From My Collection #37: Whiplash – Power and Pain

Welcome to another edition of From My Collection. This weekend marks the long awaited return of Milwaukee’s Blades of Steel Festival (formerly known as NYDM Spring Bash). The lineup reads like a who’s who of classic underground thrash: D.R.I., Toxik, Realm, Defiance, Mordred, and the main attraction for yours truly, Whiplash. And that’s just to name a few. To commemorate this festival and the unsung legacy of the three Tonys (Portaro, Bono, and Scaglione), this week’s essay pays tribute to Whiplash’s legendary debut album, Power and Pain, and goes on to explain why it’s better than your favorite thrash album. That’s right. Reign in Blood? Master of Puppets? The Ultra-Violence? Child’s play compared to this here bad boy. So lace up your high tops and get in the pit! “Blood will spill!”

I remember when I first heard Whiplash. I don’t remember the exact date and time, but I remember where I was, what I was doing, and roughly how old I was (in my dad’s car while he ran errands, listening to SiriusXM’s Liquid Metal, 12). At this point in life, my knowledge of thrash didn’t reach beyond the big 4 and a handful of other VH1 Classic sanctioned bands (i.e. Testament, Exodus, Overkill, Death Angel, Suicidal Tendencies). What I did know was these faster paced bands were becoming more and more a part of my daily listening, serving as a relatively extreme alternative to Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, UFO, and other traditional acts. It’s no wonder come 13, 14, and especially 15, I jumped head first down the extreme metal rabbit hole.

I can’t remember what exactly I was listening to on Liquid Metal that afternoon. At that age, I’m gonna guess it was some Pantera song, or perhaps even *shudders* Meshuggah. Anyways, what I was listening to beforehand doesn’t matter. What matters is for the first and only time that I can recall, one of the station’s programmers had the balls to put on Whiplash’s “Nailed to the Cross”. I thought to myself, “A band named after a Metallica song? They must be cool!” It was this ideology that got me into Overkill and Exciter as well. Within 30 seconds, I had the volume knob turned all the way to right and was headbanging like there was no tomorrow. I was hooked.

When I got home, I looked the band up and got some basic info. The song I heard came off their debut album, Power and Pain, released in 1986. Unfortunately for me, I could not find this album anywhere. Not on CD, not on vinyl. It was as if its elusiveness was taunting me. I caved and downloaded it on iTunes for $9.99 (this was pre Spotify era, kids). And when it made its way onto my little iPod touch, I started playing it just as much as any Slayer or Metallica album I had downloaded. Now you’re probably wondering, “Joe, if you couldn’t find it on any physical format back then, how did you eventually get an original vinyl copy?” Lucky for me, I scored it for a rather decent price on good ol’ eBay a few years ago. As I dropped the needle on this precious slab of thrash, it felt like I was listening to it for the first time all over again.

For those uninitiated, the album opens with the appropriately titled “Stage Dive”. By 1986, songs that captured the intensity and insanity of a thrash show were commonplace. Metallica had “Whiplash”. Exodus had “Bonded by Blood”. Whiplash had “Stage Dive”. It doesn’t matter where you are, whether it be your basement, your car, or even your work desk. Close your eyes while listening to this song and you’re transported to an old school thrash show in all its raging glory. Every time I hear this song, my head bangs, adrenaline flows through my veins, and I can feel my heart beating to the point of practically exploding through my chest. This, my friends, is what thrash metal is all about.

“Red Bomb” keeps the intensity going with its vicious mosh riffs and brutally honest lyrics chronicling prostitution, joining a long lineage of metal songs on the topic (i.e. Venom’s “Red Light Fever”, Iron Maiden’s “22 Acacia Avenue”, Black Sabbath’s “Dirty Women”, etc.). “Last Man Alive” balances Exciter-esque speed metal with the aggression of thrash and the downright diabolical pseudo-guttural vocals of Portaro, while side A closer “Message in Blood” turns the extremity up to 11. There’s no slowing down for this full throttle thrasher. It’s an unadulterated neck snapper of the highest order, boasting machine gun riffs and drumming faster than the speed of light.

As we flip over to side B, we’re greeted by another thrash assault in “War Monger”, before being annihilated by yet another pure metal anthem, “Power Thrashing Death”. It isn’t refined enough to be power metal, and it certainly isn’t twisted enough to be death metal, but it sure is thrashing enough to be thrash! With its unorthodox lead riff and those offsetting vocals from Portaro, “Power Thrashing Death” didn’t come off as a blatant thrash metal anthem, yet it become one in all its rugged glory. Every time I hear this song, I instantly start moshing. Even in my basement/music cave, I start running back and forth. In fact, one time I practically slipped and broke my arm doing so!

“Stirring the Cauldron” has always stood out to me as the dark horse on this album. Yes, it’s a thrasher alright, but between its wicked lyrics and raw atmosphere, I’d have no problem putting it on a “first wave of black metal” playlist alongside Venom, early Sodom, early Destruction, etc. It certainly boasts the tropes associated with these bands. Clocking in at a little under 3 minutes, “Spit on Your Grave” is the shortest and arguably fastest song on this outing. If “Stirring the Cauldron” is early black metal, I’d label this early death metal. Bands like Death and Obituary would be utilizing this type of riffing and instrumentation just a few years later. Closing it all out is the song that started it all for me, “Nailed to the Cross”. At its core, some might argue it’s a speed metal song, especially with another Exciter influenced moment in the lead riff, but its heart lies in thrash.

And there you have it. At just under 35 minutes, Power and Pain remains one of the rawest, primal, and honest thrash albums ever recorded. Unlike many of their peers, Whiplash never achieved global superstardom. I’ve always felt that all the refining in the world couldn’t make this barbaric band “consumer friendly”, which was part of their charm. That said, they soldiered onwards, releasing two more killer albums in Ticket to Mayhem (1987) and Insult to Injury (1989). Portaro remains the sole constant bandmember, disbanding and reuniting the band on a couple occasions. For the past 15 years however, Whiplash has been going strong, playing festivals the world over, like Blades of Steel. I can hardly wait for this once in a lifetime opportunity, and hope to see all you fellow midwestern maniacs in attendance as well!