Album Details

• Artist: Znowhite
• Album: Act Of God
• Label: Road Runner / Metal Mind
• Year of Release: 1988
• Original Release: 2006
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: solitaryman on 2008-06-09

I wonder how many metal fans have gone their lives without hearing Act Of God. The story of Znowhite is really rather tragic; after the typical early struggles any band encounters, this speed metal outfit earned the attention of the biggest metal labels of their time, Road Runner, Metal Blade and others. It all came to a head in 1988 when Act Of God was released and, for those lucky ones who got to hear it then, no doubt left a lasting impression. This album is chock full of some of the best 80's heavy metal I've heard.

This band was intriguing for a number of reasons; from their original all-black lineup (which is sadly a rare thing in metal) to their eventual inclusion of a female lead vocalist (who on Act Of God shines like few other chick metallers I know of), and not to mention a style that crosses the subgenres of speed, thrash and even some NWOBHM. The songs are all full-speed blasts of fuirious riffs, very well written and driven by a solid rhythm section. The leads and solos blaze with a ferocity that is both metal in nature and punk in their haphazard abandon. Songs like To The Last Breath", the Nazi Germany inspired "Pure Blood" and the epic and dominant "War Machine" go to great lengths to slay, and slay they do.

I never would have heard of either the band or album, I think, had it not been for the efforts of Metal Mind, who have been released tons of great classic metal in limited-to-2000-copies re-editions, usually featuring bonus and live tracks, and always featuring a great dose of that band and album's histories. 80's heavy metallers take note, because if you never had a chance to experience Act Of God before, there is no better time than now. 

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