When the Storm Comes Down

When the Storm Comes Down

Track Listings

1. Master Sleeps

2. Burned Device - Flotsam & Jetsam

3. Deviation

4. October Thorns - Flotsam & Jetsam

5. No More Fun

6. Suffer the Masses - Flotsam & Jetsam

7. Six, VI

8. Greed

9. E.M.T.E.K.

10. Scars

11. K.A.B.

Tracks:

Master Sleeps
Burned Device - Flotsam & Jetsam
Deviation
October Thorns - Flotsam & Jetsam
No More Fun
Suffer the Masses - Flotsam & Jetsam
Six, VI
Greed
E.M.T.E.K.
Scars
K.A.B.

Customer Reviews:

Sigh. What a letdown after No Place for Disgrace........2005-02-11

After wearing out my cassette copy of No Place for Disgrace, I eagerly ran to the local music store to pick up When the Storm Comes Down.

Immediately, I was put off by the silly cover. I thought, well, it's okay, it's what's inside that matters.

And to start with, I loved it. "The Master Sleeps" and "Burned Device" are excellent tunes, although I couldn't help being slightly annoyed by how Eric A.K.'s vocals were occasionally way too high in the mix. Once you get past that, you might realize that the snare drum is a little too "out there" also.

"Deviation" came on, and had a great guitar solo, so I was cruising. "October Thorns" was okay. "No More Fun" has that really cool little bass intro (I was playing bass in a bad heavy metal band back around the time, so anything with a bass solo was wood-inducing).

Flip it over, and side two just never grabbed me. The songs were sort of generic thrash, and aside from some nice guitar solos, there was nothing I felt was too noticeable.

I guess the point is that it went from a great start to a rather bland finish. I wanted to love this album, especially after how my mind was blown away by No Place for Disgrace, and honestly, I tried.

It just didn't happen, though. I whip this out every now and then and blast side 1 (yep, still have the cassette...not sure I'll upgrade this one to CD, unless maybe they remaster it and work out the vocals and drums), but No Place for Disgrace will remain the seminal Flotsam album.

A bit of a mess.......2003-12-07

Thrash metal has never been the most forgiving genre when it comes to experimentation, and as an experiment, 'When The Storm Comes Down' is somewhat inconclusive. There are successes ("The Master Sleeps", "Suffer The Masses", "E.M.T.E.K"), failures ("Deviation", "No More Fun", "Scars") and the confusing (the rest of the album).

Let's start with the positive. Flotsam And Jetsam had a reputation of delivering clever, thoughtful thrash, with the odd trip into the land of mozzarella and Parmesan. Opener "The Master Sleeps" delivers everything a fan could have hoped for. While it is instantly apparent producer Alex Perialas totally destroyed the guitar sound, the main riffs to the song are such that it does not detract from the fun. The drums are high in the mix, especially the snare. Perhaps best of all, Eric AK has toned down his shrieked vocals. The lyrics are ambiguous, ready for the listener's own interpretation.

"E.M.T.E.K" is a little tune straight out of the Twilight Zone. What is the government up to when they test medicines on citizens, and why is my skin turning green? There is excellent use of loud/soft dynamics, to emphasise the important parts of the song. Acoustic to electric and back again, this particular experiment about experiments is highly effective.

For those who are too young to remember, or weren't paying attention at the time, 1989 was a particularly turbulent year. The Berlin Wall fell, Communist regimes all over Europe were overthrown, the USSR split, and the Tianimen Square massacre occurred in China. Flotsam and Jetsam were definitely paying attention. The introduction to "Suffer The Masses" is a cut up of news clips and sound bites from that memorable year. It starts the mind racing before the music begins. Rather than a full on thrasher like "The Master Sleeps", this song rumbles along, heavier because it's slower. Thematically, the lyrics explore freedom and the lack of it in thought and action under an oppressive government, and has a chorus to die for.

Here endeth the good bits. The rest of the album is uneven and unsteady. The band seemed determined not to just turn out "No Place For Disgrace Part II", and avoided playing the Thrash they did so well. At the time of recording, the beginnings of the mercifully short-lived funk metal scene were starting to emerge, so slapped bass and thin staccato guitars feature on a number of tracks. It becomes particularly annoying on "No More Fun" because it is so badly done. The songs also seem to touch base on just about every late 80s Thrash cliché around. The left wing sociological opinions on "Burned Device", "Deviation", "October Thorns" and "Greed" become tiresome. The anti-Evangelist rant of "6, Six, VI" (hmm... wonder if Slipknot are Flotsam and Jetsam fans?) and the environmental rave of "Scars" are cheesy fillers. It is all topped off with the fun but silly full-on Thrash out of "K.A.B.".

The awful production accentuates the negative on this album, which is a shame. There are still a lot of excellent riffs to be found, and Troy Gregory proved once and for all he was a more than worthy replacement for that other bloke, whoever he may have been, as a bass player and song writer. Some of the material has not aged well, but this is a document of a band trying something different within the confines of a restrictive genre, and failing heroically.

Lame Excuse for a Great Band.......2003-11-29

This was a very directionless album put out by a band who put out some of the greatest albums of the power metal era. I'd much prefer "Drift", "Doomsday", or "Cuatro" compared to this poorly produced mindless slab of metal sludge. The only high points on this were "Suffer the Masses" and "The Master Sleeps", outside of that, songs like "Scars" sounded like they were recorded across telephone lines rather than a good studio.

A Hidden Gem.......2003-11-25

This is one of those CDs that you don't really get into right away. It took me awhile before I realized the greatness of it. The Master Sleeps is an awesome song. Really, all the songs are just awesome with great lyrics too. There's actually a song about people who sign up to volunteer for medical/medication experiments. It's almost comical, but in a good way. Burned device is another awesome song, October Thorns is another cool song. The lyrics as well as the music really are great on this CD. Also on this CD, you have 'Suffer the Masses" . In my opinion, that has to be in the top 3 of heavy metal/thrash metal/power metal songs of ALL time. The riff they made for that song is just so heavy and powerful. This is one CD I wish would be remastered so it could sound perfect! This is a great CD from a band that I wished more people would have had exposure too.