Plague - Plague (1997)

In the early 80's the new sound from England that was being called "New Wave of British Heavy Metal" started to get some serious attention in the USA.  It was this era that was to become pivotal in the making of all extreme metal today, and from this point on Metal was to explode as a world power. 
Thrash Metal  began to be pioneered by such bands as Slayer, Metallica and Megadeth on the West Coast of the country, and was to spawn countless bands in the future.  But on the East coast metal took a different path.  Metal is a living thing, quick to adapt to new ecosystems and quicker still to mutate to conquer all, and so it did when it came in contact with a different kind of aggressive and popular music called punk. Here was a religion all of its own with its own subculture and distinct sound, and when the two genres hit, a whole new group of subgenres was formed.  The most recognisable would be Hardcore Punk, Thrashcore, Crossover and New York Hardcore.

Strangely enough, one of the "Big four" of the era was Anthrax, which had a definate thrash metal feel and yet has its roots in New York on the East coast.  I digress, but forgive me, I find it all rather fascinating.   
  
When I listen to this album by Plague I hear a range of influences, but none so strong as the New York Hardcore bands of the ealy 90s such as SOD and Agnostic Front, and the newer bands of the genre like Sick of it All.  There is no escaping that genre influence for me, the vocals won't allow me.  They are way high up in the mix, too high by half in my opinion and are that throaty shout without variation throughout the entire album, a style that NYHC bands are known for.  They are so very basic and oldschool at times that they come across as bland and uninspiring, yet in other moments they can give the songs some life by throwing a different rhythm into the mix like in the opening stanzas of "Mass Wastage".


If it wasn't for the vocals I would think that this album would be akin to early thrash metal in fact, as there are songs like the ferocious "Task" that sound more like "Kill 'em All" era Metallica or "Fistful of Metal" era Anthrax.  The vocals are just too dominant to ignore though, and change the mood of the entire album. 

 The Guitar tone is heavily distorted and yet somehow thin, with an excess of top end like Early Slayer or Venom.  The tendency is towards punchy uptempo thrashy riffs interspersed with blasts of speed, with the sort of angry vibe that always translates better to the stage than to a recording. There are not too many real breakdowns to speak of, and when there are they are used as a vehicle for some pretty dynamic leadbreaks. There are moments when the guitars back off a bit but the intensity doesn't ebb, the drums pick up the slack and they just keep on bangin' away.   The drums are good and intense, and full of variation and fire. Certainly the finest part of this CD in my opinion, the footwork is fast - really fast in parts - , rolls are splendid and the only thing missing to make them sound really cranking is a better mix.

This is the first album by Plague, and in my opinion the next release shows a lot more depth and soul, this self titled album is less crafted and has a lack of dynamics and subtlety.  It is fast enough to flirt with the edges of speedmetal but is not as technically demanding, a lot is going on here making the songs sound very busy. That may be a symptom of the studio mix however and not the songwriting, it is of course the engineers job to make the spastic cacophany that we write sound like music, and it is not an enviable job.   Despite a few moments where Plague break the pattern for a moment or two, like in the Suicidal Tendancies style melodic interlude in "Mother Hates Me", This album is a constant battering with very little to distinguish one song from another.  I need more than that myself, and it is good to know that the boys from Plague really stepped up on the next album, "Higher Moral Ground".   This CD was a pretty good start and was fairly unique in its time, but really didn't capture the true energy of Plague on the stage at all.

Review by Jez.