Search - Oz :: Fire in the Brain

Another early 80's pre thrash metal treasure

Bloodbath_and_Beyond | usa | 08/11/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With countless early 80's Euro bands cutting out what would be eventually morph into thrash and speed metal, it's hard to really decipher which ones were the real legends here. Bands like Saxon, Venom, Motorhead, Raven, Diamond Head, Iron Maiden, Jaguar, Avenger and to a lesser extent Varis are often credited with the moniker of inventing speed metal. However there were heaps more groups that in their own ways carved out immense contributions whether it be in the guise of a single/EP or album (bands like Blitzkreig, Hollow Ground, Sweet Savage, Savage, Virtue, Fist, Sledgehammer, Demon Pact, Warrior, Acid, Burn, and even Paralex were also there to along with tons of other to this day oscure bands like Scratch, Mendes Prey, Voltz, Legend, Aragorn etc) being mentioned in the net trades of collectors and those in "the know". Oz's 1983 album Fire In The Brain is def a true masterpiece that should be more known, at to the somewhat famous ranks of say Venom or Tygers Of Pan Tang. Starting off with Search Lights, this is Metallica's Kill Em All forumula done before them. And with killer "biker" style Saxon/Savage metal cuts like Fortune, Gambler, and the guitar tap intro'ed Megalomaniac, this album reveals quickly to the unfamiliar listener that they may not know everything about metal. Although some may find a distaste for the more slower and sort-of ballad-ey Black Candles, it's immensely atmosphereric and the riff itself plods along in brutal fashion, making another heavily key cut here. Stop Believin' and Free Me Leave Me are also just, downright amazing. The album returns to the speed for it's title track and while it may be the weakest cut I think, there is nothing bad in the slightest bit about this album. The funny thing is, Oz's debut album reviled in less than satisfactory late 70's style hard rock. They came out of nowhere with this record in 83. Dazzled the underground community and then never made an album that reached it's pinnacle. The production plays a siginificant role in why this record is so great. The drum sound, the vocals, the drums, everything is honed to total raw but not dilluted fashion. In other words, its what METAL should sound like. Metal in the mainstream has focused so much attention on the American trashers like Megadeth and Metallica as well the mainstay of England (Sab, Zep, Maiden, Priest), that its just a total depressing fact of music that mind blowing albums like this are forgotten as they were the real reason metal exists in the first place. This is a gem. Don't dare pass it by."