FAFF-BEY — Back From the Grave (review)

FAFF-BEY — Back From the Grave album cover Album · 1988 · Thrash Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
UMUR
"Back from the Grave" is the debut full-length studio album by Finnish, Oulu based thrash metal act Faff-Bey. The album was released through Bad Vugum in 1988. Faff-Bey formed in 1985 and released a demo in 1986. While the name Faff-Bey probably won´t ring a bell to most people, the band were an important part of the early thrash metal scene in Finland, and especially the more extreme part of the scene.

"Back from the Grave" is an exceptionally raw and savage sounding thrash metal release (I´d even label the most extreme moments a precursor to death/thrash), with the occasional hardcore/punk influence thrown in for good measure (I actually hear a lot of early 80s Motörhead influences on the album too). The vocals are snarling and aggressive, and the instrumental part of the music has a caustic unhinged nature to it, that can only be achieved by a group of people with a great passion for what they do. While the music isn´t exactly sophisticated, the tracks are well composed and Faff-Bey are a well playing band, delivering their music with conviction and skill. And there is a little more to the compositions than just furously fast-paced thrash metal riffs and puonding drums. As an example take a listen to the middle section of "The Slaymaker" where the band play sinister sounding arpeggios on the guitars while the rhythm section play at a heavy mid-pace.

Most tracks are 1-3 minutes long, but the above metioned "The Slaymaker" and the closing title track are slightly longer compositions, allowing the band to expand a little and incorporate a few ideas the other tracks don´t feature (both are pretty bleak and heavy tracks). Another standout track is "S/M Party" which is a naughty little punk song (yeah the lyrics read something like this: "Suck me, Fuck me, Whip me"). "S/M Party" would be the title track on an EP release the band would release later in 1988. It´s a fun track, which actually doesn´t fit that well on the album and disrupts the caustic aggression and savage performances, but on the other hand, it does bring some variation to the album.

"Back from the Grave" features a raw, slightly noisy, but very effectful and authentic sounding production job, which provides the material with the best possible conditions to shine. This type of music would not be as intense if it featured polished producion values. It has to sound like it´s on the verge of feedback hell and about to derail. The guitars sound like they are capable of cutting through steel, and that´s perfect for the material.

Upon conclusion "Back from the Grave" is a strong debut album release by Faff-Bey, who immediately show the aggression and savagery they are capable of producing. This is as authentic and raw as they come, and personally I can´t get enough. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.
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UMUR wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Oh yeah you´re right :-). A little spelling mistake. I´ll have it fixed in a jiff.
Pekka wrote:
more than 2 years ago
It's Oulu. Best regards, your friendly neighborhood Finnish spell-checker.

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