Main Frame Collapse

Another old time metal album that's unfortunately lost to the winds of time, for the most part. Italian band Schizo plays a kind of music I honestly want to love more than I currently do - Thrash Metal that's on the border of being (1st wave) Black Metal. One of my favorite bands, Sodom, are pioneers of this, and they show just how great it can be when it's done right.

Likewise, Schizo has their highlights on this record. The music is fast paced, shreds like crazy and doesn't slow down whether you like it or not. Angsty, adolescent, and definitely brutal, all the ingredients to make it work are here. The vocalist sounds like a maniac, the bass is very present and audible, and it doesn't overstay its welcome. However, there's a major issue, and that is the production as a whole. I'm going to break it down:

The mixing is off. It sounds like you're listening to the band from a room over, minus the bass player who is standing right next to you. The vocals and especially the guitars are far too quiet, which means they can't really assert themselves. The drums are all over the place: the snare overpowers everything else, and the double bass just plain sounds bad.

It sucks that it is mixed this way. If this band had a better budget for a tighter mix, this would've been right up there with bands like Bathory, in my eyes. As is, it's just a decent-ish release.