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██▌ Artist...: Hades ░▐██▌
░▐██ Album....: Resisting Success ░██▌░
▓▐██ Year.....: 1995 ▓▐██▓
▓▐██ Rel.Date.: 2020-12-08 ░▐██▓
▐██ Genre....: Thrash Metal ██▌░
░ ██▌ Label....: L.T.D. Records Limited ██▌
▐██ Source...: CD ▐██
░▐██▌ Type.....: Reissue ▐██▌░
▓▄████ Quality..: VBR, 44.1kHz, Joint Stereo ████▌░
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1. The Leaders? 4:32
2. On to Iliad 5:59
3. Legal Tender 2:19
4. Sweet Revenge 3:05
5. Nightstalker 3:46
6. Resist Success 4:09
7. Widow's Mite (Chapter Eleven) 4:06
8. The Cross 3:55
9. Masque of the Red Death 8:49
10. Abode of the Dead (Bonus Track) 3:37
11. On to Iliad (Live) (Bonus Track) 3:29
12. Widow's Mite (7") (Bonus Track) 3:06
13. Akiron (Bonus Track) 4:06
14. Brainwashed (Bonus Track) 2:50
15. Sledgehammer Press (Bonus Track) 2:54
16. Warpath to Repression (Bonus Track) 2:52
------
63:34
Ripper's note: this is earlier non-remastered reissue with 16 tracks,
different from Hades-Resisting_Success-(CYC070-2)-Remastered_CD-2011-211
that contains 14 tracks.
- Track 10 taken from the 1983 demo.
- Track 11 recorded live in 1982 @ undisclosed location.
- Track 12 taken from the 1985 The Cross / Widow's Mite single.
- Tracks 13-14 taken from a 1984 demo from the band Prophecy, a previous
band of Alan Tecchio & Scott LePage.
- Track 15 taken from unreleased 1984 demo.
- Track 16 taken from unreleased 1986 pre-production demo.
---
I am always hesitant to give an album a score this high because there is
always something you can find fault with, and even though there is very
little here that I personally can criticize, plenty of people will find
something they dislike about this album for whatever reason. So, I
deducted a couple points, just because.
To me, this has always ranked as one of the greats; the pinnacle of
mid-80's speed/thrash metal, executed to perfection in every way
possible. By the time they released this LP, the band had been around in
some form or other for nearly nine years and gone through many changes,
all that time developing and perfecting their sound. They started life
as a traditional metal band but evolved into a thrash band over the
years, successfully transitioning to that sound without sounding a bit
forced or cheezy. (A certain Texas band made a similar transition less
successfully, yet were less successful at resisting success- wrap your
heads around THAT one, Hades fans, ha ha!)
Basically almost everything about this album is perfect. The production
brings out the blistering guitar sound and thrashy energy, the playing
is spot on, top notch, with great musicianship, and the songs are almost
uniquely excellent, without one single filler track. Production-wise,
there are no unbalanced instruments or flaws with the mix at all. While
the riffs and the playing is often very technical, they never sacrifice
songcraft or catchiness merely for the sake of playing technical riffs,
which was a common trap that many a "technical thrash band" would fall
into as the decade progressed. ALL of these songs are catchy and flow
nicely from beginning to end, even the somewhat long "Masque of the Red
Death" (which I subtracted a point for being a bit too long, even though
it never really gets tiresome) I will also mention the vocals; Tecchio's
high register vocals are not my favorate style of singing BUT: To his
credit, he pulls it off perfectly. He hits every single high note spot
on, without wavering or sounding itchy, and his voice retains the power
it needs to and suits the music well.
What I like about this record is it's diversity. Every song is distinct,
and stylistically different, without ever sounding contrived- they all
just fit together. You have your blistering, balls out thrashers like
opening track "The Leaders" and "Legal Tender." There are galloping
midpaced riff monsters like "On to Illiad", "Night Stalker" and the
aforementioned "...Red Death" and your slow, doom-ish traditional metal
track "Sweet Revenge" which, although a slower track, still has an
instantly memorable and very monstrously good riff throughout- it rocks,
trust me. Even the ballad "The Cross" is a great song, holding a lot of
power and atmosphere. This song compares favorably to the best of the
Christian-themed "white doom metal" bands. I admit some may not quite
buy into the pro-Jesus leanings of the lyrics; I wont criticize anyone
else's beliefs here nor will I editorialize about it further- but rest
assured Hades never intended to be a "Christian" band a la Stryper. And
"The Cross" is a much better song, more powerful and effective than
anything Stryper ever wrote.
Really, the whole thing just smokes, from beginning to end, showing that
they can thrash with the best of em- and outdo just about anyone with
their more traditional metal songs as well. It's just a combination of
great riffs, great energy, and technical playing which lifs this album
above most of their contemporaries, and it really is a shame that it's
title became a self-fulfilling prophecy.
---
I was surprised to notice I was the second one to review this excellent
album, because I believe it was known by lots of thrashers. I listened
to a song on the Stars On Thrash compilation and I immediately found
their first two albums. Hades from U.S.A., and not from Norway, started
their career playing the classic U.S. power metal at the end of the 70s
to move to a more compact thrash/speed with the always present power
elements. Anyway, donÆt expect to listen to a German style power metal
band because we all know the differences between these two kinds of
power metal.
This one is surely more violent and dynamic without being the cheesy
German one. Here those ingredients are mixed in a perfect way to create
good songs. Another band that comes to my mind in this field are
Paradox: both have the ability to create always very catchy songs
through heavy dosage of thrash/speed metal too. So we can find tracks
like ôThe Leaders?ö where the band is free to show all the abilities on
the speed parts, broken by excellent melodic solos or the following
ôNightstalkerö were the speed is a bit abandoned for the initially
groove riffs and following mid paced tempos.
But donÆt worry because we have the lethal ôLegal Tenderö to raise the
flag of the most pure speed/thrash metal. ItÆs a very fast song with
good, intricate guitars riffage and fast solos. The vocals are truly in
speed metal style with some higher tonality parts, but the whole thing
doesnÆt sound exaggerated or monotonous because Tecchio has a beautiful,
versatile vocal style that can fit in any kind of song in this genre.
The more quiet ôOn To Illiadö is a small starter to the very good, more
speed oriented ôWidowÆs Miteö.
The good thing in these songs is that each and every one features a
groovy, almost hard rock touch that, combined with the speed parts gives
you the idea of completeness and excellent songwriting. The technical
level of these five musicians is never to question. Each guitars solo,
for example, is a demonstration of great ability and sense of melody.
Sometimes, like in the complicated title track, the progressive metal
influences are well visible and sound extremely good.
In those parts, the vocals are very Anthrax orientedàlike in their first
period. The riffs on ôSweet Revengeö have a dark feeling, reminding me
some early Testament parts. Surely Testament got influenced by Hades,
not the contrary. This song, despite the title, features groove parts
and some good solos alternation. ôThe Crossö is pure, dark, power metal
ballad, excellent for those who want to know the pure 80s sound in that
period. The tempos are less impulsive and the melody plays the main role
with the arpeggios.
During the last 9 minute song, we can hear influences that go from Iron
Maiden in the first part to Black Sabbath in the second. The bass is far
more audible here than in most of the other songs. Overall, this is a
very good, technical album by a group that deserved an higher dose of
luck and success.
---
From more or less my neck of the woods comes Hades, a potent
power/thrash group that can never be mistaken for the former Hades of
Norway or the recently released Chinese one. TheyÆre a band much like
Leatherwolf that practically bled talent and showmanship only to fail to
achieve the exaltation they deserve. ItÆs not like they donÆt have
enough lps out. TheyÆve also always had this predilection with money and
success (and the topic ornaments three of their lp titles) that I never
quite understood, but I never asked them, either.
The five-piece are rightfully associated with the NY/NJ thrash scene in
the mid/late æ80s, but their songwriting aptitude doesnÆt wholeheartedly
lie in the concoction of vigorous thrash. TheyÆre more apt to pen some
elegantly strong power metal that can steer somewhat clear of the
molten, or becomes a melding of both styles reminiscent of Taking
Over-era Overkill, The Ultraviolence-age Death Angel, and the
aforementioned Leatherwolf. Alan Tecchio, pre-Watchtower and yet
uncelebrated despite his advanced range, even while hitting falsetto
levels that can have canines running, is a real emerald of envy among
similar bands while the rest of the musical bedrock are as tight and
pronounced as they come.
The fairly safe ôThe Leaders?ö begins side one, a robust tune with a
slew of rhythms shifts and meaty chorus thatÆs just an aerobic warm-up
for the band. ôLegal Tender ö has a guitar twiddling, raucous main riff
that sounds like ôThrashersö and ôElectro-Violenceö had hammered into
one another at an intersection. ôSweet Revengeö is a slow, punching tale
dominated by a rhythm marked by the dramatic, meanwhile ôNightstalkerö
commences with a similar hunting gait, but quickly leaps out of shadow
for a fleet-footed sally of wily drumwork, alluring melody and is a fine
finale for the side.
Side two doesnÆt rest on its laurels and keeps the pressure stoked
through its entirety. ôResist $uccessö (notice the $, as in $avior $elf)
is another hard plower riding on the strength of its domineering main
stroke and vocally-backed chorus, but tends to pale to the might of the
solid, prevailing cadence of ôWidowÆs Mite (Chapter Eleven)ö and its
roiling set of solos via Scott LePage and Dan Lorenzo. Despite the ire
of ôWidowÆs Miteö, it has a difficult time sparring with the
super-tough, Mighty Joe Young of a power ballad that is ôThe Crossö.
Mystical acoustics backed with airy keys sets a majestic timbre that
cannot help but lay defeated, overcome by a jarring, precise riff
crowned by a luminescent Tecchio crystal breaker. The multi-part ôMasque
of the Red Deathö is unsurprisingly the lpÆs climax. With facet-splicing
narratives, a kaleidoscope of moods, intense musicianship and a
well-written story reflective of a slightly sunnier Iced Earth,
ôMasqueàö, to a lesser degree, is their ôDanteÆs Infernoö and
ôMetropolis Pt. 1ö. Musically, the band cooks here, especially when act
three, ôThe Masquerade including the Twelfth Hour and Return of the Red
Deathö, comes knockinÆ.
What started out as a light set of squat thrusts ends up a full-on
balance beam act. Too bad the seats arenÆt packed. If anything, the
title symbolically marks their downfall. Sure, they sell some records
now and then, but so do Lawrence Welk and the Bay City Rollers.
Recommendable to those wanting to hear the real Hades.
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