I wish I could tell you what just happened, but I'm not really sure myself. I loaded up this album, pushed play, and the next thing I remember is waking up on the floor, bruised, bloodied, totally destroyed, but wearing the biggest grin I've ever had. This music is like the living embodiment of destruction, and I love it.
Like a lot of the stuff I review, I had heard of this band, and heard good things about them, but nothing prepared me for this. This is an absolute thrashing rager of an album that barely gives you a second to catch your breath. It hits you like a wrecking ball crashing into some old building, and you have to hope that you hold up better than that old building did. It is totally awesome to hear a band just letting it rip, and doing so with such gusto. These guys sound like there is absolutely nothing they enjoy more than crushing your skull and melting your face.
The first 7 songs blast by before there is even the slightest bit of let up. They are not monotonous, they are not generic in that they all sound the same. Each song has its own unique set of riffs, each one designed to wreak havoc. Track 8, “Ministry of Truth”, drops the tempo a bit and gives you a moment to gather yourself, but none of these tracks are long enough to give you much rest. “Under The Monolith” and “Hollow Giants” also slow things down a little bit, which allows you to hear just what a beast these guys are regardless of the tempo of the music. The songs are extremely well written blasts of thrash, with a little death metal thrown in. This album is 13 tracks of complete crushing bliss. If you're into that sort of thing.
I don't know much about this band but I would guess they tour like crazy. They sound like a well oiled machine of destruction that gets lots of practice. Like they go out and just crush audiences on a very regular basis. The band is incredibly tight. They shift through tempos and riffs and time signatures like nobody's business. I would love to see these guys live and will be watching for when they come through my hometown, because this is a show I will not miss. I love bands like this and we need more of them.
I think I'm going to pick myself up off the floor now, patch myself up, and then press play again. A pummeling like this only comes along once in a while, so I might as well enjoy it as many times as I can.
- ODIN