Homicide – Left For Dead

This is a reincarnation of epic proportions. ‘Left For Dead ‘ is only Homicide’s second album. The first being released in 1995. That’s right. 1995. So it’s with great interest that I review this.

Homicide are from Montreal, Canada and have a great history. They’ve shared stages with the likes of Anvil, Death, Mercyful Fate, Voivod, Killer Dwarfs. Now, reading through the press notes the band have took the time to describe each song on the album so I think it’s only fair that I share this information with you. After all, it’s pretty accurate!

1. Shot to Hell
A track about gambling addition leading to drinking and depression, it’s a powerhouse that points the finger and pity’s the fool while acting as a warning shot at the same time.

2. Point Blank Range
Increasing the tempo with “Point Blank Range”, which is a classic driving song of raw sounding old school riffs and some more solos. Who said the solo was dead? They lied. The lyrics maybe simple enough but they’re crowd fodder for chanting and will go down a storm in that regard.

3. Left For Dead
The title track is perhaps a reference to the band’s absence for the last 25 years with lyrical references to a phoenix rising from the ashes, it makes the best use of staccato riffs and jack hammer footwork to get its message across while the evil laughter in the fade will crack a smile on the face of even the most hardened of Metal Heads.

4.  Enemy of The State
Taking the melodic atmospheric route before kicking in full throttle after a couple of minutes of build-up “Enemy Of The State” then goes full on Municipal Waste as Morency rants and raves about the Government making up conspiracy theories to cover up their actions. It’s a classic headbanger of a cut with short bursts of solo work to keep you on your toes.

5 Nightmares Of The Apocalypse
This is going to be a fast one and rips through like a tornado of destruction as it forewarns of a black future at breakneck speed. Who needs a neck? It’s an old school Corrupted Youth song. We were in a band Corrupted Youth before Homicide In the old station ten rising sun days. Playing with Fatal Illness before they were Grim Skunk, Fair Warning, and all those bands. This is a song we use to play that we just can’t get out of our system, so we had to record it again.

6. Scorched Earth
Sarcasm and tongue in cheek humor are dropped in favor of a frantic and frenetic riff attack. A tale of the end of days with Nuclear blasts and their fallout wiping out humanity, it’s a fierce rager.  

7. Scourge of God
This track gets things off to a fine start and is a reminder of just how good the storytelling style of Morency is as he delivers a tale of the wrath of God. Mid-tempo evil chugs keep things going nicely and the riffs pay homage to the Bay Area Thrash scene with a nostalgic tooth gap grin while that whammy bar drop is a nice touch. It’s one of those tracks that cut at a point when it could happily go on for another few minutes and that’s always the hall mark of quality.

And there you have it. A great old skool thrash album bringing the past to life again. Great production too. Just the right balance between studio and the ‘live’ sound. Very similar to Billy Milano’s Method Of Destruction with hints of Anvil. Lovely.

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