Okay, so the cover is fairly abysmal, and hardly representative of the utterly crushing metal within. Look beyond the thoughtful depiction of an old woman with an 8-ball, however, and you'll find one of the 1980s' most overlooked genre releases.Ian Tafoya is undoubtedly one of my favourite metal guitarists. He went on to form Cyclone Temple, which were a similarly riffy, if more melodic, proposition. But Act Of God sees him letting rip with gloriously mighty fretboard abuse, as singer Nicole Lee gnashes her unorthodox way through each song. One of Znowhite's many strengths was having a different take on melody, and this album's full of tunes which are elephant-heavy yet eminently memorable. Defiant opener To The Last Breath, the driving Pure Blood and the epic grind of Something Wicked This Way Comes are just three of the highlights on this must-have work. So what if the production's not up there with the greats? The crunch and intellect are there in spades.
TRACKLISTING: To The Last Breath, Baptised By Fire, Pure Blood, War Machine, Thunderdome, Rest in Peace, Disease Bigotry, A Soldier's Creed, Something Wicked (This Way Comes).
AVAILABILITY: This was originally out on Roadrunner/Roadracer Records, on vinyl and then CD. Although I'm tremendously excited to hear that Metal Mind Productions have put out a remastered version. As soon as I get hold of it, I'll update this review.
RATING: 93%
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