1988. What were you doing then? Well I guess there’s a good chance some of you weren’t even born. Me? I was seventeen years old and obsessed with thrash metal. Far too much money was spent on vinyl (all of which I still have) and gig tickets. Once every month or so me & my mate Nick would hit Notting Hill record & tape exchange shops looking for some tasty second hand bargains. One day, a friend picked up a copy of the self-titled debut album by Hobb’s Angel of Death.
The cover art was pretty dumb, a painting of head honcho Peter Hobbs looking all fierce with his long black hair and big bushy moustache, wearing a leather jacket and surrounded by flames. It was a nuts cover (though nowhere near as bad as the utterly shit Nasty Savage ‘Penetration Point’ sleeve art that I was clutching).
We got back to Nick’s house and stuck it on the midi system turntable. Bang!!! Fucking proper thrash! The band was basically an Australian version of Slayer with some killer tunes like the epic ‘Marie Antoinette’ and the blistering ‘Bubonic Plague’ (see what I did there?). Heads down, furious, dandruff bothering heavy fucking metal with some strong melodies and killer guitar work. Loved it. But then what? Well, like a lot of decent thrash acts of the time (remember E-X-E anyone?) pretty much fuck all.
So when the opportunity came up to get my mitts on this I practically ripped the boss’s arm off. It’s fair to say that I was a bit worried though. What if it was a bit, well….. shit? This is only the third album Hobbs has put out in nearly thirty years. I didn’t even know about their second record, ‘Inheritance’ that had apparently been released in ’95. I need not have worried though…. Ol’ Papa Hobbs has fucking DELIVERED!
Now, Peter is no spring chicken and at 55, he looks like Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts meaner twin brother who fucked off and joined a biker gang – but it means fuck all as this is one of the best thrash records I’ve heard in ages.
As soon as I hit ‘play’ on track one ‘Il Monstro Di Firenze’ I started beaming. A super aggressive and thrashy opening riff, mental drumming and Peter’s vocals which if anything are even more vicious and effective than on the debut 28 years ago! Seriously scary and seriously impressive. A furious opener with a brilliant guitar solo that sets you up for the rest of the record. No time to even wipe the hair out of your eyes and track two (and my favourite) ‘Walk My Path’ grabs you and rags you round like Brock Lesnar. This is a great song which contrasts really dark and oppressive sounding verses with some beautiful lead guitar work. ‘Final Feast’ has an Iron Maiden feel to it, albeit at 78rpm. ‘Suicide’ is a galloping thrasher which reminds you of early Megadeth. Every song is a belter backed up with a really strong, organic production and you know what? This album is better than the first and sounds a lot less like Slayer while keeping the same nasty vibe as the debut. Peter Hobbs’ charismatic yet vitriolic vocals are up there with the best in the genre and the guitar work on here is immense. I can’t recommend this album enough.
Old school? Certainly. Fresh, vital and relevant? Most definitely.
Peter Hobbs, this is ripper mate!
(10/10 Mark Eve)
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