“Raise Hell, No Regrets” is the second EP
from UK thrash metal band RedEye Revival. This release offers up 17 minutes of
good thrashing fun. Not dissimilar from many of the old-school UK thrash bands,
RedEye Revival doesn’t spend much time innovating, instead opting to stay the
course to familiar thrash metal. This band’s sound is grounded more in
crossover than a Bay Area of German thrash effort, and the outcome is
effective.
Much of the crossover element comes from
the band’s vocalist. Put simply, he is the one extremely unique element of their sound. A
lot of thrash singers forcefully shout as loud as they can, and in many ways,
RedEye Revival’s singer does that too. But his approach takes things a bit
further: it often sounds like he is aiming for something more melodic at the
same time that he is shouting, and the result is that he overextends his voice
into a higher-pitched territory. While this admittedly is not the most
technically skilled performance, one can’t help but appreciate the wild
screaming of a madman that dominates this release.
A lot of this release thrashes competently,
but there is the occasional moment where the band tries something different. On
“Elation”, for example, there are some melodic guitar lines that provided a
much-welcomed break from the rhythm-heavy approach of much of the rest of the
record (of course, there are solos that move up the fretboard too, but the
aforementioned case is one of the only examples of a lead). Aside from this, “Raise Hell, No
Regrets” does exactly what the title states. There is more than a sufficient
amount of carnage and mayhem to enjoy on this release, and while it might not
win any awards for memorability, this EP is still a lot of fun. Put it this
way: if you like the vibrant cover art, you’re going to like the album; if not, this
style of thrash probably isn’t for you.
Highlights
"Elation"
"Lawyers vs. Journalists"
Final Rating
3.75/5 or 75%.
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