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"Insane Society" album lyrics

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Album updated, review now!
Tracklist
01
Wrath (US1) - Killmania
02
Wrath (US1) - Panic Control
Panic Control lyrics
Wrath (US1)
5.0 / 5 (1)
playlist
03
Wrath (US1) - Test Of Faith
Test Of Faith lyrics
Wrath (US1)
5.0 / 5 (1)
playlist
04
Wrath (US1) - Swarm
05
Wrath (US1) - War Of Nerves
06
Wrath (US1) - Insane Society
07
Wrath (US1) - Law Of Lies
08
Wrath (US1) - 11th Hour
09
Wrath (US1) - Closed Doors
Closed Doors lyrics
Wrath (US1)
4.0 / 5 (1)
playlist
album info:
Verified yes
Discs1
GenreMetal
Rank
Released1990-03-23
Record labelMedusa Records
Charts
AddedMarch 19th, 2018
Last updated
AboutInsane Society by Wrath (US1)

Type: Full-length
Release date: March 23rd, 1990
Catalog ID:7 72322-2
Label:Medusa Records
Format: CD
Reviews:

"Wrath,Wrath,Wrath"; I was listening to my dog barking a few months back, trying to figure what word this sound resembled. And then suddenly it dawned on me: wrath, of course! For a while I almost felt like Columbus when he discovered America, and then started making associations with the word and metal. The first thing that came to my mind was Metal Church's early hit "Gods of Wrath", one of my all-time favourite songs, but then I recalled Wrathchild America, the band I grew to hate cause I consider their debut "Climbin' the Walls" the first impure diversification thrash metal album that brought those horrible metamorphoses in the genre's backyard which ultimately ruined it few years down the line. It takes a bit for me to calm down and stop spitting venom and bile in this act's direction, and then the band under scrutiny here came to mind,

Yes, this outfit weren't the first thing that I related wrath to; I guess they've never been a regular presence in my music player although I've listened to each of their albums, including their latest "Stark Raving Mad", quite a few times, and I know "Nothing to Fear" pretty much by heart. The thing is that the latter towers so high above the rest of the guys' repertoire that it's quite hard to assess the rest objectively. As it was the second genuine technical thrash recording on US soil after Watchtower's debut, splitting this position with Juggernaut's "Trouble Within", the fanbase was probably hoping that with the technical/progressive genre becoming more popular at the end of the decade, Wrath would follow up with another exuberant complex "beast",

Well, not quite. 1990 was still firmly rooted in the classic metal canons although the aggro/groovy sounds started timidly showing their head above ground, disguised as either hellish cowboys, or slaughtered Vatican cardinals. Still, a few more sagacious acts felt the winds of change earlier, and began a transitional process that led them away from their roots: Death Angel ("Act III"), Testament ("Souls of Black"), Sacred Reich's "The American Way", Flotsam & Jetsam ("When the Storm Comes Down") , Wrath did the same although no one gave a notice back then as their status was, and remained, an underground one. They were perhaps well aware that they wouldn't be able to repeat the feat from the sophomore, but even with this thought in mind they've managed quite well to shape their swansong (at the time) appropriately.

A major difference the listener will detect in the vocal department: the distinctive throat from the first two instalments Gary Colwitzer was gone replaced by a less expressive, angrier, shall I also say barking (I would like to hear this guy shout "Wrath!"), timbre that isn't bad, it's just that the man doesn't provide even a tad of melody in his antics contrasting with the melodic character of the music, resembling Chuck Billy on his more attached "barks". "Killmania" early betrays the mellower delivery here being a friendly power/thrashy bouncer, but "Panic Control" steps on the pedal and thrashes harder also possessing some of the technical flair of the preceding magnum opus. It'll be a mixed bag, the situation here, and "Test of Faith" is another less hostile piece predating Megadeth's future transformations from the 90's. The alternation between the two sides continues with "Swarm" which is a brisk speedster with a great bass bottom, choppy technical breaks, and tasteful melodic tunes. "War of Nerves" is an excellent instrumental, a hectic technical riff-fest of the highest order that would have been a highlight on "Rust in Peace" even, a very pleasant array of crunchy clever riffage in mid-tempo. The title-track isn't far behind its mid-paced stylish leaps and bounds working just fine alongside the few faster-paced insertions. "Low of Liers" is a major galloper at the beginning with screamy leads surrounding the jarring rifforamas which surrender to more melodic, but pretty effective atmospheric strokes towards the end. "11th Hour" is another notable diverse cut with intense thrashy passages and intricate riff "salads", greatly recalling the "fearless" opus again, and "Closed Doors" "closes the doors" in a more downbeat, even proto-groovy if you like, fashion still winning points thanks to the inspired lead guitars and the superb acoustic epitaph.

Not bad at all in the long run, a few adjustments here and there, but overall fairly acceptable old school thrash all over which simply wasn't as overtly elaborate and exuberant as the behemoths released the same year like "Twisted into Form", "Persistence of Time", and "Rust in Peace" again. The oncoming currents were also aptly felt the guys suggesting at the future transformations still nullifying those "alien" gimmicks with plenty of old school hooks. With the scene surrendering completely to the new metal vogues very soon after this album's release, there was no more room for a bunch of angry, wrathful retro metallers, and the Wrath saga came to an end,

Not for good, though, as the band re-emerged in the new millennium. The first showing, the self-titled EP, was an awful false new start the guys having decided to pay tribute to the past decade, the one they spent hibernating, with a collection of clumsy groovy post-thrashers. A mistake that was wisely corrected with the third full-length which saw them thrashing in the good old way not far from this "insane" affair here. The even better piece of news is that Colwitzer is back with his old comrades for more exploits in the future, and with him in the fold the band have absolutely nothing to fear.

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So in the mid to late 80's I started getting into metal and eventually into thrash. Wrath's Nothing to Fear was one of the first cassettes, yes before CD's became popular, that I purchased. I was a huge fan of Gary Golwitzer's voice for the uniqueness and melodic appeal of it. So when Insane Society was released without Gary signature stamp, I balked. I bought the tape, but maybe listened to it maybe twice after purchasing it. Funny thing happened a few years later; I pulled out this seldom listened to tape and plugged it in. It didn't happen overnight, but songs stayed stuck in my head for days on end. Vocals that once annoyed me, I started to enjoy. Before I knew it, I loved this tape and soon to be purchased CD.

Wrath traded in most of their overt technicality of Nothing to Fear, for more compact and catchy songs. Much has been said of the similarity of vocals and riffs to Testament, which I won't deny. However many of these descriptions operate on the assumption that Testament was an original sounding band,which they weren't. If we were to discard every metal band that sounded like someone else, we would have about twelve bands to listen to. What we have here is well crafted, played and catchy Heavy Metal songs. I dare anyone to listen to the opening of Test of Faith and not want to start headbanging!

Kurt Grayson's vocals straddle that delicate balance of both gruff and catchy. For me they are the high point of the album. The bass is prominently featured, much more than previous albums, which works to the song's advantage. I do however miss the guitar tones of the previous album. The tone of the guitars on this album are drier and less open. However since most songs don't blaze by as they did previously, the tone adds additional heaviness to the songs.

I actually saw this version of Wrath at a Milwaukee Metal Fest years ago, I wish I had the appreciation for these songs at that time that I do now. I would be willing to bet most of people who dislike this CD, do so because of who is not singing on it rather than the material presented.

My favorites are Killmania, the aforementioned Test of Faith, 11th Hour and the great closer Closed Doors.

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As stated above, I can honestly say that I was a little harsh with this album when I first listened and reviewed it. I crapped on this album, and where I could see why I did so, The truth is upon further listening, I can honestly say that though this is not as good as previous releases, it is still very good. The songs are very enjoyable, every song works and serves the album, and very few songs are on here are dull. It's standouts are Panic Control, Killmania, Insane Society, Test of Faith, and War of Nerves. While the other tracks are still very solid and enjoyable, just not as much.

In this album, aside from its positives, does have some fair negatives I think. To its detriment, there is a lacking of creativity in its writing musically giving more simplistic guitar riffs and melodies. Now their first two releases- Fit of Anger and Nothing To Fear, are awesome, especially Nothing to Fear. That album was very creative, heavy, well written, melodic, and outright solid, so Insanse Society had a lot to live up to. Since this in no way lives up to Nothing to Fear, when compared to it, Insane Society could be considered mediocre if not outright complacent. However in its own right, It is great. Among its other negatives are its production which is weaker, but forgivable, but it's vocalist. Since Gary Golwitzer was replaced by Kurt Grayson, we get something very different. As opposed to Gary's voice which though suited the band, sounded like a pterodactyl, Kurt Grayson in my opinion is worse. He sounds like Chuck Billy and Glen Danzig's love child, which though sounds like a good idea was just awful. They could used a better singer; Kurt just doesn't do it.

Insane Society is definitely a Wrath album, and takes very much after Fit of Anger, and is very good. Though it is lacking in its production and creativity as far as their other releases are concerned, Wrath manages to make it work and delivers a solid record. Where it could have been better and doesn't live up as far as Nothing to Fear is concerned, this is good in its own right. 7/10

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You know when metal bands from the 80's try to prolong their careers into the 90's, it generally doesn't work out for the best. They try so hard, yet they fail, and sometimes to the point of complete misery. Wrath hit onto this bandwagon. Wrath was never extremely popular in the world, even in the 80's, but was known in their hometown pretty well. Imagine if you will a thrash band in the 80's, now complete utter crap.

If there is any credit do whatsoever to this album, it would have to be to the guitars. There are some decent riffs: main riff in Swarm and main riff in Law of Lies are well done. But for the most part the riffs, and all the soloing, is extremely sloppy. The drums and the bass also get some credit as they pick up on the Over Kill sound. Some good riffs, but even if you lined this band with the greatest guitar player ever, the band would still suck.

What brings this album to its shameful grace is the singer. He kind of sound like Lee Ving and some crappy mallcore singer. He sings very low, and his voice gets very annoying, which makes it hard at times to concentrate on other parts of the music. Its really like they just grabbed this guy off the street; he has no singing talent whatsoever. Sometimes he will go for these high pitched screams and miss. He knows he missed it, but he still tries, which makes the scream turn into a gurgling sound. This guy should never sing again and do voice overs for the Muppet Babbies or something.

So overall there are some good riffs and nice bass guitar work. Other than that no song really stands out as being good. Lack of effort and structure with a crappy singer makes Insane Society an insane piece of crap. If you ever see this album, buy it (of course this is if it is under $2.50), listen to it (if you have the guts), and then burn it or use it as a coaster.

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