[kj] 1985 Onslaught vs. 2007 Onslaught (was re: Celtic Frost)

[B. Oliver Sheppard]

Onslaught LP links below:--

Onslaught were once on the same label w/ bands like The Exploited & GBH, 
but their stuff was (and now especially IS) definitely on the metal side 
of the fence. I think of their old stuff as 80s "UK Metal-Punk" like 
Amebix or Deviated Instinct or _Ordeal By Fire_-era English Dogs, with a 
fast and thrashy crossover feel.

Onslaught's 1985 LP _Power From Hell_ has the song "Death Metal" on it, 
arguably the 1st use of the term "death metal" though the song itself 
sounds little like what death metal would become years later, much as 
Venom's song "Black Metal" sounds little like the way black metal sounds 
today. Onslaught's 1985 _Power From Hell_ LP has a gritty, dirty punk 
urgency that is sadly absent in their new 2007 LP, "Killing Peace," an 
LP that sounds *too* polished, *too* technical, and too 
robotically-produced -- and while the first two songs on the new 2007 LP 
are okay, mostly owing to their uncompromising speed and little else, I 
still like the old 1985 stuff best, just as with Celtic Frost. Celtic 
Frost and Onslaught's newer stuff is just too clean or something. The 
new Celtic Frost, which I just heard thanks to Javier, even has a gothy 
song that reminds me of Theatre of Tragedy, and all around it sort of 
sags in the britches.



*** Onslaught's _Power From Hell_ LP from 1985 is here: 
http://download.yousendit.com/476BEEE4071E897A   <-- fave tracks are 
"Angels of Death" & "Death Metal"

*** Onslaught's 2007 LP, _Killing Peace_, recently released, is here: 
http://download.yousendit.com/CE98ED6F70BB2690


Enjoy 'cuz they ain't gonna be up for long,

-Oliver