Thresher - Here I Am

Published May 18 2009

*=Staff's pick	Sanctuary* Faith Awaken Amazin Grace Here I Am* Altar Of Sacrifice* Death To Asherah* Raptor One Way Out

Genre	Thrash Metal	John Mark Buchanan	Vocals
Tracks	8	John Mark Buchanan	Guitar
Runningtime	42 Min.	Rob Braun	Guitar
Label	Roxx Records	Dave Kurtz	Bass
Release	01 May 2009	Jeff Newman	Drums
Country	USA	-	Keyboard
Similar artists	Sacred Reich, Powermad, Seventh Angel

Here I am feeling totally possessed by my own inner truth. This vibrating inner sense of emotion permits me the privilege to honestly tell no more lies. The fact is that I am no longer a Christian, or even a follower of any faith. I deny all religions, and the corruption of minds, for which organized groups have denied the free will of others.

However, over 20 years ago, when I first discovered Thresher, I was a true believer. Their music and message continues to move my soul, and rekindle or revivify my spirit. To this day the words of their '89 Demo are still written on my heart.

Like the band Believer, Thresher were from Pennsylvania, and in my opinion, they released one of the best Christian Thrash Metal demos ever! The - Totally Possessed (Demo) - is a six track magnum opus. This recording consisted of just over an half hour of amazing melodies, intense music, and thought-provoking lyrics.

Flash forward to the present, and Thresher have finally released on CD the album which was meant to be their promising debut - Here I Am.

Thresher had contributed a few tracks here and there to other Christian compilations for R.E.X. and Regency Records; unfortunately, they disbanded before ever finishing, and putting out their initial effort. This left many of us fans, feeling dismayed.

Thankfully, after waiting, almost as long as Anvil has had to do, in order to be successful, the thrashing debut - Here I Am - is finally here.

It does not seem like 20 years, because the music is still as thrashing, heavy, and aggressive, as it ever was. The Christian message is still strong and fervent, as well. The lyrics are not so preachy, as they are more focused on the call to service for the benefit of all mankind. This is a noble concept for which I can wholeheartedly identify.

Thresher were the second death threat of Christian acts ragin' like their secular counterparts from the Bay Area or East Coast. Along with Valor, Detritus, Mortification, Seventh Angel, Living Sacrifice, and their ilk; they brought the gospel message to the streets, inspired by bands like: Deliverance, Tourniquet, Lightforce, and Vengeance Rising, who were committed to winning sinners over to their lord.

Many of their lyrical themes are drawn from the Book Of Revelations. Their attempt to ameliorate the mind and soul is genuine indeed. Their - Totally Possessed (Demo) - dealt with lyrics both personal and apocalyptic. Their strong anti-drug, anti-suicide, anti-cult message is from the heart, and sincere.

Here I Am - begins with the pounding assault of the pastoral head bobbing - Sanctuary - which sounds vaguely familiar. To the best of my recollection, this may have been the track on the Regency Compilation. Sadly - Faith Awaken - is a bit too mid-paced, and the weakest link in a very strong chain of events.

Amazing Grace - is a killer slice of the blade, and in the vein of the song - Totally Possessed. This alluring self reflection brings Traditional Southern Gospel themes to life, and then refashions them into pure mettle. On - Totally Possessed - Mark Buchannan took the song - River Of Life - and turned the stream of love, into a rain of blood.

Here I Am is also a rippin' anthem, about humility, and becoming a metal missionary. Most of the songs on this album are long, and technical, but never tedious or boring. The acoustic intro for - Here I Am - is very reminiscent of Sacred Reich's - Whos' To Blame. Thresher remind me of both Powermad and Sacred Reich, as they were definitely contemporaries. Incidentally, Sacred Reich finally re-issued their highly acclaimed album - The American Way - through Displeased Records. Unfortunately, the bonus tracks are all demos, and the extremely rare -Question (EP) is somehow, complete omitted!

Altar Of Sacrifice - does not sound like Slayer, but is does hail and kill. and after only a few listens, you too will be screaming the chorus with solicitous intent.

Death To Asherah - is taken from the Book Of Jeremiah. Asherah is the Queen Of Heaven or Mother Goddess, sometimes associated with Astarte. I assume Thresher have equivocated her with the Whore Of Babylon, as alluded to in the Book Of Revelations. This eschatological reference would thus be a metaphor for the fallen ones, who do not accept Christ.

The judgemental separation of the sheep from the goats, or winnowing of the wheat from the chaff concept is one which Christians often use to justify their claim, and condemn the non-believers. This is most likely where Thresher derived their appellative; which in turn is a play on the term thrasher.

Raptor - bites down hard with the jaws of death, but the fast enunciations almost sound like acerbic rap. As this is the only song in the lyric book, not printed, I did not attempt to discern the typology. The CD concludes with the ultimatum of - One Way Out - proselytizing aside, this is still a cranial tremor, so apocalypse prepare!

Aside from their overt Christian themes, Thresher are classic '80s style American thrash. Even though, they employed a number of drummers like Greg Yarbrough and Steve Bowen to solidify this much anticipated release, the music still stands strong to this day. It is disheartening that a band as such, perched on the final frontier of success, in a power mad society, just missed their mark.

Even though the point may be now moot, The first 100 copies will come with a bonus CD that will include the tracks from the - Totally Possessed (Demo). I definitely recommend checking out this band who could have become true contenders to the faith, in the amazing race for recognition.

Performance	Originality	Production	Vocals	Songwriting
8	8,5	7,5	8	8,5

Summary
8 chalices of 10 - Michael the MettleAngel