by Justin Gaines
– Senior Columnist —
Originally released in 1990, World Won’t Miss You was the debut full-length album from Reverend, the power/thrash metal band formed more or less from a vocalist swap between the bands Metal Church and Heretic. Heretic’s singer Mike Howe joined Metal Church, while David Wayne (RIP) hooked up with guitarist Brian Korban to morph the remnants of Heretic into a new metal force.
To absolutely no one’s surprise given the players involved, Reverend sounds a lot like both Metal Church and Heretic, bringing the heaviness and power of Metal Church and the thrashing intensity of Heretic together in perfect harmony. There’s just something special about that hybrid of power and thrash metal at the beginning of the decade that worked so well. Vicious Rumors, Helstar, Armored Saint, and especially Reverend brought the best elements of the different styles together. In Reverend’s case, David Wayne’s signature scream over Korban and Stuart Fuji’s dual lead guitar assault was a match made in metal heaven.
World Won’t Miss You is just an incredibly strong debut overall. With an EP under their belt at the time, the band had already found its groove, so the full-length was uniformly strong and free of filler. Leadoff song “Remission” is just a monster, and remains the perfect example of Reverend’s sound. The title track and “Killing Time” are also blistering tracks. The band’s cover of the Black Sabbath classic “Hand of Doom” (originally a bonus track on the CD version of World Won’t Miss You) is a bit jarring at first given just how different David Wayne’s vocals are from Ozzy’s, but it ends up being a highlight of the album as well.
Reverend – at least the Wayne/Korban lineup – stuck around for one more album (1991’s Play God), but unfortunately never really broke through as a major act. World Won’t Miss You remains a high point in the David Wayne legacy though, and a classic example of the American power/thrash sound at the time. It’s obviously a must-have release for Reverend/Metal Church/Heretic fans, but will also appeal to fans of Testament, Vicious Rumors, Armored Saint and Helstar.
Edition Notes: Divebomb’s deluxe 2014 reissue of World Won’t Miss You gives this long out of print album a much needed upgrade. The album has been remastered by Jamie King, who has done such stellar work on previous Divebomb reissues. It also features a liner notes loaded with lyrics and band/album historical info (including an interview with Brian Korban) and includes the full 1989 Reverend EP as bonus tracks. Honestly, the addition of that EP alone would be worth the price of this reissue. It’s a very impressive reissue overall, and one that – along with their reissue of Play God – is a worthwhile upgrade even if you already own the original version.
Genre: Thrash Metal, Power Metal, Heavy Metal
Lineup:
Dennis O’Hara (b)
Brian Korban (g)
Stuart Fuji (g)
David Wayne (v)
Rick Basha (d)
Track Listing:
1. Remission
2. Another Form of Greed
3. Scattered Wits
4. Desperate
5. Leader of Fools
6. World Won’t Miss You
7. Rude Awakening
8. Gunpoint
9. Killing Time
10. Hand of Doom
11. 11th Hour
12. Far Away
13. Power of Persuasion
14. Dimensional Confusion
15. Wretched Excess
16. Ritual
Label: Divebomb Records
Hardrock Haven Rating: 8.75/10
