Though modern day Germany doesn’t seem to
pump out thrash bands quite like the country did in the 80s, there is still no
shortage of denim-vest clad kids ready to create a frenzy of mosh-friendly
riffs. Running Death has been around for over a decade now, but is only just
releasing their first record studio album, “Overdrive”, in March 2015. Although
Running Death makes no major innovations to the thrash sound, it is clear very
quickly that they aren’t simply an Exodus clone. This album is sonically quite
different from many of the band’s peers. The production is more laid-back and
not excessively loud, which compliments the bands more melodic and speed
metal-oriented approach. The band doesn’t downtune excessively (or possibly even
at all; though my ear isn’t quite pitch-perfect, these guys definitely aren’t
reaching modern levels of downtuning). The band’s riffs complement this
approach. This means that Running Death isn’t playing at warp-speed all the
time (but if you are looking for that, "Raging Nightmare" fits the bill perfectly!). Instead, they make good use of a variety of tempos and grooves to create
something more than a 50-minute thrashing. Sometimes this leads to a truly
sideways style of riffing, complete with weird rhythms or bluesy scales, but these differences make the album even more compelling.
Where Running Death is likely to either
convince or lose some people is in the vocal approach. Lead singer Simon
Bihlmayer is just that: a singer. Rather than trying to emulate the savage
throat ripping of Mille Petrozza, he leans more towards the singers of bands
like Deathrow or Iron Angel. In other words, though his accent is a bit heavy,
he is definitely on the melodic side of things. He can become a bit more
vicious occasionally, but overall, he is definitely playing to the band’s
speed/thrash approach with his more singing. Granted, he’s not the most technically
developed, but he does stand out quite a bit. The only slight complaint I have
towards him is in the song “Remote Controlled”, where his vocals are mixed
pretty low and it’s hard to hear him clearly over the guitars.
“Overdrive” is a pretty lengthy experience.
Though it only comes out to 10 songs after excluding the intro and interlude,
the album does occasionally drag on a bit. Fortunately, the band’s diversity
works to their favour, as it makes an album of this length bearable. With that
said, it does feel like “Overdrive” lacks a few really killer tracks. The title
song is certainly the best, and nothing sticks out in a bad way, but there
aren’t too many hooks here despite all of the use of melody. Instead, the
listener is treated to lots of shredding solos and great riffs (see the intro of "Mercenary" for examples of both), alongside
plenty of more mid-paced emotionally charged sections. Ultimately however, “Overdrive”
is a great listen because it isn’t something we’ve all heard 1000 times before.
If you’re feeling a bit burned out on the THRASH THRASH THRASH approach of
modern thrash bands, “Overdrive” is just the change of pace you need.
Highlights
"Raging Nightmare"
"Overdrive"
Final Rating
4.0/5 or 80%.
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