Mortal Sin rose to the challenge of new and exciting heavy music from the Aussie underground in the late ’80s with some damn fine albums.
Their crushing debut, ‘Mayhemic Destruction‘ saw it’s original release in ’86 and was later picked up by Vertigo in ’87 thanks to Bernard Dow of Metal Forces Magazine recommended the band to the label who were eager to invest in the genres rapid success, where it spring-boarded into the international Thrash scene which, at the time, was morphing into one the most captivating and ground-breaking evolutions in Metal’s then history.
Packed with cerated edge guitars and savage riffs, Mortal Sin rip through eight old-school Thrash classics that, given the current climate, have aged rather tastefully. Cherry Red’s newly remastered incantation of the album serves my speakers well as plenty of low-end jiggles the glassware in my living room.
Stand-out bangers ‘The Curse‘, ‘Liar‘ and ‘Blood, Death, Hatred‘ still deliver the goods and with the new re-mix, sound as intense as they did back in ’86. 3.5/5
The bands ’89 follow-up, ‘Face of Despair‘ saw Mortal Sin quickly rise to the top of their local Sydney scene, leaving behind bands’ such as Slaughter Lord, who at one time, were considered almost on par with the band in terms of popularity. However, their deal with Vertigo came with a budget that saw Randy Burns at the helm for the albums engineering/production duties followed almost immediately by a much coveted support slot with Metallica for their ’89 ‘…And Justice…‘ Australian dates launching Mortal Sin into the international scene…in a big way.
For me, ‘Face of Despair‘ has always been a top quality album. In fact, it was one of my personal favourite albums of the era and got multiple spins during my youth and was the soundtrack to one to many house parties.
With former Slaughter Lord drummer-come stand up comedian, Steve Hughes filling in as a touring member of the band, and a selection of European dates with Exodus and Faith No More under their collective belts, ‘Face of Despair‘, had all the trimmings that any Thrash fan could want.
From the opening, ‘I Am Immortal‘ to ‘Voyage of The Disturbed‘ to the, Death Angel-esque groove of ‘The Infinity Corps‘, ‘Face of Despair‘ is a knock-out classic Thrash album that any self-respected fan of the genre should own.
The re-mix is full, warm and crystal clear and NEEDS to be in your collection. 4.5/5
Pick up a copy of both albums from this location. Vinyl releases of both albums are expected from September 9th. CD release is already available.
For your chance to win both copies on CD, please “Like” and “Follow” us on Facebook and Instagram, share this post on your socials and be sure to tag Overdrive so we can see your entry.
Oran O’Beirne
www.overdrive.ie 2022