Review of the Album "Finished With the Dogs" by German Thrash Metal Band Holy Moses

It is time to really write about the German thrash metal band Holy Moses and this review is about their 1987 album Finished With the Dogs. I got into this album because of the lightning fast song called "Current of Death." The chorus repeats the song’s title three straight times as the song is an example of speed, technicality, and the vocal work of Sabina Classen.

Replacing Herbert Dreger on drums is Uli Kusch, the person that would later join German power metal band Helloween. The song Current of Death brings awareness to the decay of humanity as people that have come back from fighting a war have to deal with the reality that the Cold War is still going on. In 1987, the threat of nuclear warfare with the Soviet Union was a very real possibility because the Soviets were busy building up their weapons arsenal. Even those soldiers that return from war will be war weary and mentally exhausted.

Finished With the Dogs the song is about someone that seems to be stuck with fear in their brain, suffering from headaches and they have to fight dogs that are everywhere. Criminal Assault is a song that discusses that there is a point in a relationship that no one must cross. When you enter into a moment of lust that is where the trouble starts. Love is better than hate but some people fall in love for selfish reasons. A strong person that has good principles will not fall for the takers who take and give back nothing in return. When a woman gives you her heart, make love but do so responsibly.

The song "Fortress of Desperation" is a slow song about not falling into the trap of being desperate so you must have the inner strength to continue on the right path. Six Fat Women is a song about a few women enjoying themselves in the heat of the day. When we enjoy our lives in the heat we must enjoy life responsibly.

Finished With the Dogs has a sort of raw riffing structure reminiscent of the time period it was written in and it can also be thought of as an album that was created with the intent to provide a sort of no-nonsense thrash metal. Holy Moses has stuck to their roots and they have not deviated from this style other than to adopt a more death metal approach to the vocals which kind of started with the album Terminal Terror in 1991. "Corroded Dreams" starts with a brief bass section and it is a song about a person that has become possessed by some devilish kind of sorcery. There is an evil voice that is calling this person. Life’s Destroyer is a song about someone that wants to have no direction and that all they want is to trash their lives and the lives of others. "Rest in Pain" is a song that alternates between slow and mid-tempo melodic thrash metal. Sabina Classen uses a softer vocal approach before going into her usual raspy thrash metal style that we have known her for. The album ends with the song called "Military Service" which lyrically says that most wars are fought to please the corporate masters and the people at the top of the chain of command and this is for example, the top politicians in countries around the world. The sad reality of being a soldier in the army is that there is always a risk of death. The song is very much an anti-war kind of song. Is Finished With the Dogs the best album of the career of Holy Moses? In terms of thrash metal releases, its raw, aggressive nature is hard to top and it may be the best Holy Moses album of the 1980’s.