This seems like it is the same line-up from the last album so we are in for a solid ride. They are not trying to recreate "No Place For Disgrace" but are moving forward. Ken Mary, who played drums on the heaviest Alice Cooper album "Raise Your Fist and Yell," really propels the opening track. "Damnation' does have more of a traditional thrash riff, which brings back fond memories without hampering them from engaging in 2026. His sung vocals are pretty catchy, and of course there is the noted lack of falsetto wailing, which he has left to King Diamond years ago.
"Absolution" charges forward with an aggressive chug. The formual seems to lie in how they set up the chorus, and the verses are varied levels of thrashing heaviness, which works for me. There is some tight chugging that is top-tier thrash here."Blame the Knife' is the hookiest song so far, though we are only four songs into the album but this is going to be the bar they set for themselves here. The "breakdown" section before hte solo is pretty awesome. The title track indulges in some melodrama for the intro. There is some interesting production choices in how the vocals are layered here.
"The Ghost Behind My Door" displays how modern metal production can fuse with timeless thrash. At 61 years old, Eric's voice sounds great. This carries over into "First on the Spike: His vocals are more aggressive on this one. Prodiuction wise it seems like the layers of vocals are more plentiful on this album. It is hard to argue with results I have not seen these guys live since the 90s so who knows if he can pull it off. He does always put his voice in the right place on this album. They slow things down a little going into "The Edge of Nowhere" but build it back up to hyper thrashing speed on the verse.
The bulk of the album, they have kept the double bass flowing so by the time we get to "Last Rites," I begin to wonder if they are going to shift the dynamics, and the answer is no. Things stay catchy enough to make it forgivable that they won't take their foot off the gas, and for thrash, I guess that is what some people want. The bass emerges to give "A Taste for War" a backbone and shift away from the more straightforward thrashing. This gives Eric more room to sing, as the drums drop the bass to a tribal pound on the verses. "Her Blood Your Pain" benefits from catchy vocals. The guitar harmonies are somewhat Iron Maiden-like.
"Anthem For the Broken" has a more power metal-feeling chorus to contrast the grittier thrash of the verse. I would not call any of the songs filler but this one does not grab me as firmly as the others up to this point have. The last song might have the heaviest riff of the album driving it, which makes sense, though it is balanced with a more melodic passage for the verse. I will round this one up to a 10; it's as [perfect of an album as you could ask these guys for in 2026. It drops August 28th on NapalmRecords.
No comments:
Post a Comment