MELIAH RAGE – Barely Human   

Screaming Ferret / Escapi

Posted: 10/11/04

Reviewed by: Lynn Phillips

Category: Thrash/Heavy Metal

Released: 8/24/04

Label URL: www.screamingferret.com 

Label URL: www.escapi.com

Band URL: www.meliahrage.com

1/2

One of the latest trends that has made me quite happy is the glorious return of the thrash genre from the 80s.  Bands such as Death Angel, Exodus and, to a lesser extent, Megadeth have returned to form and delivered some quality head banging tunes with comprehensible vocals, hooks and choruses.  One of the lesser-known, yet higher quality, bands from the era was east coast rockers Meliah Rage.  After Kill To Survive (1988), Live Kill (1989), and Solitary Solitude (1990) the band plugged away under the radar, releasing the in-your-face, underrated masterpiece, Death Valley Dream in 1996.  2002 found the guys putting out Unfinished Business, a collection of tracks from 1992 that featured Godsmack’s Sully Erna on drums. 

With the brand new release of Barely Human, Meliah Rage has once again put together a superlative, cohesive bunch of tracks that will not disappoint their long-standing fans and fans of 80s thrash metal.  When I heard that vocalist Mike Munro had parted ways with the band I was sure it was a sign of impending doom.  The good news is that new vocalist Paul Souza is at times indistinguishable from his predecessor, and at the same time he also adds some unique tonal qualities and tasteful diversity to the songs. 

For those of you unfamiliar with the band, their style is made up of fast, chunky riffs, chantable choruses and heavy rhythms reminiscent of a more melodic early Metallica or Metal Church.  If you’re fortunate enough to have heard their previous offerings, you’ll be happy to know that the band’s unique, straight-forward sound remains pretty much intact. Guitarists Jim Koury and Anthony Nichols can still tear it up, yet vary the pace to keep the whole disc from sounding like repetitive power metal and death metal. What’s more is that they have their own tonal style that you can easily pick out in a crowd so the band doesn’t fall victim to monotony.  Any true headbanger from the 80s who likes ripping leads and catchy, yet heavy, melodies will find a lot to like here. 

Stand out tracks include the infectious “Invincible,” “Bloodbath,” “Wrong Pace, Right Time,” and the title track.  While most bands tamper with their sound and piss off their long-standing fans (yes Metallica, I’m talking about you), Meliah Rage has kept it real in the 21^st century.  Way to go guys!

The Bloody Truth: Honest to goodness 80s metal continues to ascend the comeback trail with this excellent release from Meliah Rage.  Here’s a band that deserves a lot of respect, as they’ve found a unique style and sound that their fans appreciate and they stick with it, trends be damned.  Do yourself a favor and buy this if you’re a fan of 80s thrash metal.  As a special bonus, the Unfinished Business cd is also included when you buy Barely Human.