What makes Gehennah one of the best (if not *the* best) "retro" bands is their sheer over-the-top approach. All you have to do is look at the album cover (a drunken metalhead with long hair (remember when that was the norm before the invasion of the shaven head pseudo-metal posse?) wearing a leather jacket (with the obligatory denim vest on top complete with GEHENNAH patch and a depiction of a flying V guitar and a chainsaw), passed out face down on a sidewalk with his hand still clutched around a beer bottle, and the piece-de-resistance, a nice big chunky glop of puke right next to his head) and you know exactly what you're going to get - no two ways about it, this is going to be a METAL album! Of course, all the denim and leather in the world isn't going to mean shit if you don't have the sound to back it up, but thankfully, Gehennah sound as crusty as they look (which says a lot when you consider just how sordid they appear - imagine a Cronos look alike convention and you'll get an idea). What we're blessed (damned?) with is 14 tracks of bass heavy head banging metal not unlike Venom (circa "Welcome to Hell" but with less of the "rock'n'roll" element), yet more simplistic and far less pretentious. I personally hear a strong Onslaught influence in the music, but that's hardly surprising when one considers how Venom derived Onslaught were themselves. Now, don't take the above as insinuating Gehennah are a knock-off of those bands - unlike a great many other "retro" acts these days, Gehennah actually do have a distinct quality that is all their own. No "borrowed" riffs, no "haven't I heard that before ?" - but the SPIRIT of the music is as clone to genuine 80s proto-black/ thrash as you can get. And the lyrics...oh, the lyrics...what a joy it is to behold such masterfully written poems such as "Skeletons in Leather", "Say Hello to my Fist", "Psycho Slut", and of course, the mightiest of the lot (and my personal favorite off this CD), "Piss off, I'm Drinking!" (some of you might complain about it being too "silly" and whatnot - you can all go fuck yourselves with a red hot poker. Anyone who can find fault in lyrics such as those isn't fit to lick the shit off lord Satan's rectum. Go listen to your Korn or your Coal Chamber or whatever other shite you've been duped into believing is metal). All in all, this is a great fucking album. The only thing that would stop me from recommending this would be recommending their second album ("King of the Sidewalk") instead, which is even BETTER than this one...but that's another review altogether >:] HAIL REAL FUCKING METAL!!!

© 1999 chorazaim