When
Warfare
's debut full-length
Pure Filth
was released, the band had yet to perform its first concert; but this was hardly an issue thanks to the members' prior apprenticeship in a number of
punk
and
metal
combos (
Angelic Upstarts
, etc.). Quite prolific (two EPs had already hit the streets earlier in 1984), the Tyneside trio seemed hell-bent on dragging the
New Wave of British Heavy Metal
back to its
punk rock
-inspired origins, but this led to as much confusion as it did crossover between these different fan factions.
's song titles didn't help in this matter, either, as evil titles like
"Total Armageddon"
"Rabid Metal"
absolutely screamed
heavy metal
, while anarchic ditties like
"Breakout"
and the title track similarly shouted
. But the answer was clear to anyone who actually bothered to buy the friggin' record and listeners soon discovered that
sounded like a slightly slower
Motoerhead
(or
Tank
, whose leader
Algy Ward
acted as producer) jamming with the screamer from
Venom
. Singer/drummer
Evo
did indeed recall the ubiquitous
Cronos
in most every way, but judging from the latter's guest recitation on the chaotic and predictably tasteless
"Rose Petals Fall From Her Face,"
there were clearly no hard feelings between them.
's songs were certainly more approachable than their
black metal
-founding labelmates, and further album highlights included
"Let the Show Go On,"
"Dance of the Dead,"
"Limit Crescendo."
All of them were so simple in nature that many cynics were tempted to quickly dismiss
as just that, but after a few extra listens, most found themselves converted by
's straightforward delivery and crude charms. Years on,
retains this duality and has aged quite well because of it -- perhaps because simplicity often equates to timelessness. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia