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Awww jeez - another leave of absence. Here we are again though ready to roll out this hits in the frozen hellish tundra of Boston MA. Today - feast upon Slaughter’s blasphemous “Strappado” lp. If you are a poser you might confuse this fine album with the work of that late 80’s hair metal band of the same name. I’ll save you the embarrassment dude. Canada’s Slaughter were one of the earlier metal bands to really push some of their tempos to the extreme. Proto-death metal, etc. Honestly they’re a little tame by our standards today, kind of in the same way Venom can be for the uninitiated, a little more cartoony, a little less serious, and with rudimentary recording and playing.

For me this makes Slaughter all the better. When the yell of “make way for the Incinerator” hits, and the worlds stupidest drum beat kicks in, it’s impossible not to laugh a little, but as you may know, I’m of the belief that primitive delivery often suits metal better than the more well known approach of precision and technical proficiency. Slaughter actually has kind of a punky vibe, and this song is a perfect example. Basic riffs, basic drumming, and simple lyrics, but they come together for the kind of low brow fun I love. Slaughter kind of sounds like a less grinding Repulsion to me, maybe less Slayer and more Venom in the mix. Although a lot of these songs were several years old and had been on a number of demos, Strappado didn’t actually hit the street til ‘87 on Diabolic Force Records. A little late in the game for songs like Fuck Of Death, or Tales Of The Macabre. By that I only mean that the metal masses had already moved onto stuff that was more extreme and over the top, I just think the timing was wrong for a big breakthrough.

 That said this is one of the greats, and the only album Slaughter actually managed in their time, though I highly recommend you download all of their demos too.