Greg Minier first released limited copies of his debut album “Retooled” in the year 1990 (with R.E.X. records) as a side project during his time with The Crucified. He had 7 tracks to the album and hadn’t any bass tracking’s altogether. Retroactive Records approached Greg in the year 2017 to re-release a remastered version to the prior version, Greg mentions the album added Bedroom demos and exclusive interviews to the same. Later Bill from Roxx records approached Greg to track basslines to all the songs previously released and what we see on stores as of February 24th, 2023 is brand new mix, master and touch-up to the original record. The recording was mastered by Rob Colwell of Bombworks Sound, and a beautiful new layout was designed by Scott Waters of NLTM Graphics.
The album opens up with a bang with “Do not be Deceived” as the intro riff quickly transitions to a blast-beat which is soon followed up by a short and ecstatic guitar solo. The vocals add on with powerful lyrics and the overall song feels right out of the 80s with vocals having a vibe of Tom Arya’s style. The song is blessed with plenty of fruity guitar riffs which keeps the listener engaged throughout. As we move to “The Skeptic” we encounter rugged guitar riffs that plays out on blast beats and carries forth the energy from its predecessor. The guitar solos that are blended in give the song a sort off a dissonance that somehow brings about a unique sound.
The intro guitar riff for “Price” sounded like bits from “Pay the Man – The Offspring”. I felt this being the ballad on the album, strangely the verse reminded of “18 and Life” from Skid Row. Apart from the above noted familiarity the song is carried well and the guitar solos kept the sound fresh. Next up we fire things up with “The Killing of the Innocent” which starts off with a melodic riff that’s carried throughout the breadth of the song and is supplemented with rugged vocals, guitar chugs muddled with blast beats which somehow feels a bit formulaic by the 4th song. The energy the song radiates is quite powerful and has to be the heaviest song on the album.
I loved the guitar tone on “Prophecy” which has a distinct delivery and an odd time signature that Greg introduces on the song also gives it an ounce of freshness. The guitar solo brings in some juicy shreds and is the icing on the cake. This song transported me back to the days I fell in love with Metallica’s Garage Inc. and the song reminded me of “Crash Course in Brain Surgery”. “Philosophy of Man” takes the thrashing to the next level and is packed with neck wracking guitar riffs sure to get one to headbang. The song oscillates with guitar solos and finishes off with a heavy riff that transcends one and is amazing for mosh-pits.
The album culminates with “The Secret Song” which is a blues track sitting in a thrash metal record. I sense Greg has more melodies packed away in his minds that could be stretched out on the canvas of a thrash metal record and he surprises us with the final song giving his listeners something to hope for in the future.
Production – The album is mixed, mastered and produced well. I still feel the bass tracks although completed lacked the volume that I was expecting.
Conclusion – This is a through and through Thrash Metal record and for anyone looking out to be the golden era of the 80s give this record a spin.
Rating: 7.5/10
Written by: Ankit Sood
Band Members:
Greg Minier – Everything but Bass
Bill – Bass
Track Listing:
- Do not be Deceived
- The Skeptic
- Price
- The Killing of the Innocent
- Prophecy
- Philosophy of Man
- The Secret Song
Video for ‘Do Not Be Deceived’