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Casbah - Russian Roulette
b/w Death Metal 7"
1986 No Poser Records
Track
Listing:
1. Russian Roulette
2. Death Metal
Line-Up:
Vocals:
Taka Hatori
Guitar: Koiruchi Mitani
Bass: Ryo Murayama
Drums: Takai Usui
Scoots' Rating: A
Average Album Rating: A
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Scoots' Review:
Ok, I’ll admit right at the start that I
don’t know much about these guys. Even amongst metal fans I’m
guessing this EP is pretty obscure. As with a lot of Japanese bands,
finding accurate info in English can be frustrating. Casbah
apparently formed in ’83 and released several recordings during their
career (including that favorite format of Japan, the 8” flexi
disc). This 7” is their recorded debut and finds the band playing
fast aggressive thrash with a sound that blends equal parts early Celtic
Frost and Destruction.
Some have deemed their
sound “deathrash,” but short of the not-overly-polished production (in
the best way possible!) that the more popular Brazilian deathrash bands like
Sarcafago were known for, this is straight up thrash in my
book. Although I assume the lyrics to be in Japanese, the vocals are
strangely British sounding, with a gruff punk edge reminiscent of cross
between Discharge and Venom. This record is truly a lost
treasure. If all you know of Japanese metal is Loudness and Bow
Wow, or even Sabbat and Abigail, make it a point to track
this down!
Song summaries include...
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Russian Roulette
- Intro: Huge down tempo stomping riff as giant guitar-wielding Japanese
robots march inexorably into battle. Shouted chorus. Relentless.
This is a
serious piece of thrash insanity, clocking in at over 6 and half minutes
long. A
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Death Metal
- Moody
intro that sounds exactly like the opening to Angel Witch’s
“Baphomet,” with sparse, distorted guitar ringing out in an echoey void.
The bass throbs, the guitarist hits a note that for a split second fools you
into thinking he’s about to play “Running With The Devil”, and the
song blasts forward full thrash ahead. Excellent call-and-response chorus
finds Hatori trading off lines with the rest of the band. A-
Scoots' Rating: A
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