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".

Plague - Higher Moral Ground (2005)

I have trouble hearing this CD and believing that this is the same band who wrote the first Plague CD, the evolution is so extreme that it almost seems to be a completely different band. Out the door goes the ferocious and yet often uninteresting early speedmetal-influenced songs, the competent and yet somewhat pedestrian guitar work, the predictible timing structures, the annoying NYHC sounding vocals and the crossover thrash feel. Roaring into that vacuum comes a dynamic and insane sounding album with all the best elements retained and so much more going on.