Poltergeist
Behind My Mask (Remaster 2022)

Switzerland is also known for its thrash bands, and not just for cheese and reliable banks. She gave the world such wonderful bands as Celtic Frost and Coroner, but for some reason they forget about Poltergeist. After all, they are rightfully included in the elite of Swiss thrash. Having released a very decent debut album in 1989, which interested listeners, 2 years later the team prepared the album “Behind My Mask”. The opus is head and shoulders above its predecessor. The design may not be the most colorful, but the title clearly fits into the essence of the opus. After all, a face is just a mask for another, because... no one sees your real thoughts. The technique of musicians has increased rapidly. Guitarist Pulver decided to compete in solo parts with Dave Mustaine himself (Megadeth). I think it was very successful. In no way inferior to its American counterpart in style. They are not monotonous, on the contrary, they are dizzying and exciting. Mr. Alex also amazes us with his performances. His playing reminds me of Marcus Endelman (Coroner), and bassist Marek perfectly keeps the drummer's tempo. In short, the rhythm section is top notch. Vocalist Andre Greider perfectly envelops the music with his voice. In general, this is no longer just trash. It can be safely called techno-trash. Quite complex compositions in structure. There's no typical straight-up slasher here like Slayer, Sodom or Destruction. These are rather followers of the bands Coroner, Metallica and Vendetta. It is impossible not to mention the texts. Here the guys decided to touch on one of the most interesting topics - human consciousness. What are the songs “We are the People”, “Behind My Mask”, “Make Your Choice”, “Still Alive” worth? Amazes the imagination. True, my favorite song in terms of music and lyrics is “Act of Violence”. Thrash bands often used violent themes, but this composition turned out to be the best of the existing ones. The rest of the songs keep the bar, not giving the listener a break, throughout the entire 40 minutes.

2022 is a great year so far for reissues of forgotten legendary albums.This is one of these situations of a cult album.