Band:	Lääz Rockit
Album:	Nothing'$ $acred
Style:	Bay Area thrash metal
Release date:	1991
Guest review by:	DayFly

01. In The Name Of The Father And The Gun
02. Into The Asylum
03. Greed Machine
04. Too Far Gone
05. Curiosity Kills
06. Suicide City
07. The Enemy Within
08. Nobody's Child
09. Silence Is A Lie
10. Necropolis

Lääz Rockit's final studio album for a long time was yet another noteworthy addition to the band's catalogue. Nearly everything goes over-the-top on Nothing $acred which is quite refreshing considering that everyone else was toning down their act at the time of this album's release. The lead guitar shreds with reckless abandon, the production is thickened up and heavier and singer Michael Coons gives his harshest performance. The entire affair might come off as tasteless and immature, if the solos weren't so good, the sounds somehow still so clear and punchy and if the yelled vocals did not manage to be so tuneful. The sonic gap between this record and the last one is nevertheless huge and while Nothing $acred retains some of Lääz Rockit's trademark catchy songwriting, it sounds like a new band (which considering the line-up it kind of was).

The dynamics are nothing different from the fast verse/pounding chorus alteration Lääz Rockit usually employed. The added heaviness and speed further lessens the overall amount of variety of the record but the songs also are mercifully shorter which combined with the aforementioned stellar lead guitar keeps the album interesting for it's duration. The opening "In The Name Of The Father And The Gun..." is easily the best track and not only for hitting the listener when she or he still has rested ears. From there on the assault continues on more or less the same intense level until a moderate dose of weariness becomes noticeable on the slightly overlong "The Enemy Within". Subsequent tracks such as the ballad "Nobody's Child" and the closing instrumental "Necropolis" broaden the album's scope a bit, ending it on a more positive impression.

If things ended here, Nothing $acred would be a very solid, perhaps even good record without quite reaching the highs of the previous albums. However, the recent re-release adds three more tracks which give the album just a bit of vitality and the additional spark it needed to be something special. Just jam that shuffle button and ready yourself for a thrashing treat.