Search - Vio-Lence :: Eternal Nightmare

Awesome thrash classic from the late 80's. Recommended!

C. Olson | CA United States | 12/26/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Vio-lence was one of the better bands to come out of the bay area during the thrash boom of the mid to late 1980's. This is the debut album for the band, and undoubtedly the best one they released. Contains the killer title track "Eternal Nightmare", "Calling in the Coroner", and "Bodies on Bodies" among others.
Vio-lence has been given some unfair reviews due to the unique singing style of Sean Killian. I happen to love the way he sings on this album, as it not only fits the music perfectly, but gave the band a very distinctive sound which separated them from the other hundreds of thrash bands that existed at the time. I had a harder time getting used to Dave Mustaine of Megadeth than I did with Killian. Besides, if the singing is very important to you, then why are you listening to thrash?
Anyway, I recommend this album to any fan of (early)Metallica, (early)Megadeth, (early)Anthrax (Jeez, what happened to these once great bands?!), Forbidden, Heathen, Defiance, Testament, Exodus, Death Angel, or any other 80's thrash band."

This album is f*cking insane!

Pennington Loomis | 03/25/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am not kidding, this is some seriously killer speed metal. These songs are brutal and crushing, the guitar team of Robb Flynn and Phil Demmel is outstanding. A lot of people hate the singer Sean Killian and I guess I can understand why. He doesn't always sing on key, but personnally, I love his singing style. He seems to shout the words in such a random fashion that it makes the album seem even more untamed and wild. If you think Metallica is heavy, then prepare yourself, Eternal Nightmare is a psychotic and unpolished slice of speed metal.



The album starts with Eternal Nightmare. It has a nice crushing intro, and about a minute into the song, Sean starts his singing. You will definitely know by then that this song was meant to kick some ass! About halfway through, we get a killer guitar solo which is followed by a bass solo. And then the song kicks back into gear. Serial Killer is a raw piece of speed, Sean sings so damn fast! How the heck does he keep his breath? The guitar solos on this one are super fast. Calling in the Coroner is another brutal song. The tone in Sean's voice on this one is just magnificent, he sounds so pissed. I love the gang vocals at the end that go "CORONER CORONER!" A furious guitar solo ends the song. T.D.S. is a nice, fast number with more awesome gang vocals. Get your neck ready for this one, I would be surprised if you could get through this one without snapping your neck.



Bodies on Bodies is pure metal-mania with some of the best lyrics. "KILLING-HE JUST KEEPS KILLING" You know you love that! And the solos on this song! My God, how do they do that? "BODIES ON BODIES ON BODIES" I tell you, the gang vocals make this album ten times better. Phobophobia is a six minute crusher with a BRILLIANT solo about halfway through. I know, I know, I keep ranting about the solos, but dammit check these songs out and you will agree! The album ends with the speedy Kill on Command. Nice blazing leads and some of my favorite lyrics "With my crosshatch on his chest/ You could probably guess the rest/When you see his lifeless body hit the f*cking street" The shouts of "KILL! ON COMMAND!" are very punkish.



Well, I may have talked a lot about the lyrics and guitar solos, but I don't care because this is one killer piece of heavy music. If you like your music intense and fast, then you NEED Eternal Nightmare. It's a shame that not more metalheads know of this band, they really are missing out. Do not cheat yourself any longer! Buy this album and you will thank me later!"

Awesome Bay Area Thrash with incredibly annoying vocals

Jason Cline | Leonardtown, MD | 05/15/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Vio-lence were a part of the second wave of San Francisco Bay area thrash bands that included bands such as Forbidden, Defiance, Heathen, and others. I saw them open for Megadeth and Testament back in '89, and they put on an incredible, energy filled show. Unfortunately, in the studio, the incredibly annoying vocals of Sean Killian almost overshadow the awesome thrash these guys were laying down. Killian's vocals were clean, like he was attempting a poor man's Eric A.K. from Flotsam, but he was out of time and out of tune more often than not. However, the rest of the band were top notch players. Songs like Eternal Nightmare, Kill on Command, Serial Killer, and Calling in the Coroner are on par with Bay Area contemporaries like Exodus and Death Angel. The Eternal Nightmare disc was their debut, and it's the best of the 3 full length discs they put out in their short lived career. Had the band been blessed with a decent vocalist, they could have ruled. As it is, Vio-lence guitarist Rob Flynn went on to bigger and better things and formed the mighty Machine Head following the band's breakup."