The Sane Asylum Review

Band	Blind Illusion
Album	The Sane Asylum
Type	Album (Studio full-length)
Released	1988
Genres	Progressive Thrash Metal
Labels	Combat Records, Under One Flag
Length	39:27
Ranked	#88 for 1988 , #5,624 all-time

Reviewer :  mhvasconcelos         Rating :  85 / 100

A good thrash metal album with good vocals, which I particularly like. The first song "The Sane Asylum" is a perfect intro, with a addictive riff. In all the thrash metal records, I think all of them a little excessive in the noise, as if we can't hear very clearly what is being sung. But this one brings a blend of great heavy metal riffs and a "violence" in the right measure.

The guitar work on “Blood Shower” is excellent and “Vengeance Is Mine” is a good song. The track "Death Noise" brings amazing guitar riffs and transitions with like four minutes of amazing instrumental music before the Mark Biedermann's vocals came in. For me, definitely one of the best songs on the album alongside "Blood Shower".

The vocals are more "old school thrash" on the track "Smash the Crystal", but not to the point of making the song one of those death metal clichés, but still, the song is not strong as the other ones on the record.

The guitar lines in "Vicious Visions" keeps the great rhytm of the first tracks with a heavy and dynamic sound. An amazing thrash metal track. The transitions and finally the breakdown in the end is probabily one of the best parts in the album.

The final track “Metamorphosis of a Monster” is a true metamorphosis as the song has many changes and transitions in these almost seven minutes. In the final minutes, the music and vocal style are very reminiscent of a kind of "The Doors in a heavy metal style". Another fantastic song to close the album.

The entire album have meaning, what's great for a heavy band. Absolutely not a bunch of noise like some of the groups in the genre. Those catchy riffs that reminds a lot of classic heavy metal / hard rock music are the highlights of the work.

So, this album is 85/100, and I don't put 90 only because the production was lacking at times and although the band does a great work, they don't bring nothing new (even if some fans, like me, sometimes prefer more of the same). Good album!