Holy shite, this is a feisty and fiery one! One of the most successful “project” bands in recent memory, Goatwhore has come roaring back, filled with piss, bile and cayenne peppers on album five, Blood for the Master. This is nasty, blackened death/thrash from the most stagnant bayou of the Big Easy and it’s the musical equivalent of a gator attack. Featuring former members of Crowbar, Acid Bath and Nachtmystium, Goatwhore is professional, single-minded and out to punish mankind. Although they started as an American take on Norwegian black metal like Darkthrone, they’ve since settled into life as a drooling, chomping, black/death/thrash beast. While their past few albums have been a bit samey at times, they were always fun in a berserk, foaming at the mouth kinda way. Blood for the Master continues in the same direction as 2009′s Carving Out the Eyes of God but feels a bit more intense and well thought out. It hits like a nuclear howitzer from Hades with thirty-eight minutes of face melting ugliness and malevolent swagger. There are lots of  nods to the classic Bay Area thrash sound, some black n’ roll, classic death riffing and ice-cold, hyper-kinetic trem-abuse. What makes this so entertaining is the odd biker rock vibe Goatwhore manages to impart to the mach-speed chaos. Its hard to explain, but this sounds like black/death as done by a southern rock lovin, greasy biker gang and it works. While this ends up more of a thrash album than a black or death metal opus, it retains enough of an icy black heart to keep most frowners frowning happily (is that possible?). While it doesn’t differ much from what Skeletonwitch has done on the past few albums, its harder, meaner and way more convincing.

Of the ten tracks, nine blaze away with manic fury and seething hostility. “Collapse of Eternal Worth” gets the spiked ball rolling with an almost punk rock take on black metal that reminds me of the first Corrosion of Conformity album but with way more hate. The riffs are urgent and some are quite powerful. The vocals lurch from guttural death croaks to blackened rasps. “When Steel Meets Bone” is really a Bay Area thrash number with hints of vintage Exciter in the riffing and tempo. “An End to Nothing” borrows extensively from the Great Book of Slayer, including the frenzied,  whammy-intensive solos.

The most “black” of the tracks is the epic and evil “Judgment of the Bleeding Crown,” which sounds like top-notch Belphegor. The riffing locks in perfectly with the rolling drums and it sounds like an unstoppable juggernaut of doom. Likewise, “Beyond the Spell of Discontent” trots out some nicely frigid trem leads before settling into a straight thrash style. Only “In Deathless Tradition” stumbles and feels underwhelming with a more mid-pace grinding attack (it has a nifty solo).

Blood for the Master lives or dies by the strength of the axe mastery of Sammy Duet and fortunately, he’s up to the challenge. There are a lot of crisp, quality riffs here, of the black, death and thrash variety. His solos are also impressive and span several styles and approaches (my favorite coming at 2:15 during “Parasitic Scriptures of the Sacred Word”). Ben Falgoust’s vocals are diverse and mostly well done. Though he uses less of his pure black rasp this time, his death croaks are good and his screams sound genuinely painful (though he sounded better on earlier albums). I was very impressed with the drumming of Zack Simmons. The man can bash and crash and he really adds a lot of the fun to the mix.

Speaking of mix, the production by Erik Rutan (Hate Eternal) is a big factor in the success of Blood for the Master. The drum sound is huge and organic and the guitars sound pulverizing and unstoppable. This isn’t a trembly, tinny low-fi product by any means. Its got a huge low-end rumble and will shake you out of your socks with a wall of nasty sound.

Goatwhore isn’t re-writing any books on metal or doing anything unique, but their frantic, blitzkrieg approach to black/death is a winning recipe with loads of cajun awesome sauce. This is an blast of pure metal insanity and manages to be both extreme and memorable. Like having a rabid pitbull in your pants; its gonna get you moving and shaking. Get on the goat and ride…to glory!!

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Is lumbering, elephantine doom your thing? Well, it had better be if you plan on spending quality time with Rhode Island doom-sayers, Pilgrim. That’s because their Misery Wizard debut serves up six ginomous slices of crawling, droning, monolithic doom with all the subtlety of a steel cage wrestling match. Do you think Saint Vitus and Reverend Bizarre are slow? Pilgrim is slower. Think Cathedral has some huge sounding riffs? Pilgrim has bigger ones. In a doom pissing contest, these chaps are mellow yellow. To help explain their sound, I’ve compiled a short list of things that move faster than Pilgrim. These include: octogenarians with bad knees, glaciers, evolution and innovation in black metal. Yep, Pilgrim is mighty slow. For a power trio, they make a lot of racket and stay true to the old school style of Sabbath-infused dirgery. They aren’t innovative or particularly dynamic and at times, they can get rather tiresome and tedious, even for a doom fanboy like Steel Druhm. Because of that last factoid, Misery Wizard is an album intended only for tried-and-true doom-hounds who don’t suffer from the slightest trace of ADD [I'll be over here, looking at moss. - AMG]. If your mind tends to wander, or drone makes you snooze, skip this release, or patience you’ll lose (HA! I waxed poetic).

Almost instantly, you’ll hear a big Reverend Bizarre similarity in the lead riff on “Astaroth.” It’s huge and sloth-like and Pilgrim uses it  to beat you senseless, repeating it over and over until you’re curled up in a ball on the floor. Like most of the songs here, this one crawls along like a sleepy snail in Snail-ville, with just the riffs to keep you company. The vocals don’t come in til the halfway point and feel a bit like an afterthought. It’s a classic doom song and at about six minutes, it’s the perfect length and doesn’t overstay its welcome. Others, like the ten-minute-plus title track and the whooping thirteen minutes of “Forsaken Man,” require far more stamina and indulgence from the listener as Pilgrim shambles, rambles and meanders (slowly) across a largely barren and static musical landscape. There are few, if any, tempo shifts and its usually one molar-shaking riff after another, with a minimum of window dressing. “Quest” and “Adventurer” shake things up a bit with faster tempos and actual solos (though “Quest” only accelerates at the midway point), and after all the lethargic rumbling, the increased speed ends up making a real impact and these tracks are high points because of it.

The riffs generated by the Wizard (that’s his name!) are fairly doomtastic and steeped in old timey doom ethos. He knows how to craft a thunderous lead and use it as a weapon of mass destruction. While solos and showy fret-work clearly aren’t his bag, he does his doomy duty and delivers the gloomy goods in workmanlike fashion. Sadly, as a vocalist, he doesn’t do much to excite or impress. He has a rather monotone, chant/shout style which doesn’t add much to the material’s impact. He doesn’t hurt things, but doesn’t elevate them either. This issue is partially alleviated by the mix, which brings the guitars way upfront and submerges the vox into the background. Still, a better vocal performance would make the songs pop a bit more.

As good as some of this material is, Misery Wizard would have benefited from a bit more diversity in tempo and song dynamics. The long song lengths, paired with a single-minded devotion to super slow riff-play, wear the listener out when there’s no break or respite from the doom-o-thon. Even the best riffs can be overused and eventually beaten into the ground and that happens a bit too often here.

Misery Wizard is a good debut by some promising doomsters. If they progress as songwriters and the Wizard works on his vocal approach, I can see highly depressing things in their glum future. If you cotton to the slow-motion bludgeoning of Reverend Bizarre, Saint Vitus or YOB, this should be right up your alley. You might want to bring some coffee along on the journey though, just in case.

Related posts:

1. Acid Witch – Stoned Review
2. Sinister Realm – The Crystal Eye Review
3. Pentagram – Last Rites Review

Liberteer is the brainchild of one Matt Widener, who the more grind-minded among you might remember as the bassist for San Jose sickos Cretin. Cretin’s lone album, 2006’s Freakery, received high praise at the time, but they’ve been laying low since then while their singer goes through some changes. During his new-found free time, Widener has put together Liberteer on his own, playing all instruments on this album, including guitars, drums, and… banjo? [Hey, if Høst can do it, so can Widener - AMG]

Here’s where it gets interesting. [You had me at "banjo" - AMG] Throughout Better To Die On Your Feet… there are many passages incorporating horns, flutes, percussion, and yes, banjo. A gimmick, you say? Bullshit. I mean, if all those pagan metal bands can have folk instruments alongside drums and guitars, and Sepultura has been using Brazilian percussion for years, why wouldn’t an American, revolution-themed project make use of revolution-era American music?

Though, gimmick or not, it doesn’t really matter, because any doubters will be silenced (or instantly killed) by the opening shitkicker “Build No System.” The straightforward grind tracks on this album could level a house, but the orchestrated sections feel like charging into battle. What’s even cooler is that parts of the instrumental themes pop up repeatedly throughout the album, tying everything together nicely (and apparently the CD version comes with this handy chart! How awesome is that?) If Ken Burns had gotten Misery Index to score those Civil War documentaries, it would probably be kind of like this.

Of course, with any worthwhile grind record, the message is just as important as the music. So what exactly is the Liberteer manifesto? Does Widener want you to attend a local Occupy rally? Would he prefer that you buy your groceries locally instead of at Walmart? Let’s take a look at these lyrics (from the track “99 to 1”): “to be happy, god damn it, kill those who own property / to be happy, god damn it, cut the priests in two / and answer to no one, not even god above / for if real we’d need to kill him too”. Clearly, this dude is looking at the bigger picture. He demands complete freedom from any and all oppression, and he would like that freedom NOW, thank you very much. He’s also barking out these lyrics like Barney Greenway being chased by a pack of Rottweilers, which raises the intensity factor considerably.

My only possible gripe with this record is that each song leads directly into the next, essentially creating one 27-minute-long track. People complain enough about how all grind songs sound the same anyway, and attaching them together Human Centipede-style [Angry Metal Guy thanks you for the imagery - AMG] certainly doesn’t help. Then again, these tracks are all connected by repeated musical themes anyway, so laying them out this way does make sense.

Overall, this record is outstanding in a “what the fuck just happened?” sort of way. Whether you agree with Widener’s political views (or his liberal use of banjo), there is no denying that this is a pretty unique album, grind or otherwise. Widener has both tremendous musical abilities and strong political convictions, and the combination is devastating. So whether you’ve been holding out for that Napalm Death bluegrass album, or you just want something furious to listen to while the United States circles the drain, Liberteer might be just the thing for you.

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I’ve never been an Abigail Williams fan. Their debut was lackluster and derailed by metalcore underpinnings. In the Absence of Light had some actual potential but was far too generic. Needless to say, I had modest expectations as I sat down to examine their new album. Well, Steel Druhm was nearly knocked from his stately Chair of Metal Judgment [Metal Chair of Judgement? - AMG] by what he heard on Becoming. Gone are the tepid attempts to recycle left-over Dimmu Borgir and Cradle of Filth riffs and horror movie symphonics. In their place is raw, shoegazey, post-rocky, contemplative blackness, loaded with doomy atmosphere, close in spirit to Wolves in the Throne Room and Agalloch, with elements of Aurvandil and Emperor mixed in. It’s a startlingly major change to be sure (even more so than their previous shift from black-core to Dimmu-worship), and proves there’s no wagon they won’t gleefully hop onto. Surprisingly though, their newest disingenuous switch works well and they may have found the style they can excel at. That is, if they can stop pursuing every new fad and trend (the technical term is “chasing their own fail”).

Long-winded opener “Ascension Sickness” immediately showcases Abigail‘s new wardrobe and stylish accessories. Beginning with gentle, sedate acoustics before roaring into blast n’ burn blackness, it’s a study in moods and shifting dynamics. Over the next eleven minutes, they treat you to some highly atmospheric punishment, with a strong undercurrent of melody and beauty that references the golden age of Emperor. Some of the riffs are quite interesting and I’m especially fond of the doomy, navel-gazing segment around 5:45 (peaking at 8:15 when the bells/chimes come in). Hell, they even toss in violin/cello accompaniment as things wind down. “Radiance” (and to a lesser extend, “Elestial”) channel Agalloch, especially in the way the songs build and flow, but they ultimately fail to capture Agalloch‘s innate magic and some moments just drag.

The big one-two punch comes with “Infinite Fields of Minds” and “Beyond the Veil,” both being huge set-pieces of atmospheric blackness that throw everything possible at the listener. “Infinite Fields” meanders between tranquil new-agey strumming and vicious blasting and does a good job of keeping things interesting. The sudden, out-of-place lurch into a vintage Mercyful Fate-like riff at 6:05 is the highpoint to my ears but the whole thing works and sounds like a grandiose nightmare. “Beyond the Veil” features tons of mood-drenched violin and soft, understated orchestral pieces that feel very chamber music-esque (especially at 8:11). This is all wrapped around morose but melodic guitar-work and some sporadic blasting. It’s a pretty diverse ditty.

Across the length of Becoming, Ken Sorceron and Ian Jekelis craft some of their best riffs to date as they blend hostile with morose. Ken’s vocals are more bleak and despondent this time and he sounds quite suicidal on most tracks. The biggest props are reserved for how the symphonics are incorporated. Instead of being cheap, throw-away theatrics, they use them much the same way Septic Flesh does. The orchestral instrumentation is at the core and they work outward from it and layer in the heavy stuff. It works.

The downsides (besides the obvious “ripping everybody off” and “we have no identity of our own” issues) include a tendency to repeat ideas a bit too much within each song and a chronic case of Metallica-itis (inability to self-edit). As interesting as “Beyond the Veil” is, seventeen minutes is about three minutes too much. The sound is somewhere between low-fi and legit. You can hear what’s going on but it has a raw, unrefined edge. It manages to feel somewhat chilly but something is missing sound-wise and I can’t figure out what. [Could it be dignity? - AMG]

Despite the good quality of the material here, the cynic in me still struggles to respect a band which so desperately leaps from one bandwagon to the next, blindly chasing some kind of “scene” acceptance. Their contemptible scramble from metalcore to Dimmu-core and now Throneroom-core, pretty much cements their reputation as pretenders sans integrity. However, I can’t argue with the results this time. Abigail is shoplifting from better stores these days and the latest stop on their front-runner tour is well executed. If they keep exploring this soundscape, they may find their own identity and grow into something kinda special. If not, there’s no telling where the winds of trend will take them next. Japanese anime pop? Lithuanian mountain-jazz? Nothing is sacred if they think its in vogue and the “new black.” You see, Abigail Williams is the most fickle of mistresses.

Related posts:

1. Abigail Williams – In the Absence of Light Review
2. Aurvandil – Yearning Review
3. Troll – Neo Satanic Supremacy Review

Here’s something slightly different for us here at Angry Metal Guy Worldwide Industries. Vise Massacre is a Brooklyn-based hardcore/punk-thrash power trio and Expendable Humans is their debut full-length (a very short one at thirty-one minutes). Although it’s fairly thrashy and abrasive, there’s no mistaking that this is pure hardcore with similarities to vets of the past like Cryptic Slaughter, Cro-Mags and Sick of It All. It’s all short bursts of fast, chunky punk rage, with most songs (fourteen of em) clocking in at, or under, two minutes. There are some decent riffs scattered about and some really aggressive, herky-jerky, pissed-off material, but sadly, not much here really interests or grabs me in the slightest. Now, let’s be clear. I’m not anti-hardcore at all. In fact, I really like the bands mentioned above. This just feels entirely generic and flat to me, almost like paint-by-numbers angry punk. This somewhat surprised me, since these guys have a fair amount of underground buzz swirling around them.

As Expendable Humans streamrolls along, you get song after song like opener “Paralyzer,” with a big, low-end rumble, chugging, thick riffs and the heartily irate bellows of Rich Von Muller. It even has some vaguely blackened trem-riffing. “Bloodsucker” features some interesting, almost Voivoid-like stutter-step riffing and ”Hail to the Wicked” grinds along nastily like a tank.  The best moments IMHO come during ”Bloodsucker” and  ”Kill to Survive” (which has a vibe not unlike long forgotten thrashers At War). The big problem for me is so many of the songs are faceless and indistinguishable from each other. They rage noisily for two minutes and die, leaving absolutely nothing stuck in the musical memory banks. Of the lot, only about five tunes contain moments that peaked my interest and those did so only in the most modest ways.

A lot of my disconnect is attributable to the base style Vise Massacre employs, i.e. overly simplistic riffing and samey riff patterns. After a few songs, it starts to feel tedious and recycled. I can’t however, fault the vocals of Mr. Muller at all. He has the classic hardcore shout/roar down pat and spends most of the time sounding like he’s passing a large, sandpaper-coated marble through his urethra. Sometimes he reminds me of Gary Meskil (Pro-Pain) and even veers close to Tom Angelripper (Sodom) at times. He’s the bright spot to this hardcore onslaught and provides a lot of the charm the music itself often lacks. The mix is about what you’d expect from a New York hardcore album, bassy, heavy and thick. It sounds like a Big Apple street brawl without the taxi horns blaring in the background (though that would be pretty damn cool).

If you worship loud, angry, heavy hardcore, add a point or so. However, Steel Druhm just couldn’t get this thing to sink into his steely consciousness, despite numerous spins. In fact, this left such a light impression, it was a real challenge to adequately explain what I’d heard. It pains me to say it, but so far, 2012 isn’t tickling my metal bone (under my collarbone) as much as I expected. It’s still early though and Steel Druhm is ever the patient, optimistic metal miser. Now, get me some good promos before I fucking lose it!

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Immolation

Now, with 2012 right around the corner, we find ourselves at the behest of another punishment from these New York Death Metal old timers. This EP comes under the title Providence [is available for free here - AMG] and it contains five tracks that hardly add up to 19 minutes. The sheer intensity of Immolation’s death metal will hit you as soon as opening track “What They Bring” fires off. Of course the typical elements of their sound are still there and the stand out moments are, as usual, few. But that’s the beauty of Immolation because their albums have always had a feeling of coherence, despite what chaos or monotony a casual listener might imagine. Ending track “Swallow the Fear” is definitely my favorite track on Providence because of its very catchy riffing and because of Steve Shalaty’s unconventional drumming that we’ve come to anticipate ever since he claimed drumming duties in 2002.

Short, sharp and blistering guitar solos are also available on this blistering EP; check out those on the title track and the aforementioned “Swallow the Fear”. Front-man Ross Dolan delivers yet again some commanding vocals while his long time accomplice Robert Vigna shreds our faces to bits on his guitar; this is brutality at its finest. We’ve seen a confirmation of the collapse of Morbid Angel this year but Vader restored our hopes in the old guard and now Immolation comes out with this respect-demanding beast. Their 2007 effort Shadows In the Light may have divided fans a bit but they’ve completely rectified that with last year’s very well received Majesty and Decay and now they’ve put all doubt six feet below the ground with Providence.

Don’t leave 2011 without giving this badass record a few listens. After all, this is a year with revolutions in the middle-east, a tsunami in Japan, floods in Thailand, economic collapse in Europe and a volcano in Chilé which makes brutal death metal a most fitting addition.

Related posts:

1. Immolation – Majesty and Decay Review
2. Things You Might Have Missed in 2011: Winterus – In Carbon Mysticism
3. Things You Might Have Missed in 2011: Vektor – Outer Isolation

Dim Mak arose from cult heroes Ripping Corpse in 1996 (after Erik Rutan ran off to join Morbid Angel) and they decided to do something entirely different. And yes, I believe that Dim Mak definitely qualifies as that. A thrashy, techy death metal band with martial arts themes almost exclusively (yes, their first record was called Enter the Fist), The Emergence of Reptilian Altars is the band’s fourth full length and first since 2006. Five years (well, six if you’re looking at the Euro release date) is a long time to wait between albums, so you’d like to think that they were preparing something super special (like the Touch of Death!) for their return. But during that five years down, original vocalist (and Ripping Corpse member) Scott Ruth left the band and was replaced by newcomer Joe Capizzi, whose style is markedly different than his predecessor.

And The Emergence of Reptilian Altars is a record arguably quite different than its forerunners. While the band operates breakneck speed for a good portion of the time, pumping out amelodic riffs galore and pummeling the listener’s brain with ridiculous, tight and fascinating drumming from Origin and Gorguts drummer John Longstreth, there is not the same blitzkrieg kind of blasthappy speed approach. This makes for some pretty awesome material at times. “The Secret Tides of Blood” lilts back and forth between blasty chorus parts and groove laden, almost jazzy, interludes and verse parts that can switch up almost unpredictably. On top of this kind of material, vocalist Joe Capizzi apparently approaches tracks in a much different way than most vocalists. Where others seem to harbor a desire make their vocals work rhythmically, he seems more accustom to spitting his vocals out in bunches, in places that seem vaguely inappropriate and unsettling at times like some sort of crazed, death metal beat poet! This can be really distracting and actually discourages getting into the groove of tracks.

So I was admittedly really pretty cool on this album until the introduction of the track “Between Immensity and Eternity” kicked in and that’s when The Emergence of Reptilian Altars really turned around for me. That track, while still containing riffs that might as well be finger exercises, also contains some outstandingly groovy and crushing riffs that kept me coming back again and again. And this was not just a fluke, the follow up, the vocalless “Through the Rivers of Pestilence,” also contains some riffs worthy of Death or Covenant-era Morbid Angel. In fact, I’d say the entire final two thirds of the disc should probably just have been an EP, because those 6 tracks really fucking rip. And with lyrics like these form the track “Fully Disassembled” it’s not too difficult to feel pretty stoked about this album: “‎In this landscape forged from dismemberment! I administer the sacrement of pain!” Yes sir, you most certainly do.

So while I’m not totally sold on the first three tracks, because there are basically no riffs or moments that bring me back around, The Emergence of Reptilian Altars wins pretty hard on the back end. The musicianship is awesome (though the bass is *way* too low in the mix), with the riffing actually wandering into the nearly unmatched and highly addictive area of Anata at times, and the drums alone are worth listening to. Still, while this record does salvage itself on the back end (and “Between Immensity and Eternity” is definitely one of the best songs I’ve heard in this young 2012), enter at your own risk. Dim Mak is not for everyone.

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1. Horrendous – The Chills Review
2. Swashbuckle – Back to the Noose Review
3. Aeon – Path of Fire Review

How far from reality would it be to argue that death metal has become a saturated genre with no room for improvement? I suddenly imagine a short chubby skinhead with a 50 cm long goatee screaming at my invalid premise which makes my argument seem quite farfetched. So we have now at our hands Metamorphosis which is the fourth full-length album by California’s Vile and it comes six years after 2005’s well received The New Age of Chaos, and that my fellow metal heads is a long time to put out a death metal album. Makes you wonder how the new one sounds like, doesn’t it? Well if you are familiar with their older works and the current worldwide vitals of death metal, you wouldn’t be really surprised by this record. This is an album that sounds quite contemporary as far as death metal goes and carries some obvious influences than can be traced to Deicide, Suffocation and 20^th century Morbid Angel. Another thing I realized as soon as I saw the artwork is how much it reminded me of Atheist’s Jupiter, but I guess it would be impossible to scan the entire metal spectrum for cover art just to make sure what the artist you’re paying may or may not have copied.

As soon as you hit that play button, “March Towards the Dawn” will explode right off the bat with senseless blasting and trebly, crackling bass which gives a clear statement of musical intent if there ever were any. Sophomore track “The Revealing” has rather unexpected, and quite pleasing I might add, arrangement of clean chords supporting a melodic solo which then gives way to more violence. The intensity of the riffing almost never steers considerably far from its core throughout the thirty-eight minute span of Metamorphosis, except for the riff-less interlude “I Am Become Death” which features the all too famous spoken word segment by Robert Oppenheimer where he quotes the Bhagavad Gita while reflecting on the atomic bomb trials conducted in 1945.

Brief stints of melodic brilliance are able to peek through the dense smoke of guttural vocals, plodding bass and razor-sharp riffing. Examples for which are the transitional lead line in “What Lies Beyond”, the last few seconds of melodic riffing and blasting on “Wolf At Your Door”, the top-notch riffing on “Shadow Work” and the tremolo riffing on “Redemption” that spans the entire neck and then gives way to a solo that soars to the sky; making it a most adequate ending for the album.

Having pointed out these sporadic points that lift the album above the average line, I feel compelled to point out those that do the opposite. Vile unfortunately suffer from short-track-length syndrome, which makes the listening experience quite concise without a lasting effect of amazement. Another issue I’ve found incredibly distracting is how inorganic the drums sound. This is, of course, a production issue that doesn’t really make any drummer better or worse. It’s just that there are so many bands doing this with their drum sound, it would be refreshing to come across an album with the drums sounding more natural than this. Guitar tones, in terms of originality of sound, didn’t achieve much in setting these guys apart from any other guitar player. It’s actually quite representative of the entire album really. Go for it if you’re an obsessive death metal collector but for the casual passer-by, you’re not missing much.

Related posts:

1. Dim Mak – The Emergence of Reptilian Altars Review
2. Mercenary – Metamorphosis Review
3. Diabolic – Excisions of Exorcisms Review

Yes, Vektor’s main reference point is Voivod, particularly their Killing Technology era. The outer-space themes, the dissonant guitar work – it’s all in there. Big surprise. But on Outer Isolation, the band manages to offset their massive debt to those Canadian legends by taking a more technical approach musically.

The opening track “Cosmic Cortex” is a 10-minute monster, laying out the foundation of the Vektor sound as it unfolds. A spaced out intro leads into twisted guitar riffing, blastbeats, and shrieking vocals over the course of this beast. Guitarists David DiSanto and Erik Nelson demonstrate considerable technical chops, owing more to Athiest or even Watchtower than to Piggy and co. Bassist Frank Chin also impresses, laying an audible foundation while also playing fast enough to keep up with Nelson and DiSanto. As the album goes on, it becomes less about individual songs than the record as a whole (again, kinda like Killing Technology). There are still plenty of standout moments, though. “Dark Creations, Dead Creators” makes use of some crafty dual-guitar harmonies, and “Fast Paced Society” is just as speedy as the title implies. I should also add that the track “Tetrastructural Minds” contains my favorite single riff of 2011 (44 seconds in). I defy you not to headbang to it.

While his guitar chops are unquestionable, DiSanto has caught some shit from metal journalists concerning his vocal technique. For the most part, he utilizes a perfectly functional black metal-esque rasp. However, he also has a high-pitched shriek that he puts to use pretty liberally. Think old-school Tom Araya (and even Tom had the sense to give it a rest after about 1986). If you’re into that sort of thing, great. If not, consider yourself warned. Personally, I found the album to be so focused on the guitar work that stuff going on in the vocal department didn’t bother me much. And yes, that’s a good thing.

Generally speaking, the record is intense as hell, extremely technical at times, and almost impossibly fast. At 51 minutes long, the overall effect is almost dizzying (in a good way). This album is packed tight with great riffs and memorable parts, to a degree that it’s hard to take in all at once, but repeat listens are rewarded as more cool details make themselves known.

Outer Isolation represents Vektor coming into their own, positioning themselves miles ahead of the retro-thrash pack and even creating some distance between themselves and the band they’re obviously modeled after. Given Vektor’s obvious skill level, it’s entirely possible that they will eventually bring something new to the thrash game, much like what Revocation has been working towards. In the meantime, they’ve created a thoroughly enjoyable thrash/tech/speed beast of an album. They might want to look into a new logo though…

Related posts:

1. Things You Might Have Missed 2011: Armor Column – Maximum Collateral Damage
2. Things You Might Have Missed 2011: Beyond Creation – The Aura
3. Things You Might Have Missed in 2011: Winterus – In Carbon Mysticism

So here’s my first official review of 2012 and Steel Druhm must report that the retro-thrash wave has spilled over into another year. Whatever your opinion of such spillage may be, like every trend, some of that deluge is good, some is really bad, the majority floats in the middle. With their debut full length, Chicago toughs Degradation find themselves somewhere in that big middle, drifting toward the good side of the river but not quite able to reach the shore. Enough with the nautical metaphors. This is steady but mostly unexceptional thrash like they used to make in the second and the dreaded third wave (Gothic Slam, anybody?) of the original thrash explosion. Scattered across this fairly short, fly by album are traces of Slayer, Metallica, Testament and even mega-obscure Faith or Fear. It’s a Bay Area thrash revival with the odd piece of the germanic school sprinkled in for flavor (think old Deathrow). Despite the energy and enthusiasm the band brings to the material, I was never able to fully buy into Juggernaut and after repeated listens, some of the tracks just go by without registering in my thrash receptacle (located just under the spleen). I’m not sure if its thrash fatigue or what but this album just doesn’t resonate, though there are some quality moments.

Opener “A Necessary Evil” pretty much tells you all about Degradation. It’s no frills, zippy, semi-melodic, 80s thrash with plenty of speed and vocals somewhere between James Hetfield and Chuck Billy. The riffs are respectable, the solo breaks are nice and everything gels just fine. Sadly, for me, the main redeeming feature of the song is how the chorus sounds like “unnecessary evil” which I find hilarious for some reason. The title track steps up the aggression with some pretty impressive riffing and solos (listen at 2:08), as does “The Reckoning” with its borderline black metal mixed with Slayer riffs and copious F-bombery. The balance of Juggernaut blasts along the same musical Autobahn with varying degrees of engagement and interest (“Rise to Fall” and “Trail of Sin” are both fairly catchy). They even tack on a cover the The Crown‘s “Executioner, Slayer of Light” for good measure and its nicely done.

While everything works in a workmanlike manner, few elements will jump out at you. Mike Hartman and Alex Manske are more than competent riff-meisters and flex some decent muscle on solos but it’s nothing new and it’s been done and redone. Even the vaguely neo-classical moments later on the album are nothing new. The vocals are also workmanlike, without anything exciting to recommend them. What works to Degradation‘s advantage is the overall brevity of the album. Since it’s around thirty-minutes and most songs are under four minutes, Juggernaut just blasts by in a fury and its all over before you know it. Unfortunately, I found myself continually losing attention and focus even over its short span (Reign in Blood it ain’t).

There’s some potential and some talent here and I’d take this any day over core-ish modern thrash, but it feels incomplete. Maybe retro thrash diehards will find this irresistable but I find this unessential and fairly generic. Maybe next time they can find the missing ingredient and create a real thrashing firestorm but Juggernaut doesn’t live up to its imposing name. A slightly soggy start to 2012.

Related posts:

1. Bonded by Blood – Exiled to Earth Review
2. Retro-spective Review: Wargasm – Ugly
3. Toxic Holocaust – Conjure and Command Review