I don't know, but it seems that I'll have to write these same words for the rest of my days: in rare cases, it's worthy to bring back works from bands that had no chance in their time of activity. But it's a loss of time in the greater part of this "Metal research": what is dead and buried on the past must stay in the past. Bands as the North American quartet STRYCHNINE, from Washington, had no success on their time and only due some 80's wannabes "No Escape... Live Or Die! 84-87" has a chance to sell.

The album is another compilation from live and demo tapes material, and songs from an EP and a single from those days. On it, again the same old and good USA Metal that we already know. But as many other names from those days, they had no chance to compete or beat names as OMEN, LIZZY BORDEN, RUTHLESS, BITCH and many others. It's truly filled with clichés that THE RODS seeded on the past, so don't ask much of them. Even being an Old School Metalhead, to me is difficult to swallow their musical work, because I heard this same musical style many times before.

On the sound quality, a good work. No, it's not amazing, but just good, with all the musical instruments in their due places, with clean tunes, and the recording sessions allowed the band to put aggressiveness and weight on their songs. Let me be honest: it's better than the average sound quality of some releases from the 80s.

But when we begin to hear this compilation, the feeling that "we heard this somewhere before" is annoying. Obviously that they had talent that a producer could had lapidate, as we can hear on songs as "Pull the Plug", "Once Before I Die", the guitar riffs of "Death Warmed Over" (something that can remind what ANTHRAX did on the past), the version for "Run for Your Life" that was presented on "Metal Meltdown Vol. I" compilation (it's a very good song, but the vocals does not fit on what they are playing), the good energy presented on "Live or Die", and "No Escape". But without a guiding hand, their musical talent was wasted.

They deserved a chance in those days, but not in this way, and not now.