Pictures Of Reality

The phrase "Quality prevails" unfortunately often hasn't held true in Heavy Metal. After Sudden Death and Hellbreath, the specialty-focused label Golden Core presents another German metal band from the second half of the eighties that was highly talented but only managed to release one self-produced LP. "Pictures Of Reality" is the impressive result that was released in 1989 on Rockwerk Records. The partly epic metal, which also likes to pick up speed, would have had chances back then with one of the relevant companies (Noise, Steamhammer, Roadrunner, etc.) before traditional metal faced difficulties in the nineties. This is ensured not only by a very expressive vocal performance but also by an incredibly professional production (for a self-release). Typical "Teutonic steel" is not present at every moment, as much of the material recalls US bands like Omen or Liege Lord. Additionally, two songs break the eight-minute mark without falling into progressive noodling. Unfortunately, the A&R managers of the record labels at that time were oblivious and preferred to focus on short-lived trend music. The original LP is now a small investment, but the "rare" factor does not automatically equate to good music! Exploder is one of those bands that would have almost more chances today than at the end of the eighties. They have the songs and the sound that many young metal bands from the underground would kill for—something that simply cannot be exactly reproduced in this form. The album was transferred from the master tape by Eroc (Grobschnitt) and remastered by Neudi. For the vinyl edition, an additional mastering was done by Vadim Kulin.