UMUR
"Nothing$ $acred" is the 5th full-length studio album by US, San Francisco, California based thrash metal act Lääz Rockit. The album was released through Roadracer Records in November 1991. It´s the successor to "Annihilation Principle" from 1989. There have been quite a few lineup changes since "Annihilation Principle (1989)" as guitarist Phil Kettner has been replaced by Scott Sargent, bassist Willy Lange has been replaced by Scott Dominguez, and drummer Victor Agnello has been replaced by Dave Chavarri. The only remaining members from the lineup who recorded "Annihilation Principle (1989)" are lead vocalist Michael Coons and guitarist Aaron Jellum.
Lineup changes or not "Nothing$ $acred" is another natural step for Lääz Rockit in the process of changing their style from heavy/speed metal, which they played on their early releases, to the more thrash metal oriented sound (though still with the occasional nod towards traditional heavy metal) on "Know Your Enemy (1987)" and "Annihilation Principle (1989)". On "Nothing$ $acred" I´d label Lääz Rockit 100% thrash metal though.
The 10 tracks on the 42:17 minutes long album are energetic, raw, and "in your face" thrashers, with powerful verses, catchy choruses and riot gang vocal sections, killer riffs and solos, and a really well playing rhythm section, who drives the music forward with great intensity and skill. The only track which is a bit different from the rest is the power ballad "Nobody´s Child". A song type Lääz Rockit also masters and delivers with great conviction. There are several standout tracks featured on the album, and I´ll mention "In the Name of the Father and the Gun", "Into the Asylum", and "Suicide City" among them.
The musicianship is of high class throughout the album and in addition to the skilled instrumental performances, lead vocalist Michael Coons also deserves a mention. He is gifted with a strong voice and his delivery is both passionate and convincing. If I have to make comparisons to another vocalist it would be to "Blitz" from Overkill. It´s not like they are clones or anything like that, but there are quite a few similarities in sound and delivery.
Taking all preceding Lääz Rockit releases into consideration and comparing them to "Nothing$ $acred", this album is by far their strongest yet. The sound production is raw and powerful, the musicianship is strong, and the songwriting is memorable. Especially the latter mentioned feature is an element where Lääz Rockit have taken a step up, and it´s not like the preceding releases didn´t feature high quality material, so that´s a quality stamp right there. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.