Lucid - s/t

Formerly known as Heaven's Rage, this 1998 release finds the band going under the name Lucid (with what appears to be a different and better vocalist).  Lucid takes the semi-intensity of Heaven's Rage and intensifies the brutality 100%.  The guitars here are aggressive, powerful, and raw, with plenty of groove and combining with the drumming create a very "rapid-fire" feel.    The vocals are angry and thrash/hardcore influence.  And the songs themselves are much more listenable than what the band offered up as Heaven's Rage.  The drums have a tendency to be a little thin at times though and some of the songs and riffs have a little too much similarity to others on the album.  Overall though, this tends to be a solid heavy metal album that should offer up plenty of headbanging thrills for fans of bands like Pantera or Nailed Promise.

Although, this album is being made available again through Brutal Planet Distribution, this is not a re-release.  The CD insert is just a one-pager and contains no lyrics, so packaging is nothing impressive.

Rating: 58/100

Review By: Matt Morrow

Label: Mello Records

Total Songs: 12

Total Time: 44:27

Tracklisting: 1. Fear Itself, 2. New Life, 3. Rise, 4. World Without Sin, 5. Almighty $, 6. Enemy, 7. Black & White, 8. Escape, 9. Paperdoll, 10. Decision, 11. Struggle, 12. Time.

Best Songs: Tracks 4, 11, & 12.

Band Lineup: Shane Aden - Vocals, Terry Fryar - Drums, Billy "Stickboy" Wyatt - Bass, Mikey Mello - Guitar.

Band Website: ?