Godspeed took no prisoners whatsoever on
Ride, a blistering, noisy thrash metal date that's unrelenting in its heaviness. While the band isn't quite in a class with
Slayer or
Metallica, brutal offerings like "Hate," "Christ," and "Stubborn Ass" made it abundantly clear that
Godspeed had a lot of potential.
Slayer,
Metallica, and
Black Sabbath are among the metalheads' influences, and
Ride also shows an awareness of the industrial noise and alternative rock coming out in 1994. One of the most interesting songs on
Ride is the extended "My Brother," which manages to fuse metal with elements of avant-garde jazz. This is a blistering CD that metalheads shouldn't overlook. ~ Alex Henderson