Soothsayer
To Be A Real Terrorist (Reissue)
7.5
I've never had the pleasure of listening to Soothsayer's first and only full-length, Have A Good Time, from beginning to end. I have, however, had the pleasure of listening to a few tracks, the tongue-in-cheek "Pimple Sprayer" probably making the biggest impression on me. What I recall is a fast, violent, don't give a flying fuck, obviously hardcore-influenced thrash attack that was neither entirely original nor without its own comical charm. Unfortunately, finding Have A Good Time will cost you a small fortune on Ebay, so we'll just have to wait until New Renaissance Records represses some copies and releases them as they have Dream Death and Amulance's only full-lengths.
Meanwhile, the good people at Galy Records have seen fit to reissue the band's first demo, To Be A Real Terrorist, a first-rate affair if I've ever heard one. Don't mistake first-rate for first-class, though. This is absolutely some of the dirtiest, most raw and primal thrash I've heard since I last listened to Bonded by Blood. Class and Soothsayer are about as far apart as Victoria Beckham's tits. In fact, if you throw Bonded by Blood, Suicidal Tendencies and Shark Attack into a blender you're getting fairly close to what these kids from Quebec established in '86 with this demo.
Vocalist Stephan Whitton must have been one hell of a strange, manic young man, because his screams reek of the kind of sweat brought on by extreme bouts of the kind of anguish and frustration most people will never come to know. And I believe him, every second of it. Not surprisingly, the song titles are "Death Radiation," "Troops of Hate," "Kill Oppression," "Build the Terrorism," and "Deadly Fear." Fluffy material this is not. The guitar tone is as piercing as Whitton's shrill voice, too. I actually had to take a break from listening to the demo for a few days because I was suffering from a cold and an intense set of headaches. I think if I had subjected myself anymore I might have started talking to myself, harassing underage girls and hanging out at the nearest bus stop.
The point is, this isn't for the weak at heart. To Be A Real Terrorist is an exposition on the world's ills as these young Canadians saw them at the time. Funny how little things change. Oh, and if you were wondering about the seven live bonus tracks, they kick ass, too. Thrash fanatics worldwide, pick this up.
