The Metal Files

Damien Thorne hit the scene in 1986 with their debut release Sign of the Jackal on Roadrunner Records.  At that time Roadrunner had decent distribution and their tapes and records were in most stores.  I am pretty sure a former friend from high school and I were out and about when this one got discovered.  Sometimes it gets hard to remember.  Doesn’t matter.  This was a good discovery.

Damien Thorne fit the category for what I considered speed metal with a hint of NWOBHM in them.  Justin Fates vocals were definitely the high point for me with these guys.  He reminded me a lot of Glen May from Tyrant (LA)…good normal singing voice and great high notes heavily laden with reverb/delay/chorus.  Good times!

Since I was listening to this on cassette for many years, side 2 would be considered my favorite side.  Hell’s Reign, Escape or Die, Siren’s Call and Damien’s Procession (March of the Undead).  Side 1 wasn’t shabby by any means, but the album got better as it went along.

DT had pretty decent riffs and good drumming with some good straightforward double bass stuff in it.  Most of the songs are good mid-paced US metal.

While Damien Thorne weren’t any sort of groundbreaking act, the debut is certainly worth tracking down.  The  CD version was available for a few years but seems to be out of print now.

Tonight was the first time I have spun this in a few years and it really brought back good memories of my high school years (there weren’t many) of hanging out in Churchland with the old crew…

Man, looking back it’s a wonder that some of us are still alive.  Well, sadly, some of us aren’t.  It’s interesting to see who ended up where doing what.

Going back and listening to some of these old albums really sets off some stuff in the brain.  It’s a good stroll down memory lane with some music that always takes me back.  I definitely wore out a few cassette copies of Sign of the Jackal.  Riding around in my 66 Nova II 4dr.  While I generally don’t miss those days, there were enough good times intertwined with friends and music that will never be forgotten.  Luckily I talk to friends that remind me of an album or I listen to an album that reminds me of some old friends.

Download it here. Buy it if you can find it.