The Thrash Metal classic gets the re-release treatment

When you talk about influential albums in Metal, 1988’s Eternal Nightmare by Vio-Lence is often criminally overlooked, except that is by the people truly in the know. Tearing out of the Bay Area scene in 1985, on what is widely considered to be the second wave of Thrash Metal, Vio-Lence pushed the blueprint laid out by the likes of Metallica and Possessed, added a smidge of the developing crossover scene to create a vicious new breed of Thrash Metal that would see them gain moderate success right into the early Nineties, before guitarist Robb Flynn departed to spawn the now legendary Machine Head. Whilst Flynn’s crowning glory is probably Machine Head’s Burn My Eyes the sonic force of Eternal Nightmare is where the young shredder really cut his teeth. Of course he couldn’t do this all on his own and with vocalist Sean Killian’s distinctive vocal style and the energetic fret work of another future Machine Head member Phil Demmel, the band were absolutely on fire by the time 1988 came around.

With a number of vinyl variants to choose from Eternal Nightmare is finally re-released for a whole new generation to enjoy. The original track list has been remastered by Patrick Engel and will all feature the original iconic cover art by Edward J. Repka. With their vicious riffing and breakneck drums, tracks like Kill On Command and Calling In The Coroner sound as fresh and vital as they did back then. Sure, Thrash metal is very “now” again, but while others have fallen by the wayside Eternal Nightmare has stood the test of time and is without a doubt, one of the best representations of the genre and anybody worth their salt, will have this on their Top 10 lists. And if anybody reading this has any doubts, pop Eternal Nightmare on your list to Santa this year and thank us later….Chris Andrews