, although there are some pretty obvious similarities. Fuck it, they had to get their influences somewhere right? Just not in the means of copy/paste claims that I've seen roaming around, they indeed have their own unique style and no one is going to convince me otherwise.
Their debut album is nothing like their later prog creations. It has a certain ungraspable energy that they either weren't able to reproduce in the future or just voluntary abandoned it. Some of the cleaner and unsaturated parts of Apocalyptic Disposition and Repression And Resistance are fine examples. If Ron Jarzombek was more down to earth and had a stronger compassion for thrash, he'd probably end up making something like this. The overall experience is quite satisfactory, with some smudges here and there that might discourage you from finishing or even going through the first few minutes. You might even like the vocals (if I can be so frank), they can be annoying at times and you might wonder whether it would be better to keep the whole thing as an instrumental. Listen to Straggler From Atlantis and make up your mind, i encourage you.

Deathrow - Deception Ignored (1988)

Deception Ignored. A masterpiece and a landmark in the technical waters of thrash metal. I would label it as the most complex "pure" thrash album, that should not be affiliated with the term progressive metal just yet. Although not as underground as one might think, since the band had already made its place with their previous two releases:
Riders of Doom 1986 and Raging Steel 1987.
This album was my first encounter with the less known German band and I felt it necessary to indulge into Deathrow a bit deeper.
The concerning album is nothing like its predecessors and most of the credits should probably go to the recruited guitarist Uwe Osterlehner. The song structures are absolutely mad on this one, with each song having its own unique traits, like for example; the manic riffing parts along with Milo's psychotic narrations on the song Narcotic, the notorious and seemingly unperformable instrumental Triocton, the "metalthrashingmad" atmosphere of N.L.Y.H. (Never Lose Your Humour) or the purely epic solos on both Watching the World and Machinery. I could probably write an extensive review for each and every track on this album. It does demand a few repetitions to get used to and to ingest the whole package, because the complex nature of the album makes it difficult to assimilate and remember the parts that will later haunt your head for time to come. Transitions will seem sloppy, so I urge you to rewind and relisten those parts which seem a bit out of place or even out of sync ... you will be doing yourself a favour.
The production is satisfactory, even on the 2013 remastered edition, which does not differ too much from the original. But all in all, it's a must listen for the fans of Coroner, Watchtower, Defiance, Mekong Delta and bands alike.