Long-time Peacedoggers may remember a piece Mark wrote a while back for our "Scarius Dairius" section on French-Canadian thrashers SOOTHSAYER, where he compared vocalist Stephan Whitton to former MTV Z-list personality Pauly Shore. Ouch. In his defense, the cover of their sole full-length "Have a Good Time" that looks straight out of the local renaissance festival is a red flag for folks that are lactose intolerant. It's just too bad that the album didn't have a more sinister-looking package or a grittier production… otherwise it might have been taken a bit more seriously.

But wait - this is where "To Be a Real Terrorist" comes in! This is a re-release of the band's original demo of the same name, along with a live set from Montreal that was recorded on April 21, 1987. Considering the age of the demo half of the album, it's surprisingly listenable. Taking the thrash template of SLAYER, the light-heartedness of NUCLEAR ASSAULT and the frantic pace of SADUS, these guys prove they have the necessary chops for the job. The first three tracks ("Death Radiation", "Troops of Hate" and "Kill Oppression") may be a blur of noise, but things are rounded out nicely by the (slightly) slower "Build the Terrorism" and the comical fast/slow action of "Deadly Fear".

As far as the live second half, it's understandably rougher-sounding than the demo, but at least listeners can hear everything that's going on. The set list is largely taken from the "Have a Good Time" album, along with repeats of "Deadly Fear" and "Build the Terrorism" from the demo. Thankfully, there's very little of the Pauly Shore connection to be heard ("Dig" is the only place where it's really prominent). Instead, when vocalist Whitton isn't employing the high-pitched scream of SADUS frontman Darren Travis, he sounds more like a combination of the younger versions of Snake and Max Cavalera. It's in the live set that we also have our first and only real attempt from the band to sound all that serious, as "E.T." features a spacey intro and somber breakdown. Of course, it doesn't exactly pay off, but did anyone really expect otherwise?

In short, what we have here is a preserved moment in time of a band at their zenith, having fun and playing as fast and heavy as physically possible. It's also a great look back in time to when the thrash genre was still a force to be reckoned with. What's more, the frenzied fun and unexpected quality of this release should put it beyond the "for completists only" category.

- Cardona

OFFICIAL SITE: www.troopsofhate.com

RELATED ITEMS: Scarius Dairius - SOOTHSAYER