Extremely Unique and Powerful – 85%
StanXcalibur56, April 15th, 2023
Written based on this version: 1989, 12″ vinyl, London Records
Onslaught has never really been able to keep a consistent sound, each album sounds different from one another. The band initially started as a punk band before going full-throttle thrash, but in 1990 they came out with In Search of Sanity, an album that divides fans of the thrash metal genre; you either love it or hate it. However, this is one of the most unique sounding metal records to ever be released.
The most obvious element are the vocals by Steve Grimmett, it’s said that the label wanted the record to sound softer, so they had the members re-record the entire album with Steve Grimmett on vocals (really makes me wonder what it sounded like before that). The addition of Grimmett is a welcome surprise for sure, his outstanding highs really elevate this album into territory that no other thrash band had really done at the time, having a soft vocalist opposed to the typical scratchy thrash vocals. Grimmett’s vocals add a power metal edge, while retaining the thrash sound.
The guitar tone is the highlight of the album, it has a very quirky funkiness to it that is incredibly hard to describe, as well as replicate. It sounds as though one guitar is tuned slightly higher than the other, creating this two dimensional wall of sound with a huge helping of reverb that just screams 80’s, despite the album being released in 1990. The melodic bridges on the songs “Lightning War” and “In Search of Sanity” really showcases this bizarre tone that the band chose. The drums, albeit simple, have a sound that would be more fitting on an AOR release rather than a thrash one. And as for the bass, it’s very audible, but was a missed opportunity to have more complex notes. All these strange choices would make it seem like a bad album on the surface, but rather creates soundscapes that harken back to early Grim Reaper (duh), Bloodgood, and Manilla Road. Some people say this album sounds a lot like Metallica, but I don’t hear it anywhere on here.
The one thing I despise about this album is the obnoxious FIVE MINUTE intro track, with spooky synth noises occasionally broken by random thumps and metal sounds. This egregiously long track could’ve been replaced by something far more worthy of a five minute time slot. There’s also two covers on this album, “Let There be Rock” by AC/DC, and “Confused” by Angel Witch. These covers could’ve been replaced by an original song, as the covers are mediocre at best. We are also blessed with a twelve minute ballad that discusses the fear of death, which hit close to home for me. The song, despite being twelve minutes, uses this time up in a manner that makes it feel more like five minutes, it’s a great ballad.
In conclusion, this album is so incredibly unique that there is really nothing out there that sounds like it. The closest match I could find is Bloodgood, but it stops there. This album gets way too much hate than it deserves, and should get way more attention. Us fans of this album can only hope that Onslaught will release another album similar to it, but with Steve Grimmett’s recent passing, I don’t see that happening anytime soon.
rafazardly 