Review by Felix on April 4, 2020.

It was 1991 when a speed / thrash metal wrecking crew from Nagoya, Japan, felt ready to attack the European market. Today Nagoya, tomorrow the world? Well, Outrage had already released three albums. Given this situation, the guys were no absolute beginners and they probably knew that they had the skills to write mature songs. Inspired by rather stylish combos like Testament and Metallica, Outrage kept an eye on the integration of melodic elements. Their sonic rockets did not lack speed and explosiveness, but ferocity or bestiality did not play a role. Apart from the compositional approach, Outrage were furthermore equipped with a contract with a financially potent company (Polydor), Stefan Kaufmann from Accept produced the album and so the promotion machine began to work.

Indeed, the songs of The Final Day document the experience of the band members. All songs have a smooth yet vigorous flow. Sometimes they suffer from repetitiveness, but this fact does not hurt the overall impression considerably, because most parts of the album are simply good. The instrumentalists as well as the lead vocalist understand their profession. By the way, the man at the mic performs very solidly. It sometimes happens that the Asian voices sound slightly thin for European ears when it comes to heavy metal, but this guy generates different moods with his pretty charismatic voice. He does not scream like a pubescent teenager; he rather sings in a more or less conventional way. No doubt, this guy is a trump card of the formation and the same applies for Stefan Kaufmann. He has given the songs a warm and powerful sound, a little bit polished, but not overly softened. Moreover, Kaufmann has put emphasis on the guitars, although he started his career as a drummer. Consequently, the lively riffs and the skillful solos shine in the right light. Only the vocals suffer from an overdose of reverb from time to time, but let's ignore this little blemish.

Outrage offer a relatively wide spectrum. Of course, typical thrasher shapes the album, but the slow and somehow cryptic 'Follow' adds another interesting flavor. It has a surprising depth and its atmospheric density deserves attention. Moreover, 'River' is an excellent, almost philosophical ballad without any sweet or greasy details and the lead singer shows his full potential. But as mentioned before, most songs are perky, snappy and more or less jaunty. It doesn't matter whether one lends an ear to 'Madness', 'Wings' or 'Visions'. All these tracks reflect the euphoria of the band members, even though there are some dark elements in the songs as well. 'Visions', for example, creates a gloomy mood. However, the quartet does not wallow in bloodthirsty scenarios and sometimes I have the feeling that the guys have an affinity for the metallic side of Suicidal Tendencies. But I am no expert for bandanas and therefore you are well advised to take this statement with a pinch of salt.

Outrage failed to take the European market by storm. Life is unfair, because I don't know what the guys from the fourth-biggest Japanese industrial center should have done differently. Maybe it was just the problem that they did not originate from the Bay Area or another hot spot of the thrash movement. However, The Final Day is a good choice for all those who like ripe music at the interface of speed and thrash metal with a minimally commercial yet interesting facet. And in view of the strong musical performance, the exaggerating message of the inner sleeve ("Outrage will change the definition of thrash once and for all") remains an irrelevant detail.

Rating: 7.6 out of 10