Sometimes I can’t decide whether the 80’s was more notorious for the large amount of Thrash bands that made it big, or for the amount of quality Thrash bands that completely slipped under the radar and left us far too soon. When you hear the band name, Dissection, just about everyone thinks of the genre-defining Melodic Death/Black band from Sweden. Well, before The Somberlain and before Storm Of The Light’s Bane, there was another Dissection, releasing a CD called Final Genocide in 1988. This Dissection was a short lived Thrash band from Quebec who released only one full-length with a couple of demos. With band member names like Heavy, One Way, Trash, and Antisocial Zap, and song titles like Chainsaw Slaughter, Eat Shit Get Away, and Graveyard Beyond you’re probably not sure what to expect… so that’s why I’m doing this review for you.

Well, where to start with these guys. I suppose the most important thing when dealing with any Thrash band is the quality and number of riffs found in each song. While the quality isn’t always high, the number usually is. Though this isn’t quite Dark Angel, the amount of riff changes is impressive, as are the tempo changes. I’m reminded of early Metallica, Kreator, and even Artillery at times. The riffs have a feel from all those bands at one point or another. The vocals are handled by Trash and a reference point for the style is: think Russ Anderson (Forbidden) mixed with Mille (Kreator). Russ Anderson was known for a constant change in vocal style and approach. One minute Anderson would be screaming, then singing in the mid-range with a heavy vibrato, and that would only be the beginning. Trash does all those styles that Anderson so successfully delivered on Forbidden Evil and then adds in a dose of early Black screams which is where the Mille portion comes in. The overall effect is very schizophrenic, and even though he isn’t as good of a singer as Anderson was, it gives the band a certain raw and energetic flair that is probably why the major labels never hit these guys up because it was so unfocused.

The overall sound of the band is very chaotic. The drumming is constantly evolving and doing just about every Thrash tempo and fill in the book. The speed and precision is a little sloppy but all things considered it’s still an impressive performance just due to the shear number of change ups. The guitars change just as often and there are some really choppy riffs that get the head moving and there are riffs that I was mostly indifferent too. With so many changes in each song I think Dissection had trouble staying consistent as few songs are awesome from beginning to end, but there are sections in each song which are pure, classic Thrash. Though many riffs are borrowed from Kill ‘Em All or (insert any mid 80’s Thrash debut here) those tend to be the most successful. When the band tries to do something different is when they stumble occasionally (to their credit for every stumble there is an equally impressive original sounding Thrash riff). Just about the only thing that is consistent on this CD are the leads. They are usually short and all over the place, but they have an awesome tone and they fit the chaotic nature of the band very well.

If you’re looking for a very raw and chaotic Thrash release with production that would have been considered poor even in 1988 than Final Genocide might be for you. For all its short comings, mainly glaring inconsistency issues, there is a certain charm Dissection presents. Whether it’s the always interesting (though not necessarily good) vocal performance or the pure nature of the bands sound and execution you can’t help but smile when listening to this. I feel that Thrash purists will like this a lot for the change ups and large amount of riffs contained within, while others will probably be put off by the production or lack of melodic aspects. Assuming you can actually find this release give these guys a chance to help broaden your Thrash horizons, and though they may not be the best of the forgotten Thrash groups of the 80’s, they’re definitely one of the most fun. So now you know that Dissection doesn’t begin and end with Jon Nödtveidt and friends, but actually begins with Final Genocide.