Featuring future Machine Head members Robb Flynn and Phil Demmel on guitars, Vio-lence is one of my all-time favorite thrash metal bands.
Within my circle of friends in high school, Vio-lence was one of those bands you either loved or hated. The dividing factor was Sean Killian's vocals.
If you haven't heard Vio-lence before, the best way I can describe Killian's singing style would be for you to imagine John Lydon (Sex Pistols, PiL) going off in a vocal booth after a 3-day meth bender. While I found his frenzied vocal attack to be one of the best and most unique aspects of Vio-lence's sound, a lot of other folks got turned off by it.
If I were to play one song to convince non-believers on the greatness of Vio-lence, it would have to be "World in a World," a track off of the Bay Area group's 1989 sophomore album, Oppressing the Masses.
Co-written by Flynn, Demmel, and Killian, "World in a World" starts off as a mid-paced thrasher, but then makes way for a full-on speed assault by the time it's done with you.
Lyrically, the song talks about the horrors of living in the prison system, with Killian singing in the point of view of both the law and the accused. He sounds unhinged as he delivers each line like a man possessed. It's the vocal performance of his career.
On the guitar riff front, Flynn and Demmel put on a clinic. How more people didn't celebrate these guys the same way Peterson/Skolnick and Holt/Hunolt were is way past my comprehension level.
If "World in a World" doesn't convince you of Vio-lence's greatness, nothing will.
