Lista de los grupos Thrash Metal Desecrator (AUS) Live Til Death

Few bands offer a live album early in their career, let alone release it as an entire album with brand new songs. Australia thrash metal band Desecrator has gone the unique way doing just that, with their debut full length album Live Til Death containing songs that were completely recorded live before having the tracks sent for mixing and mastering. The result, as one would easily hear later, is the evidence of the band's pure talent, minus the pretentiousness and falseness that modern recording techniques provide that make even half-assed bands sound good.

The live recording quality is immediately obvious as the album opens with Til Death, and there is definitely a different feel in the atmosphere compared to the sterile quality of professionally, studio-recorded albums, and as the song begins proper, the energy of the band spills out uncontrollably. As the band travels at a blistering speed, vocalist Riley spits out the lyrics with force and hate, alternating between barks and high-pitched wails, maintaining the aggression throughout the album. The music on Live Til Death is a combination of various thrash metal pioneers, ranging from Metallica to Slayer, with the riffing patterns and the furious drumming of Matt. For example, the riffs towards the end of Til Death immediately reminds listeners of early Metallica works, and riffs on Slaughtered in Masses sound as though they could be taken off Seek and Destroy, and is sure to please fans of Bay Area thrash metal. Songs like Little Jimmy Black brings in some Exodus influence, and even includes some melodic death metal-styled riffing on the track. The flamboyant soloing style of guitarists Riley and Luke are reminiscent of such guitarists as Kirk Hammett, and the constant engagement in harmonised lead lines display some NWOBHM influences in their songwriting as well.

The playing style of the band sticks closely to what live albums would sound like, what with the sound of crowds cheering at the end of some of the songs, and also the inclusion of some display of technical wankery such as those moments towards the end of Til Death, as a band usually would in a live setting, and this definitely comes across as more intimate to the listener, helping in making this album a more enjoyable one. Throughout the entire duration of the album as well, the entire band manages to sound extremely tight as a unit, and this is also tests the stamina of the individual band members as musicians. In particular, drummer Matt's stamina is impressive, not missing a single beat throughout the album and maintaining that high-energy style of drumming all the way till the end of the album.

The only slight issue I have with the album is vocalist Riley's style of singing, where he comes across as slightly sloppy at some points in time, though this does little to erode the enjoyment of the music. For a debut full length album, Desecrator has certainly left a deep impression, not only through the unique format that the band has chosen to record in, but also through the superb songwriting, the execution of the music and that outburst of energy that most studio offerings are unable to provide.