Hellshock "Only the Dead Know the End of War" CD
[Yellow Dog]
Holy shit! This is fuckin' great! The debut full-length from this all-star Portland act featuring members of Atrocious Madness, Remains of the Day, Tragedy, and possibly others, I can't really find accurate information on that. But regardless, this record sees the band taking a much more thrash metal oriented direction, maintaining the raw aesthetic of their crusty hardcore/punk influences (think the darker side of the UK spectrum, ala Amebix and such), but injecting more speed and lots of crushing power chord rhythms that are a mix of classic German thrash metal and 80's US crossover hardcore/thrash. Expect throaty, low shouting vocals over lots of energetic chugging chords, simple drumbeats and fills, basic song structures that run around three to four minutes on average with a good amount of tempo changes, etc. Occasionally there are some quick little lead breaks that are on the noisy side, and I think those elements are somewhat senseless since they rarely add anything to the material, but other than that the writing is basically faultless. The straightforward "Your World" kicks things off right away, followed by "The Company of Fools" which adds a little discordance to its intro for variety (And check out those basslines!). "Ghosts of the Past" is the first song that really nails down the thrash side with a ripping intro complete with alternate picked riffing and a style that would've been at home on Slayer's "Hell Awaits". "Walking Death" carries a faster hardcore thread and keeps the metal influences pretty minimal until a tremolo picking run and the solo break in out of nowhere; and what about "World Darkness"!? The opening passage is a midpaced dual guitar stomp that sounds a shitload like Bolt Thrower! And the way it returns at the end and transforms into a simple power chord mosh part? Awesome! "Passage" even closes the disc at more than five minutes in length, opening with synths that give way to dissonant rhythms and resonant percussion underneath a melodic lead line to create a far more openly sinister atmosphere than anything else on the album. As it picks up into a midpaced crawl it becomes apparent that the track is one of the more blatantly Amebix influenced numbers herein (not without its faster thrash riffs, though), so of course it delivers in full! The recording kicks ass, too. The guitar tone is heavy as fuck and has a nice ruggedness to it, the basslines pound away right alongside the guitars and add a lot of density to the surging rhythms, the percussion sounds natural, the vocals are well placed in the mix, etc. I wouldn't change a damn thing there. The layout's 50/50. Everything's done in black and white and the cover art's great, as is the lettering on the back cover, but the illustration on the back cover is weak, and the booklet is just plain text over black backgrounds or fairly weak live shots of the band, so nothing else even comes close to matching the quality of the cover image. The lyrics are bleak as hell, of course attacking issues such as war, greed, the media, etc., but generally going about it in a way that's open and focuses on death, decay, suffering, frustration, etc. "Lost and alone, who are we really? Dreams die, life's a lie, building walls to protect from outside, Locked within, never free..." Man, if this band keeps at it they're going to kick some major ass. I love this stuff. The only thing that's a minor setback on this one is that a lot of the songs sound similar to one another, so as killer as it is, it can get tiresome towards the latter chunk of the disc. The standouts are all fucking great tunes though, and the band clearly has a knack for paying tribute to their influences without coming across like a heartless copycat act at all. I don't think they've peaked yet, and I'll god damn sure be looking out for any other material they release. I think they've got a split 10" with Effigy, so that's next on my list of items to track down! Check these guys out, seriously... (7/10)
Running time - 39:34, Tracks: 11
[Notable tracks: Ghosts of the Pasts, World Darkness, Passage]
Yellow Dog - http://www.yellowdog.de

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