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holy s**t! somebody else that knows of cyclone temple!!!

Formed from 80s thrashers Znowhite, Chicago's Cyclone Temple was a good, solid second tier thrash act who had the misfortune of arriving on the scene at precisely the wrong time. With Combat being near its demise and coupled with lineup problems (it seems Cyclone Temple couldn't keep a singer for more than a single recording), Cyclone Temple was able to release but three albums before morphing into yet another obscure act, Rebels Without Applause.

I Hate Therefore I Am is actually a very good debut for the band. Featuring Greg Fulton's chunky, but fluid riffs and Brian Troch's semi-gruff, but melodic vocals, the album was one of the better thrash releases for 1991. Of course, thrash was already a dying artform by then, so the apathy of the record buying public was a deafening silence. Regardless, Cyclone Temple offered nine songs of well-arranged and dismally moody music that perhaps should have gotten a bit more recognition. The lyrics on the album are often dark and depressing (particularly "Words Are Just Words"). Musically the band didn't stick to bashing out three or four riffs over and over. Rather, the arrangements at least give the songs some variety from within, keeping listeners tuned in. A couple of the songs do tend to bog down, though, making the album not quite a classic.

Although completely out of print, I Hate Therefore I Am still deserves a little recognition for those searching out thrash from the late 80s/early 90s. Fans of the more melodic Testament era or Suicidal Tendencies' music around that same period are well advised to search out a copy.