Death Angel - Killing Season: Review

Death Angel need no introduction, well, not to the Thrash fan atleast. Their 1987 album, The Ultra Violence is a bonafide classic of Thrash Metal. After The Ultra Violence though, they haven't been able to impress me very much, except for Act III which was a good album. Their last offering, The Art of Dying was very! disappointing. So what have these old school metallers done with the latest offering. Ummm...ok..to be honest, and quite over the top actually..I would say that with this album Death Angel have achieved the perfect balance between old school and new school. While Slayer, Exodus, Testament, Overkill are still putting out great material, the music always divides the users into two distinct can't look eye to eye groups. This album is brutal, it's got a modern sensibility, it has melody, it has groove, it has everything for everybody. Not since Kreator's Enemy of God in 2005 have I heard an album which mixes the old and the new with such dexterity.

Coming on to the music; with the acoustic intro of opener Lord of Hate Death Angel grab your attention, and before you can spell W O W, they bombard you with a barrage of riffs! The truth is; this album does not have a single filler. Every song in here is simply brilliant, and not just when Death Angel are going sonic with their monstrous riffs, but also in the breakdowns and the slow melodious pieces and interludes. The second track, Sonic Breakdown is a monster thrasher again and following it is personal favourite and possibly the album's best song, Dethroned. Acoutic parts, soaring solos, immaculate riffing; this song goes from slow to fast to slow again to hyperspeed again, and has one of the most catchy choruses I've heard in a long long time. Carnival Justice and Buried Alive provide some more vintage old school madness and groove. Then comes Soulless, another song which reminds you how good Metal used to sound in the eighties and early nineties; it has a very rock n' roll feel to it too(trust me, it's good!!). Noose follows with some more Thrash n' Roll madness, as does When Worlds Collide, which could have very well been on Anthrax's Spreading the Disease(again!!, I mean this in a good way). Then comes God Vs. God, which serves as the perfect example of how you can win over a Korn fanatic, but still Thrash!! I mean, this is absolutely mindblowing!! What the hell were these guys on while recording this? Oh! and check out the weirdly orgasmatic solo on this one....aah!, brilliant, absolutely brilliant! Steal the Crown brings things back to the old school Thrash n Roll way again; the bluesy main riff on this one is amazing! Closing the album is Resurrection Machine, which is my second most fav song in here.

So, do yourself a favour and get this album ASAP! It's catchy, it's melodious, it's got the riffs, it's got the solos...oh! and did I mention it's heavy as hell. Anyway, I've just wasted many precious minutes away from it and boring you guys....lemme go back and listen to it some more :)

Rating: 9.5/10

Atrophy: Violent By Nature

Sorry for the long break. I'm out of country for a month on an official trip, so haven't been getting the time to put up new posts. Anyway, last night I listened to this album after a long long time and it's only befitting that I review it here under the Undiscovered Gems of Thrash Metal category.

The music of Atrophy can be described as a crazy mix of Megadeth, Artillery, Anthrax style riffing with the ferocity of the likes of Nuclear Assault, Razor and the ilk. This is not to say that their music is generic or bland by any means, no!

So, as the album title says, this is really violent! by nature. Savage, bone crunching riffing,hyper speed picking, brutal vocals...you know the works. And it's not just the ferocity which stands out, the music is technically perfect too. Album opener Puppies and Friends bursts out of the speakers traveling at the speed of light and has a great solo to back it up. Next up is the title track which has a very Megadeth-ish feel to it, but it's a good song nonetheless and boasts of a very good solo again. In Their Eyes slows things down to a mid tempo but picks up things around the 1:10 mark and goes on to provide some great riffing and vocal moments. Around the 2:30 mark this song changes gears very abruptly and we get a scorching solo again. After the 3:30 mark, this song is just madness!!, pure Heavy Metal bliss.....solos galore, double bass ecstasy...aah! it seems like I'll only talk about this one song. Trust me though, In Your Eyes is one of the most compelling and boombastic listens in all of Speed/Thrash Metal, yes!!...I'm not exaggerating here. Next up is Too Late for Change which could very well have been on one of those Metallica demo tapes. I guess this was an old recording put on this album just for the heck of it. The musicianship is there of course, but it's nothing great. Atrophy come back to form with the next track Slipped Through The Cracks; another riff fest which will have you headbanging all over the place. At the 3:05 mark, Atrophy go for the abrupt change again and show you that they could have been as big as some of the well known names in Thrash if they had a slick sounding band name and charismatic/hunky musicians. Forgotten but Not Gone follows in much the same vein; more riffs!..riffs and riffs galore!! and they do the unthinkable again at around the 2:40 mark...ooh! absolutely beautiful soloing. Process of Elimination starts off great but loses some grip during the slow singing parts. But it picks up again around the 2:30 mark to provide more Thrash bliss. Right to Die is your typical 'bread and butter' Thrash song which has everything going for it...more riffs! and impeccable drumming. Things Change is a worthy album closer with great breakdowns and time changes; the solo at the 2:08 mark is again.....uh..GODLY!

So that was Violent by Nature for you. It's not another Reign in Blood, Rust in Peace or Ride The Lightning which you absolutely MUST! have. But, if you're a fan of Thrash, or you just love great riffing and guitar work in general, then you will not be disappointed with this...that I can assure you.

Rating: 8.5/10