Any band releasing their debut album would be smart to have an anthem to signal their arrival, and Lazarus Sin uses their opener “Blood For Mercy” as “the” anthem. Vocalist Joseph Tierney has no capability to be subtle, wailing and flailing about like a madman with his finger on the trigger. His high notes when singing the chorus to “Blood For Mercy” is chills-worthy. Tierney is not in everyone’s taste, but if a listener isn’t bothered by Joey Belladonna or Geddy Lee, Tierney shouldn’t be an issue.
The band could have written a whole album full of pedal-to-the-floor metal like “Blood For Mercy,” but there wouldn’t be much point of writing another few paragraphs on it if that was the case. For a first album, there is no resting on a conventional sound; each song exposes a different facet to Lazarus Sin. Just when it seemed possible to trap the band into a particular sound, out would come a ballad like “Monument,” where classical piano segues into a second half built around acoustic melodies.
“Apothecaries’ Measure” is the first song to welcome in clean-sounding guitars in a low-key break in the middle that gets knocked on its ass by Tierney screaming “Hit it!” Those two words bring a few minutes of head-spinning guitar solos and grooving rhythms. It’s a stark contrast to the doomy closer “Out Of The Box,” which crawls to almost 10 minutes with not one boring moment to be found. Whether it’s the bountiful guitar harmonies or the descent into noise in the final minute, “Out Of The Box” is how to leave an impression behind.
Guitarist Edward Cross is the lone axe-stringer in the band, which is to the benefit of bassist David Thorne. He has a Geezer Butler/Jason Newsted feeling to his playing, though Steve Harris creeps in too. Having only one guitarist affords Thorne the chance to show off almost as much as Cross on “Author Of Sorrow,” where the two both act in unison and separate for a masterful display of technical bliss with their respective instruments.
Upon its initial release, Intracranial Mass would stay in the underground as far as mass appeal, and over two decades later, little has changed. The band would release one more album (1992's Open Up My Mind) under the name Lazarus before returning to their original name. They have been dormant for years, though are supposedly working on material for a new album (Fun fact: They had a third album done in the mid ‘90s that was never released).
Intracranial Mass may borrow from the Judas Priest/Iron Maiden rulebook, but it deserves a fresh look from a new generation of metal heads. For being an overlooked metal gem in an era full of them, Intracranial Mass gets the nod for this week’s Retro Recommendation.
