LAAZ ROCKIT – Annihilation Principle

vote
8.5

• Bands:
  LAAZ ROCKIT
• Duration: 00:44:15
• Available from: 02/08/1989
• Label:

• Enigma Records

If we were to set off an imaginary thrash metal train, with on board all those bands that, for one reason or another, didn't make it to the coveted goal, we would certainly find a very specific name among the first class seats. Exploding in Barkeley in 1982, like the LAWS rocket launcher wielded by Clint Eastwood in the last scene of “Heaven of Lead, Inspector Callaghan”, Lääz Rockit in fact have all the characteristics to be branded as one of the most neglected groups in history, despite having given a lot, if not a lot, to the genre in question.
We are in California, in the infamous and fateful Bay Area, but unlike other names of the period, Lääz Rockit's sound is more inclined towards heavy-power where a strong melodic tendency is preferred to the extreme harshness typical of speed/thrash. Sound frequencies that take shape in the long-distance debut “City's Gonna Burn”: the year is 1984 and loading the American bazooka we find Michael Coons on vocals, Phil Kettner and Aaron Jellum on guitars, Willy Lange on bass and Victor Agnello on drums. A basic quintet that will remain so for the next four albums, strengthening its focus from time to time, arriving at the last “Nothin$ $acred” with the contours of a perfect thrash machine (a bit like what happened to Overkill).

However, at the stroke of '91, metal was about to enter its darkest moment: on the one hand its commercialization, on the other the overbearing invasion of grunge and alternative rock, changed the dynamics of the industry. And from this rapid and powerful vortex, Lääz Rockit were unable to remain unscathed, suffering the definitive blow that led to their dissolution in 1992.
However, taking a step back, browsing through the five works released in those lightning-fast eight years, there is one which, in addition to representing the maximum essence of the Californian quintet, can easily enter among the best thrash records of the time, alongside other masterpieces such as “Extreme Agression” by Kreator, “Agent Orange” by Sodom, “Fabulous Disaster” by Exodus and “The Years of Decay” by Overkill themselves, all published in 1989.
The album in question is “Annihilation Principle” and it arrived two years after another Lääz Rockit cornerstone, that “Know Your Enemy” with its hyper-action-movie cover which had underlined an initial refinement of the sound of Coons and his companions, shaping the catchiness of the beginnings in favor of equally massive and bombastic tones. And if the latter highlighted the improvement, “Annihilation Principle” certified it 100%. Solid and powerful riffs, not too technical but effective, building the classic sound carpet (“Chain Of Fools”) adored by all lovers of healthy headbanging.

Heaviness and dynamism that find their ideal fuse in the very first song. Coons' scream has the strength of a real shoulder, which opens the way to a hypnotic and ignorant riff, on which the main theme of the song will then lie. “Fire In The Hole” is immediate, energetic and embellished with a video that ended on the MTV television station within “Headbangers Ball” and which saw the participation of the wrestler Sting. A stab in the forehead!
Speaking of voices, that of the American frontman is certainly one of Lääz Rockit's winning weapons: a mix between the enjoyable determination of Dee Snider and the hysterical one of Yosemite Sam (yes, him, the tenacious mustache from Looney Tunes), to create different facets and emotions, as well demonstrated by the final and unsettling “Omen”; but we'll get to that shortly.
Secondly, in perfect Exodus style, here is a real barrage of riffs: “Mob Justice” has a pressing and drumming rhythm, stamping the choral refrain with concrete; “Running under the gun, What´s done is done, They never miss, It´s mob justice”. But it is with “Chain Of Fools” that the atmosphere becomes even sharper: the intro of the song is ultra rocky, with Coons' uvula which, at times, seems to follow that of Belladonna but with a greater rawness; so until a central solo useful to introduce us to the heaviest break of the entire episode, where the regretted Victor Agnello (who passed away in 2014 due to leukemia) surgically marks the times.
Variety of the theme, remaining anchored in a well-defined basic foundation: this is another distinctive trait of Lääz Rockit. And they give further evidence of this with the dark “Shadow Company”, the beginning of which seems to present us with a ballad, only to then unleash a whirlwind of riffs, also perfectly calibrated by Agnello's drum work, over which a vaguely Anthrax-inspired refrain stands out. Definitely one of the most effective pieces on the entire album.

“Annihilation Principle” then continues with a cover that you don't expect but is substantially well performed: “Holiday in Cambodia” by the Dead Kennedys reflects the original canons of the song, correctly inserted into the now consolidated thrash movement by the Berkeley band which, with the subsequent “Bad Blood” and the machine-gun “Chasin' Charlie” returns to grinding speed and riffs, raising tension and temperature. The first is malignant and earth-shaking, the second is feral, with its initial barrage of blows making a clean sweep, tormenting our ears, thus paving the way for a piece that smacks of performance.
The work of Kettner and Jellum does not intend to pull any brakes and not even the prog intro of “Mirror To Madness” succeeds in this aim, being swept away by a fervent riff that literally makes us relive the explosive fury of 80s thrash. Another song with a capital B, thick, twisted around an unnerving and fascinating melodic line. A poisonous and pungent mixture lasting just under forty minutes on which the aforementioned “The Omen” is based, a melancholic ballad, capable of showing the clean side of Michael Coons' voice but, above all, the further versatility of a band forgotten too soon. In truth, there was an attempt at a restart dating back to 2005, with the discreet “Left For Dead” in 2008 and a concert with Metallica in 2011, but for some time now the band has been in all respects inactive.
This is why it was obligatory to give him due recognition, to a group left behind by the famous train of success but which certainly contributed to the thrash cause in its most flourishing period.