Elysium Inspired Hatred
by Justin Gaines
Staff Writer
The metal scene in Florida in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s was all about the emerging death metal sound. While bands like Death and Morbid Angel were getting – deservedly – all the attention, some very worthy bands ended up being overlooked. Case in point: technical thrashers Elysium. The band took the staples of the thrash metal sound – rapid fire guitar riffs, sharp vocals and some truly blistering solos – and added a focus on melody as well as high level of technicality.
1989’s Inspired Hatred demo was Elysium’s only full release, and it sounds, well, inspired. It’s an album you can enjoy on a purely thrash level, appreciating the sheer speed and aggression of the songs, not to mention the utter violence and despair of the lyrics (which are perfectly magnified by Terry Allen’s raspy vocal delivery). It’s also noteworthy on a technical level. It’s not progressive metal per se, but the songs on Inspired Hatred definitely have some progressive elements that you wouldn’t find on the average 1989 thrash release. The demo also stands out due to its high production quality. The band recorded Inspired Hatred at the legendary Morrisound Studios with producer/engineer Tom Morris (Iced Earth, Morbid Angel, etc.), so it sounds like anything but a demo recording.
If you’re into technical thrash metal, especially bands like Anacrusis and Believer, you really can’t go wrong with Inspired Hatred, and Elysium should appeal to fans of technical death metal bands like Death and Atheist as well. It also fits perfectly with Divebomb’s recent reissues of cult U.S. thrash bands Solitude and Dominance.
Divebomb’s 2010 reissue includes the full 7-song Inspired Hatred demo plus the extremely rare 1991 demo song “Crystal Blisters” as a bonus track. All of the songs have been digitally remastered, improving the already high sound quality. In addition, the disc has a multimedia section with rare photos and a full live performance from 1991. It’s another very well put-together reissue from Divebomb, and like all of their titled, Inspired Hatred is limited to 1000 copies and is not available in MP3 format.
Genre: Thrash Metal
Band:
Terry Allen (v) (g)
Brett Hart (g) (v)
Jim O’Sullivan (b) (v)
Tim Jorgenson (d)
Track Listing:
1. Inspired Hatred
2. Cold Turkey
3. Dead Till the End
4. Food of the Gods
5. Funeral in Vain
6. Provocation of Obscene Rage (P.O.O.R.)
7. Plague of Man
8. Crystal Blisters
Label: Divebomb Records
Website: www.divebombrecords.com
Hardrock Haven rating: 8/10