ONSLAUGHT's first couple of records were raging exercises in primitive thrash. It was obvious on discs like 1986's "The Force" that ONSLAUGHT were hugely influenced by SLAYER. Sy Keeler's ambulance-siren wails were no doubt inspired by Tom Araya. Steve Grice's drumming style in tracks like "Flame of the Antichrist" were arguably quite similiar to madman Dave Lombardo. Of course, this was nothing unusual in the mid 1980s, as boatloads of demos and even some vinyl pieces spawned in the initial maelstrom of thrash were thinly veiled SLAYER or EXODUS cover projects. But as the scene took shape, the superior bands of the genre were able to grow beyond their obvious influences and assert their own unique style after a few albums.

You'll find no such growth on this album. "Killing Peace" is one of the most shameless "me too" thrash records to come down the pike in years. Despite the fact that over twenty years and countless genre variations have come and gone since the band's inception, this disc finds them borrowing heavily from SLAYER's "South of Heaven" and EXODUS' "Tempo of the Damned" records. Sure, the production is crisp and the guitars crunchy, but on the very first listen, the borrowed riffs from SLAYER's "Mandatory Suicide" jump out of "Planting the Seeds of Hate" and "Shock 'N Awe", as does the hard-panned EXODUS-style riffs and Keeler's calculated take on Steve Sousa's vocal style. This is no new band of 18-year-olds with a debut disc influenced by their heroes; it's nine tracks of pure mimickry from a group of guys old enough to know better. If you can't get enough of the aforementioned records and need to hear another band cover them, pick this up. Otherwise, you already have this album.

- Marchman

OFFICIAL SITE: www.onslaughtfromhell.com

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