Onslaught - The Force: 25th Anniversary Edition
Yeah yeah, I know what you're thinking; "Oh look, Onslaught have re-released and remastered The Force to celebrate it's 25th anniversary and now we're going to get seven paragraphs of Dingram sucking up to it like he's trying to shag it after the movie is finished. How utterly predictable... and he's given it a full score, as usual. What a colossal twat." And while that's a surprisingly long and perceptive observation for somebody who's no doubt a complete and utter cunt, The Force is my favourite album of all time for reasons other than blind nepotism and nostalgic fanwanking (believe it or not) and I'm not surprised that a great many folk fail to see it for the fantastic piece of work that it really is. It's difficult to put your finger on exactly, but there's something that clicks and finally makes you understand the whole record after a certain point, after which there's no going back. Also, go and fuck yourself.
Onslaught released this anniversary edition of The Force way back at the end of 2012, and I've been extremely slow to pick this up for some reason... mostly because I didn't think that there was anything that could be improved upon, and once again, I've been proven wrong. The remastering job was handled by Jacob Hansen, who produced the band's incredible Sounds of Violence album back in 2011 and remastered their debut album, Power from Hell, the same year. Sounds of Violence was an incredible piece of art and the facelift he'd given Power from Hell was a much needed one; Power from Hell was recorded in 1984, and as such, hadn't aged terribly well over the years so hearing classics such as Thermonuclear Devastation and Skullercrusher II with some beefy remixing was an absolute treat - plus, there were two fantastic re-recordings as bonus tracks! These splendid renditions of Thermonuclear Devastation and Power from Hell, recorded during sessions for Sounds of Violence and Killing Peace respectively, may have come across as throwaway for some but it at least showed that Onslaught made an effort with the reissue instead of haphazardly tacking on some wank bootleg live tracks. So when the band announced that The Force would be getting the same treatment, my response was similar to that of the Robocop remake; IT'S STILL FINE! It still sounds absolutely fucking great! What could remastering it possibly add?!
...Welp, they shut me up.
Despite Onslaught's first three albums getting reissued by Blackened Records back in 2005, they were pretty much completely unaltered re-releases; no remixes or remasters, not even anything in the way of volume changes or a new pair of frilly underwear to differentiate them from the original releases. This new edition boasts a remastering job that brings it much closer to sounding like a modern Onslaught album, or as close as can be without re-recording the entire bloody thing, and though it's not a stark black-and-white difference it's immediately apparent that this mix is the best sounding release of the album yet. The opening of Flame of the Antichrist in particular sounds utterly devastating and the entire thing feels a lot 'fuller' than it did before - but that said, maybe a small smidgeon of that eighties vibe is lost in the process. Nothing that sullies the experience by any means, but the remastering process does deprive the music of some of it's old charms. This aside, it's still the same riproaring record that fans are familiar with and the songs sound better than ever before. This is a thrash metal album that simply cannot age - it's timeless. Because it's nigh-on fucking perfect. And I'm going to stop gushing now.
The major oddity with this reissue is it's bonus content. The band had recorded a new version of Metal Forces for the album, yet my version doesn't have it... however, Sy Keeler has informed me that it is indeed out there in one form or another, most likely as a bonus track for Japanese regions. This in itself makes the reissue feel very bare bones considering the fact that the Power from Hell anniversary release had two bonus tracks, and to go from two to none (unless you live in Japan) is a bit... well, you're essentially buying a replacement for your original pressing. Some retweaked artwork, a remastering job and some neat little liner notes in the album sleeve is all good, but more bonus material would have made this REALLY special and it is a slight let down... so much so that I'm actually docking the album's score by 0.5 because, admit it, an anniversary edition should have more extras than this. That's my sole complaint about this reissue.
Bottom line: Buy it. Don't act like you weren't expecting me to tell you that this album is a must-own, because I've been saying that for the past 16 years and you didn't bloody listen. If you already own The Force, then well done - you're not a cunt - but this reissue might not be for you if you're not fussed about the remastering job. If you don't own The Force already then this is the definitive version to buy, and as an added bonus, you'll no longer be the uncool kid who doesn't own it and worship it already.
In case you didn't understand the first time around, I fucking love this album. I'd have a shrine to it in my basement if I didn't have a court order preventing me from doing so, or if I actually had a basement. All joking aside, if you don't already own this album then you really, really need to pick this up - yes, it's a rather bare release for a special edition, but in a bizarre way I kind of don't mind; you get what you pay for, and when the core seven tracks are as good as they are then it probably shouldn't bloody matter.
Onslaught released this anniversary edition of The Force way back at the end of 2012, and I've been extremely slow to pick this up for some reason... mostly because I didn't think that there was anything that could be improved upon, and once again, I've been proven wrong. The remastering job was handled by Jacob Hansen, who produced the band's incredible Sounds of Violence album back in 2011 and remastered their debut album, Power from Hell, the same year. Sounds of Violence was an incredible piece of art and the facelift he'd given Power from Hell was a much needed one; Power from Hell was recorded in 1984, and as such, hadn't aged terribly well over the years so hearing classics such as Thermonuclear Devastation and Skullercrusher II with some beefy remixing was an absolute treat - plus, there were two fantastic re-recordings as bonus tracks! These splendid renditions of Thermonuclear Devastation and Power from Hell, recorded during sessions for Sounds of Violence and Killing Peace respectively, may have come across as throwaway for some but it at least showed that Onslaught made an effort with the reissue instead of haphazardly tacking on some wank bootleg live tracks. So when the band announced that The Force would be getting the same treatment, my response was similar to that of the Robocop remake; IT'S STILL FINE! It still sounds absolutely fucking great! What could remastering it possibly add?!
...Welp, they shut me up.
Despite Onslaught's first three albums getting reissued by Blackened Records back in 2005, they were pretty much completely unaltered re-releases; no remixes or remasters, not even anything in the way of volume changes or a new pair of frilly underwear to differentiate them from the original releases. This new edition boasts a remastering job that brings it much closer to sounding like a modern Onslaught album, or as close as can be without re-recording the entire bloody thing, and though it's not a stark black-and-white difference it's immediately apparent that this mix is the best sounding release of the album yet. The opening of Flame of the Antichrist in particular sounds utterly devastating and the entire thing feels a lot 'fuller' than it did before - but that said, maybe a small smidgeon of that eighties vibe is lost in the process. Nothing that sullies the experience by any means, but the remastering process does deprive the music of some of it's old charms. This aside, it's still the same riproaring record that fans are familiar with and the songs sound better than ever before. This is a thrash metal album that simply cannot age - it's timeless. Because it's nigh-on fucking perfect. And I'm going to stop gushing now.
The major oddity with this reissue is it's bonus content. The band had recorded a new version of Metal Forces for the album, yet my version doesn't have it... however, Sy Keeler has informed me that it is indeed out there in one form or another, most likely as a bonus track for Japanese regions. This in itself makes the reissue feel very bare bones considering the fact that the Power from Hell anniversary release had two bonus tracks, and to go from two to none (unless you live in Japan) is a bit... well, you're essentially buying a replacement for your original pressing. Some retweaked artwork, a remastering job and some neat little liner notes in the album sleeve is all good, but more bonus material would have made this REALLY special and it is a slight let down... so much so that I'm actually docking the album's score by 0.5 because, admit it, an anniversary edition should have more extras than this. That's my sole complaint about this reissue.
Bottom line: Buy it. Don't act like you weren't expecting me to tell you that this album is a must-own, because I've been saying that for the past 16 years and you didn't bloody listen. If you already own The Force, then well done - you're not a cunt - but this reissue might not be for you if you're not fussed about the remastering job. If you don't own The Force already then this is the definitive version to buy, and as an added bonus, you'll no longer be the uncool kid who doesn't own it and worship it already.
In case you didn't understand the first time around, I fucking love this album. I'd have a shrine to it in my basement if I didn't have a court order preventing me from doing so, or if I actually had a basement. All joking aside, if you don't already own this album then you really, really need to pick this up - yes, it's a rather bare release for a special edition, but in a bizarre way I kind of don't mind; you get what you pay for, and when the core seven tracks are as good as they are then it probably shouldn't bloody matter.
1. Let There Be Death
2. Metal Forces
3. Fight With The Beast
4. Demoniac
5. Flame Of The Antichrist
6. Contract In Blood
7. Thrash Till The Death
8. Metal Forces [Re-Recorded 2012] (Japanese Bonus Track)
2. Metal Forces
3. Fight With The Beast
4. Demoniac
5. Flame Of The Antichrist
6. Contract In Blood
7. Thrash Till The Death
8. Metal Forces [Re-Recorded 2012] (Japanese Bonus Track)
Label: http://www.afm-records.de
Reviewer: Dave Ingram Jr.
Mar 12, 2014
Mar 12, 2014
Next review:
Blackrat - Whiskey And Blasphemy
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