Review by Adam M on May 28, 2012.

This is a wild and interesting adventure of an album that evokes the cover art of a jungle type atmosphere with a variety of vibrant colours within the songs themselves. The structures here are of a similar crazy nature to those of a band like Mr. Bungle or what was seen from the recent Sigh opus. It’s not traditional because the songs don’t often have verse and chorus sections that repeat, but go off on different tangents. The song-writing is still relatively tight throughout, though some sections are more memorable and work better than others.

The slight lack of consistency is what prevents this from being an absolute gem of an album, but it’s still excellent nonetheless. If the quality of the album standout 'Exit Strategy Of A Wrecking Ball' was upheld throughout the entire length of the work it would have been greater. That particular song busts out of the gate with a very powerful nature and manage to be a rollicking good time for the entire length. Some of the other songs become too silly at times to ever be as solid as that one. The majority of the album is still an amazingly fun time. The first few tracks are amongst the best on here and set the stage for an album that starts to wander into many different territories throughout. There are many different instruments used to give it this sound like it was created in the jungle. There are also a number of vocal choices ranging from singing to chanting to operatic vocals.

Overall, the originality and energy of this album is what makes "Pandora’s Pinata" worthwhile for fans of Avant-Garde music in general to check out.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 8
Atmosphere: 8.5
Production: 8
Originality: 9.5
Overall: 8.5

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Review by Jacobo on March 11, 2005.

If years ago metal was all about experimenting and adding new sounds to the music, today things are just starting to go the opposite direction; it is all about going back to the roots, back to the beginning of extreme metal. And that is why no one will be able to stop the mighty return of thrash, which will soon gain its spiked and beer spilled throne once again.

Scenteria is a newcomer in the thrash scene. They play thrash with melodeath influences, where the goal of the music just follows one simple path: aggression. Doubtless that is why the band decided to name their debut album Art of Aggression.

Art of Aggression is full of traditional hyper fast thrash riffs mixed with some modern ones ala The Haunted, Impious and Hatesphere. The melodic death metal influence comes mainly, as with many bands, from the mighty At The Gates.

One thing that really got my attention is the drumming; it is extremely tight and heavy, especially in the drum-kick department, it’s nearly flawless. The production is aggressive, giving you the opportunity to hear what every player is doing. A bit muddy and raw, it gives a little extra to the overall sound.

Art of Aggression is a very decent thrash record that will keep you banging your head for hours. If these guys were able to release such a strong debut, I can’t wait to see what they have in store for their sophomore release. I think that Karmageddon Media had this in mind when signing Scenteria. They knew their debut album would be very good one, but they also invested in what these guys will unleash in the near future. If you don’t believe me, just give “Forever Lost,” “Addicted” and “Acts of Lunacy” a try. Blood will come out of the walls!

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 8
Production: 8
Originality: 3
Overall: 8

Rating: 7.2 out of 10

Review by Felix on June 4, 2024.

It was 1991, I was still young, when Heathen released “Victims of Deception”. In keeping with the triumphal march of the CD, which had begun in the meantime, and its higher capacity, Heathen presented a full 65 minutes of music. Their debut had not blown me away, but it was a matter of course to buy this work as well. At the end of the day, the result was similar as before. “Victims of Deception” is a solid, partly good work, but cannot piss with the big boys of classic thrash. And it’s an ironic twist of fate that especially the higher capacity of the new medium became a problem.

Anyway, the first thing I realize during my rediscovery of the album is the feeble, nasal voice of David White-Godfrey. One could almost think he suffered from a bad cold in the recording studio. His vocals are the weak point of the actually strong opener “Hypnotized”. One gets used to his singing, but the closer “Timeless Cell of Prophecy” presents another very mediocre performance from him. The track holds Forbidden-compatible melody lines and he just accompanies them without setting his own accents. That would not have happened to Russ Anderson.

Unfortunately the only instrumental does not make things better. “Guitarmony” is a pretty useless intermezzo and much too long (3:32) in view of its meaninglessness. To put it on the album was a wrong decision and the same goes for the vapid cover of “Kill the King”. Already the debut had shown that Heathen were not immune against the appropriation of foreign (and outdated) songs. Their own material was more exciting, especially highlights like “Opiate of the Masses” with its Exodus-like riffing. Some other tracks almost reach a very good level, but their sheer opulence makes it difficult to dedicate them my undivided attitude. To me, thrash metal was both music and rebellion and the second part comes off badly when we speak about Heathen. Their approach was always a pretty adult and a more artistic one. That was and is okay, but I miss the fiery heat of wild thrash eruptions.

On the other hand, the material on “Victims of Deception” is free from embarrassing childishness and some strong harmonies let us know that Heathen are aware of the importance of catchy sections. This leads to songs like “Fear of the Unknown”. They do not lack substance, variety or melodies, but many parts of them are closer to some rather mediocre Metal Church tracks than to pure thrash. I do not find the smallest grain of insanity and that’s a pity. Aggravating the situation, the production sounds a bit muffled. The mix lacks pressure and does not convince with aggressiveness. It is no big deal and the technical implementation does not ruin the compositions, but it is also far away from being perfect or at least very good.

Let me ignore the ballad “Prisoners of Fate”, because its chorus tastes somewhat greasy. It makes more sense to focus on “Heathen’s Song”. With 9:27 minutes it is the longest track here and its first edition had been released under the name “Heathen” on Under One Flag’s “Speed Metal Kills II” compilation (Flag 17) in 1987. This version is three minutes shorter, compact and its guitars spread some aggressive vibes. I do not need to lose more words, you already know which configuration I prefer. “Heathen’s Song” is not bad, but worse than its older brother and at least 10% too cosy. It shows clearly that Heathen were victims of the new possibilities of the CD. So sorry, despite the great potential of the band and some fine sections and songs, “Victims of Deception” has never entered my private pantheon of thrash metal.

Rating: 6.1 out of 10