The third album by Detroit's
Thrall sounds like some kind of cross between
the Jesus Lizard (the abrasive,
Big Black-derived guitar sound), any European death metal band (singer Mike Hard's verge-of-ridiculous deep voice, which in his case sounds more like a near-dead cross between Lux Interior and
Bryan Ferry),
the Dead Kennedys (the relentlessly sardonic, bitter lyrics), and
the Crass collective (the proudly D.I.Y. attitude). The problem is that they bring little personality of their own to the post-punk party, and while
Lifer isn't a bad record by any means, only a few songs stand strong enough on their own merits to keep the listener from playing Spot the Influence, notably the surprisingly catchy "We're Gonna Get What We Deserve." ~ Stewart Mason