Hot Graves : "Magnificent Death"

Catching up with 2015" finds us exploring various back alley for thrash and while this band from Florida might have many labels for themselves there is no debate to the fact that " Perdition Noose" is straight up thrash you can call it d-beat or what ever you want , but thrash with a strong dose of punk undertones. "Rip Shit" doesn't stray much from the established formula except for the rousing cry of the title for a chorus. They do have a mean chug before the guitar solo, but metal is not taken to the next level. It's not until "Night Hag" that I feel they really get heavy, by slowing down into a more powerful grind. All but one of the songs is under the four minute mark, so they get down to business from the onset in a manner that has the urgency of punk. Some of the song are a little too straight forward for me even with the catchy riffs they have a knack for throwing at you. It happens at such a brisk paces they lose their effectiveness.

Some of the stupidest lyric you might manage to make out on this album would be to the song "Jewel Teeth" .  The song speeds along at such a rate they pretty much blow by you unless you come back for seconds. "Blood Ov the Unpure" is another rapid riff fueled rocket ride. It slows for a few heavily accented punches that loose some of the dramatic effect when this part is extended. They declare that the mother fucking wizard is going on "Dead Wizard Mountain" . While "Roach Pussy Crucifix" might be a great song title, it is one that the music which follows can never live up too. There needs to be something a little more gnarly than just retread thrash. By the time we get to "Death Promises" some of the songs are becoming repetitive.

The album ends with the only song that breaks the four minute mark and does so by a minute and ten seconds. There is nothing at the onset of this song to set it apart from the others, they begin to develop the same beat. Two minutes in it breaks this habit by slowing down to a deliberate crashing stomp. I'll round this one up to 6 , because they play this with a lot of conviction, even if it is not the most original thing you will hear this week.

Powermad : " Infinite"

One of my favorite thrash bands was not in the big 4 and aside from a slight appearance in "Wild at Heart" got little recognition in their hey day. I'm going into excepting the fact it's not going to be "Absolute Power". Coming out of the gate on this they prove they can still play fast, but playing fast was not their strength even back in the day it was their song writing . They wrote songs that show case Joel Dubay's voice well without being too power-metal. Its not until after the barked verses that he sounds like he did back in the day. He screams his highs a little more and the band seems focused on being heavier rather than better. He finally sings more on "Forest" which despite keeping a similar pace it slows down enough to connect melodically. They get even faster on "My Day of Demons" touch on a few cool chugs thrown in along the way if you don't miss them in the blur. He reaches for the heavens with a metal yodel at the end of the first verse and pretty much still has it. Which makes me wonder why is he not actually singing more? You guys can play blast beats now? Great so can hundreds of other bands.

He sings a little more on " Souls Descending", though some of the screams are a little more choke here. Another song that is a blur of speed until the chorus, and the the bass gets weird and proggy. At first I think "Wow, The drummer has really become more of a monster than he already ready was, but to the point of where I am not sure if it is really serving the songs." But then I realize it's Soilwork's drummer on board for this one. Its like of guys catch me if you can. "I Am Infinite" opens with a wall of double bass. The vocals are more upfront.  But at the point the speed of their speed metal is like their feet are going too fast for the body as they race down a hill. The falsetto screams are back, but it's his more mid range chest voice that I wanted to hear more of  and not just randomly shouting. The stumble over a groove here and there. But when you remember when every song was the best of both worlds trashing yet still melodic I am undecided if this is going to cut it, though more moments crop up as this song progresses.

Ok, I'm going to stop here and let you hear how high the bar is raised here When now you might understand why I might feel like "Hypocrite" feels rushed and the peircing notes are not placed in the song to create as dynamic of an effect. They slow down for "An Imperfect Day to Die" . This is a step in the right direction.It brings a better balance. I do think its interesting how putting out an album in a post- Pantera world has changed some of their tones to keep up with the times. They take on more of an Anthrax feel for " The World Is Turning Without You". The snare takes on the really straight ahead almost punk patter. The vocals are more stacatto than they are sung. They make up for this on the chorus. It is one of the album's better choruses. They hit more of a Meshuggah sound , but Dubay belts is out better than he has for most of the album. On one of the high notes around the three minute mark , he goes for it with knowing where the note will end up. So perhaps aside from the "Souls Descending " single four years ago he hasn't done much since 1989.Its a use it or lose scenario. But he pulls it off more often than not here. The songs have too similar for me just to accept the fact its heavier, but they are still a great band so I'm kinda split on this one I'll give it a 7.5.



7.8

Black Breath : Slaves From Beyond Death"

Didn't get to catch these guys when they came through town with Goatwhore. From Seattle the blur the genre lines falling closest to death metal, though healthy doses of thrash stain some of the riffs. It tool me until the second song which is also the title track to figure out the band they are most influenced by is Entombed. They begin tripping over themselves when they try racing through the song and lose the sense of groove that makes them stand out from everyone else. They do possess a keen sense of riffing and come up with some nasty and tasty ones , but cool riffs alone don't make a good song is the rule around here. By "Reaping Flesh" what they do is very clear to the point that the songs begin to sound the same to me. So the melodic intro to "Seed of Cain " is much needed. Though it speeds up into a rather formless thrashing that reminds me a little of Unleashed's less viking moments. This is reigned into a pretty skull crushing riff that commands head banging as they chant the song's title.

Clearly when it comes to the focus of the songs the guitar players are running the show around here. "Arc of Violence" things slow down and allow them to hit a vicious groove. They stay on this course for  " A Place of Insane Cruelty" , perhaps even more so as the syncopation becomes more prominent.  It starts with a marching snare beat that guitar  harmonies begin to slither around before the big 80s like riff kicks in that recalls S.O.D in a mosh pit with Celtic Frost. After some impressive build up "Burning Hate" in contrast feels rather rushed and that attention to detail was thrown out the window. The very straight punk attack on the snare dumbs the song down. They close out the album on a much needed more melodic note with a guitar intro to " Chains of the Afterlife" that sounds like it could have come right off "Master of Puppets". That is a Metallic influence worth having. By the three minute mark I am beginning to think that this is an instrumental. It keeps building up to the big chords of what could be a verse if the guitar solos were replaced by vocals that never come.

Overall these guys are good at what they with riffs that have plenty of teeth. Not only to they have bit but they know how to use it. I think the more thrashing grooves are where they really hit their sweet spot and hopefully they move more in that direction in the future, but this album is enjoyable, if you like Goatwhore more thrash moments or just simply miss big nasty rifs from bands like Meliah Rage, then you won't want to miss these guys , I'll give it an 8.5 , when I was in middle school I would have given it closer to a 10. This album comes out Sept. 25th on Southern Lord.