Year : 1989 (MDD Records Edition 2022)
Style : Thrash Metal
Country : Switzerland
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 107 mb
Bio:
Founded in 1988 out of the ashes of swiss Speed Metal pioneers CARRION, Poltergeist released two well acclaimed demo tapes and played quite a lot of shows in their home country Switzerland. After one of these shows where they played with HADES and DESPAIR, Robert Kampf (then Leadsinger for DESPAIR and owner of the freshly started label CENTURY MEDIA) decided to offer POLTERGEIST a record contract. They convinced him with their powerful live appearance and their solid craftmanship on their instruments.From 1989 to 1993 they released 3 albums and played shows and tours with bands like DESTRUCTION, KREATOR, SODOM, TANKARD, CORONER, HELLBASTARD, WATCHTOWER, VOI VOD, RUMBLE MILITIA and many more.After the last tour in 1993 with CORONER the band split up and partly transformed in GURD.On New Years Eve 2013, Marek, André and V.O. met and discussed the old times. after listening to their old records and posting a picture on Facebook, lots of people demanded an immediate reunion..sparked by these reactions, Sven Vormann ( an old friend of the band and formerly drummer for Destruction) decided to bring order to the chaos and organized some first rehearsals. Soon it was clear that the old magic was back.And to complete a 20 year old dream, they finally found in Chapser Wanner the right second guitarplayer to bring the haunting guitar mayhem from the records also to the stage!Now 20 years later THE POLTERGEIST IS BACK AND READY TO RUMBLE....
Album:
Poltergeists… invisible and hypothetical… quite annoying and tangible sometimes as well, mind you… overall not very easily noticed as I’m pretty much the only scribe here that has attuned his radar to detect them. Not due to some uncontrollable passion for them although I do love the sophomore “Behind the Mask” to bits. My writing spree thrown their way is rather a sign of respect as I do think that they deserve more attention and recognition from the metal fanbase…and not only because they released one of the first genuine thrash metal recordings (“Evil is There!”) on Swiss soil in the distant 1986. Back then they were called Carrion, but shortly after this first stint they decided to carrion… sorry, carry on under the Poltergeist moniker, predating Tobe Hooper’s blockbuster by whole six years. Music-wise there’s very little to complain about as those who had already fallen for the Carrion opus will rejoice all over. In other words, brace yourselves for the good old thrash only that this time the hyper-active bash has been polished and tweaked around, the guys moshing more confidently but with obvious restraint as well… well, compared to the first instalment at least as there’s nothing wrong with wayward headbangers like “Three Hills” and “Inner Space”, with the title-track and “Writing on the Wall” nodding in the direction of Paradox’s “Heresy”, released the same year, with their more intricate veneer. A sure precursor to the more technical flair of the sophomore, these pieces don’t exactly set an example to follow the thrashing immediacy of short bullets like “You've Learned Your Lesson” and “Prophet” violating the more officiant setting although the guys wrap it on with the more intricately-woven roller-coaster “Ziila” and the more diversely-executed speed/thrashterpiece “Shooting Star”, the highlight here, an aural carnival of intense skirmishes and melodic embellishments.To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t left impressed by the performance of Andre Grieder here, the vocalist whom I later liked quite a bit and still view as one of the most convincing performers within a thrash metal context. At this early stage the man prefers to recite in a not very attached semi-clean fashion, spitting the lyrics with vehement velocity, trying to keep up with the fast-paced histrionics of his comrades. He surely achieves that but compared to his more melodic antics on subsequent efforts this particular delivery simply holds no water. Anyway, he’s just an accompaniment here leaving the others to do most of the talking, and also the shredding as again it wouldn’t be too hard for one to detect less ordinary nuances which later grew into something more impressive two years later. Not as distinctive and visionary as Coroner’s “No More Color”, and not as varied and memorable as, say, Drifter’s “Reality Turns to Dust “ or Apocalypse’s self-titled, this slab of impetuous speed/thrashisms by all means stood its ground with its not very flashy, non-fussy aura.It was surpassed by the sophomore, for the umpteenth time, but it still remains a perfectly acceptable entry into the band’s discography, especially when the guys never repeated this straight-ahead speed/thrashing heroism. They never rehash their previous feats note-by-note, always adding something new and fresh to keep the audience guessing, including on the comeback saga “Back to Haunt” which does wink at this “depression” here on a couple of more direct moments. It’s good to have the good old poltergeists around making the old school thrash noise… but please, bring the noise on more regular bases… I don’t know how else to scare away the vultures and hyenas gathering around this ever-fresh carrion.
Line-Up:
André Grieder - Vocals (1986-1994, 2013-present) - See also: ex-Destruction
V.O. Pulver - Guitars (1986-1994, 2013-present) - See also: Gurd, Panzer, Pulver, ex-Carrion, ex-Messiah (live)
Graf - Bass
Jazzi - Drums
Production:
Recorded At – Funbox Studios, Nunnigen
Mastered At – DADC Austria
Tracklist:
01. Three Hills 05:53
02. Depression 05:22
03. Inner Space 05:50
04. Writing on the Wall 05:44
05. Wheels of Sansara 01:18 instrumental
06. You've Learned Your Lesson 04:22
07. Prophet 03:40
08. Ziita 05:26
09. Shooting Star 05:18
10. Strutter 2:27 (Bonus Track)
Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/
