/Speed\Kill/Hate\ - Acts Of Insanity

*=Staff's pick	Walls Of Hate Setting Me Off Violence Breeds* Slay The Enemy Won't See Fear Face The Pain* R.A.W. Revelation At War Not For Me Repent*

Genre	Thrash Metal	Mario Frasca	Vocals
Tracks	9	Dave Linsk	Guitar
Runningtime	36 Min.	-	Guitar
Label	Metal Blade	Derek Tailer	Bass
Release	05 Feb. 2005	Tim Mallare	Drums
Country	USA	-	Keyboards
Similar artists	Overkill, Exodus

/Speed\Kill/Hate\ is a side project to Overkill founded by guitarist Dave Linsk that basically is about old-school thrash. Dave joined forces with his Overkill mates Tim Mallare on drums and Derek Tailer that take care of the bass duties, even though he usually plays the guitar in Overkill. Completing the lineup does Mario Frasca which also is an old band mate to Dave Linsk from his time in the band Anger On Anger. Acts Of Insanity, which is the debut from the band, was released in the States in September 2004 but is now also available in Europe as well, about at the same time that Overkill's new album ReliXIV is released, something that perhaps can cause a conflict of interest there among the record buyers.

The guys are seriously bashing out all of the aggression that they have left over from Overkill. This is faster, more brutal, more aggressive and to cut it in short, this is old-school thrash and nothing for the ones with a weak heart. The riffing and the solos are just as excellent as we know from Overkill so there is no lack in that department. /Speed\Kill/Hate\ spice up their straightforward thrash with throwing in some tempo changes as well as with some great rhythms, and Tim Mallare shows once again that he is a drummer out of the ordinary. The vocals from Mario is of the pissed off kind and comes close to a equally pissed of Phil Anselmo (ex-Pantera) and to accompany the music it works really well, but I think a bit more range to his harsh voice could have done the music better.

The style might be old school but there is nothing old about the sound. It is heavy and thick sounding and has a sharp edge to it that fits the fast and pissed off thrash from /Speed\Kill/Hate\ perfectly. Acts Of Insanity is not an album that will make a mark in the history books but it is nevertheless a great adrenaline rush and a splendid album to throw on every once in a while when you need to satisfy the desperate need of angry thrash. But it is hard to find tracks that stick out and furthermore hard to find tracks that stick with me when I am done listening through the album. The speed attack in Face The Pain is a small exception though. Acts Of Insanity shows that the guys from Overkill are very well capable to stand on their own without Blitz and Verni which are the main forces in Overkill, but honestly I must say that I prefer to see them in their original band.

Production	Vocals	Compositions
8	6	6

Summary
6 chalices of 10 - Thomas