Harlott – Extinction

Upon first discovering Harlott with their debut several years ago, it was clear that this band was something special. Two records later, they remain the most relevant and interesting thrash band from Australia in decades. “Extinction” picks up where “Proliferation” left off, as the band has not changed their approach at all. Harlott’s sound is not exactly novel: they take the energy and rage of Slayer’s most hate-fueled moments, and discard anything slow. Even the band’s “mid-paced” sections feature a flurry of notes that will send all amateur guitarists running for the hills.

“Extinction” leaves no room for breathing. Songs like “Violent Conspirator”, “Final Weapon”, and especially “Conflict Revelation” show Harlott hitting obscene tempos. The rhythm playing on this record is second to none, as the band seamlessly switches between palm-muted downpicked riffs and even speedier tremolo-picking sections.  Even more impressive, however, is the drumming. A track like “First World Solutions” show absolute mastery of double bass playing, and every song features the classic thrash beat unleashed at absurd tempos.

One would think that this focus on speed results in a complete loss of anything memorable, and while Harlott does occasionally have a track that feels forgettable, they’re actually very adept at writing hooks. The aforementioned “First World Solutions” is the clear highlight, with its groovy verse riff and catchy chorus. “The Penitent” is another more memorable effort, showing that Harlott’s worship of Slayer extends beyond just speed and into eerie melodic leads. The song even later utilizes some Iron Maiden-esque harmonized leads. This would be an excellent path for Harlott to explore more thoroughly in the future, as it could prevent things from blending together on a slightly lengthy record. 

The band clearly picked their singles well, but there isn’t anything subpar on this record. If you’re a speed freak, you’re going to be happy with “Extinction”. The album doesn’t have too much more to offer than the sheer novelty of the speed (aside from the more adventurous epic "And Darkness Brings The Light"), but Harlott pulls this sound off more tastefully than a band like Fastkill. Chances are though, if you are still seeking out new thrash metal bands in 2017, speed is enough to satisfy, and this makes “Extinction” a top-tier listen!

Be sure to check out and like Harlott on Facebook!

Highlights

"First World Solutions"

"The Penitent"

"Conflict Revelation"

Final Rating

4.4/5 or 88%. 

Written by Scott

Harlott – Origin

While Australia definitely has its fair share of thrash bands, there aren’t too many that have really caught my interest beyond a couple of initial listens. It is safe to say that Melbourne’s Harlott changed all of that with their debut record, “Origin”. Be forewarned: this album does absolutely nothing innovative, but thrash has never been about reinventing the wheel. Instead, “Origin” delivers some of the more impressive riffs and songs that thrash has seen this year. Songs is a key word there, as there are quite a few tracks on “Origin” that stand out beyond the typical monotonous blur of extremely fast and aggressive thrash. The title track is just one of many standouts, highlighted it’s catchy chorus that shows vocalist Andrew Hudson displaying some very rare hints of melody in his performance. Instead, he often spends much of his time spouting out words at rapid fire pace, such as on “Effortless Struggle”, and especially on “Ballistic”. This latter track is the band’s finest moment. It does an impressive job matching up to Slayer’s “Necrophobic” and the end of “Postmortem” in terms of the sheer speed of the vocal delivery. If you crave hyper-fast thrash like Fastkill, this track will definitely appeal to you.

These first three songs do a great job setting the tone for the entire record. While the songwriting is impressive, what makes “Origin” special is how tight the rhythm playing is. There are a lot of thrash bands out there that play at unreal speeds, but they can often be quite sloppy (such as many early Brazilian bands). Even the tightest of thrash bands often avoid the speeds that Harlott maintains on “Origin”. The rhythms are so technically proficient and complex that my picking hand tires just thinking about how to play them. Of course, this precision requires that the drumming be equally impressive, and it truly is. The machine gun rhythms that Harlott play on this album are greatly accented by the production. The guitar tone is incredibly crunchy during chunkier riffs, while it manages to be piercing throughout tremolo-picked sections (see the chorus of “Heirophobia” for a great example of both sounds). Surprisingly, the drums are dialed back a bit in the mix, which is effective at these speeds. Often times bands that play this fast get old quickly because of the loudness and pingy snare sound, but this isn’t the case on “Origin”.

If one were to really nitpick this album, it is possible to find a flaw. For one thing, even at 40 minutes, “Origin” would benefit from being a bit shorter. This style of thrash can be hard to digest for even short periods of time. Even though the songwriting is pretty consistent throughout, it wouldn’t be hard to cut a few of the 12 tracks to get things to a more manageable length. Nonetheless, there isn’t a boring moment on this album, and for a first effort, it is extremely promising. This is a record that’s going to appeal to pretty much all thrash fans, and even though it is by a newer band, it doesn’t feel like one of those “new wave of thrash” records, as everything from the album art, to the lyrics, and even the sound is a bit more serious than many of Harlott’s contemporaries. Either way, it is hard to imagine any fans of thrash not enjoying this record.

Be sure to check out and like Harlott on Facebook!

Highlights

"Origin"

"Ballistic"

"Export Life"

"Heirophobia"

Final Rating

4.6/5 or 92%. 

Written by Scott