A Time Capsule of Thrash Metal
An almost forgotten facet in crossover/thrash metal history, Chicago’s Aftermath have returned in 2015 after 20 years of separation. The recent resurgence of thrash metal in the millennial metal world has opened the gates for Aftermath’s 30 year anniversary of existence. In celebration of such, Shadow Kingdom Records has reissued Aftermath’s seminal release, Eyes of Tomorrow, remastered by Paul Logas and now including five bonus tracks. Originally written back in 1988, Eyes of Tomorrow’s release was pushed back until 1994 due to record label issues, disputes with Dr. Dre over the word “aftermath,” and thusly a name change. It’s considered a trailblazing album, essentially defining what is now known as progressive or “technical” thrash metal, and would’ve granted Aftermath a higher rank in the echelons of thrash metal royalty had it been released during its intended time.
The five bonus tracks on the reissue of Eyes of Tomorrow aren’t necessarily new works, but rerecorded versions of some of their demo songs. One track, “A Temptation to Overthrow,” comes off their demo Words That Echo Fear, while the other four (“Japan,” “Metallic Slums and Highrises,” “God is in the Details,” and “Strain”) come from their untitled 1996 demo. The addition of these songs to the already quickly paced Eyes of Tomorrow track list reinforce how utterly epic Aftermath was at the time of the album’s original manifestation and how that epicness still translates to the Aftermath effective today.
From start to finish, Eyes of Tomorrow exhibits the furious lashing of savage instrumentation. It’s loud, fast and frenetic execution has warranted Aftermath as pioneers in this aggressively styled genre. Vocalist Kyriakos “Charlie” Tsiolis spits words out like cannonballs – with powerful haste, yet its effects linger. For an album that’s initial intent was to blow away the ears of the late 80’s and early 90’s, Eyes of Tomorrow was always far beyond its years, making it more than crudely relevant today.
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