I didn't know what to expect from this German act, but they kick out nine tracks of thrash mayhem with vocals that sound somewhat similar to Kreator and music that combines all sorts of thrash influences (mostly older plus some modern tinges) with leads that are sometimes a bit more rocked out. Sadly the production holds them back from being a bit more forceful, but for the most part they're on the right track with the songwriting. The production problems mainly stem from a thin guitar tone and a distinct lack of bass in the mix (or at least a distinct lack of low-end, the bass is audible back in there). The drums and vocals sound fine to me (the drums could be a bit warmer), but if the guitars were heavier and the bass was louder it would be a big help. Right now the guitars have too much midrange and no real crunch, the distortion should be louder (although the lead tone is actually pretty damn good). "New War" displays some awesome rhythms that remind me a little bit of the almighty Cyclone Temple with their creative use of unusual melodic chords and strong picking patterns. There's a nice clean break with spoken vocals, too. "Final Crash" also has some death metal riffing in the form of tremolo picking and pinch harmonics aplenty, and "Horizons" is a clean instrumental that makes for a nice closing. One of the more memorable tracks, "Conflict", is back and forth: There's a great chorus, but they also throw in some mediocre death metal riffing and it feels like it drags a bit, though it only runs four minutes... That's actually one of the only problems here, aside from the recording: A lot of the songs feel a little bit long, even though the longest track is merely over five minutes. I don't know if it's repetition or a certain lack of variety, but something needs an extra kick. Perhaps if they sped up the tempos just a tad to add more energy and cut off maybe 30 seconds from each track at the same time that would help? I don't know, but I definitely think the creativity of "New War" is the direction to explore. The layout isn't that bad. The colors are all very consistent, as is the appearance in general. Some of the text is a bit pixilated, and at times nearly runs off the edges of the pages, but I like some of the layered imagery and the color scheme. They only included excerpts of the lyrics from each track, just enough to supply the listener with an idea of what the topics are. For the most part the songs deal with, you guessed it, pain and suffering, both on a personal level and in terms of socio-political issues (mainly war). Not bad. I think that with some work this band would have the potential to bring some true thrash back to the forefront.
[self-released]
Running time - 38:01, Tracks: 9
[Notable tracks: New War, Conflict, Horizons]
Verdict - http://www.verdict.de
