DECEPTION IGNORED

"Deception Ignored" is the 3rd full-length studio album by German thrash metal act Deathrow. The album was released through Noise Records in January 1988. It´s the successor to "Raging Steel" from 1987 and features one lineup change since the predecessor as guitarist Thomas Priebe has been replaced by Uwe Osterlehner.

I don´t know if it´s the addition of Osterlehner to the lineup or if it was just a desire to evolve and change their sound, but "Deception Ignored" sounds vastly different from the two thrash/speed metal albums which preceded it. Deathrow have opted for a much more technical oriented thrash metal style on "Deception Ignored", and the tracks are generally pretty complex in structure featuring many different sections. Other than the slight German accent of lead vocalist/bassist Milo, it´s not audible that this is a German thrash metal band playing at all. The music has a distinct US feel to it, and is closer in style to US technical thrash/speed metal acts like Realm, Toxik, and Watchtower, than to contemporary German thrash metal artists like Kreator and Sodom. So it´s safe to say the development between "Raging Steel (1987)" and "Deception Ignored" has been very significant. Actually to an extent where it could have been two completely different artists recording the two albums (not completely unlike the major difference in style and sound between "Dreamweaver (Reflections of Our Yesterdays) (1989)" and "Mourning Has Broken (1991)" by contemporary UK thrash/speed metal act Sabbat).

Deathrow are an exceptionally well playing band and the level of technical playing is generally very high on "Deception Ignored". It is the kind of album where your jaw drops a few times during the playing time, because of the dexterity and skill on display. The tracks also feature some very creative songwriting ideas and unconventional twists and turns, which make "Deception Ignored" an intriguing listen throughout. Milo´s vocals are however in part pretty standard raw thrash metal shouting and nothing out of the ordinary for the genre. He gets the job done, but more interesting or distinct sounding vocals could arguably have made the album better, and the thrash metal type vocals end up being one of the weak links of the album. He occasionally sings more high pitched power/progressive metal type vocals, and he shines more when performing those. An example of that vocal style is heard on "Narcotic", where the vocals are more impressive. Another slight weakness is the catchiness of the songwriting. Technical playing and complex song structures are great and all, but more catchy moments and a higher memorability factor of the tracks could also have made the album stronger.

Pointing out a couple of weaker features on "Deception Ignored" (and mind you neither the catchiness of the songwriting nor the thrash style vocals are major issues), does not make it a bad quality album by any means though. It is widely regarded a technical thrash metal classic for a reason and it is a high quality album in almost all other departments possible and pretty much a one-of-a-kind release on the contemporary German scene (yeah I know there are other technical German thrash metal acts from that time like Sieges Even and Mekong Delta, but to my ears Deathrow were still a pretty unique case). "Deception Ignored" is nothing less than a mandatory listen for fans of technical 80s thrash metal. A 4 - 4.5 star (85%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives)