Search - Meliah Rage :: Unfinished Business

Missing pieces

Justin Gaines | Northern Virginia | 06/06/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"In the wake of Metallica's success in the 1980's, a number of thrash metal bands hit the scene looking for similar glory. But while Metallica, Anthrax, Megadeth and Slayer continue to dominate, most of the thrash bands that emerged in the late 90's faded away, many after a single album. One of the later thrash bands that actually had some staying power was Boston-based Meliah Rage.



Like a lot of bands that emerged in the 80's, Meliah Rage spent most of the 90's out of the spotlight, releasing just two full-length albums (1990's Solitary Solitude and 1996's Death Valley Dream). The compilation Unfinished Business collects additional songs that were recorded during that timeframe, including b-sides and rerecorded material. The songs on Unfinished Business sound anything but unfinished. They are fully developed, old school thrashers with a slightly modern feel. They remind me a lot of Testament with just a hint of Grip, Inc. Any (or all) of these songs would have been worthy additions to Solitary Solitude or Death Valley Dream.



Unfinished Business was originally released in 1999, reissued in 2002, and reissued again in 2005. The 2005 version includes a bonus 19-minute audio interview with guitarist Tony Nichols. The interview gives some valuable insight into the band's history, though I'd rather have seen the band use the extra room on the disc to remaster the Live Kill EP.



If you're a Meliah Rage fan, you really need to add Unfinished Business to your collection. It's the perfect album to fill in the gap between Solitary Solitude and Death Valley Dream.

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