Warbeast - Destroy

Many fans of Texas thrash probably remember Rigor Mortis as being the pinnacle of what that scene offered, but I have always been a huge Gammacide fan. There has never been a thrash record quite like “Victims of Science”, nor will there ever be. This is why when I heard of a new band combining the two greatest Texas thrash bands, it was something I just had to hear. “Krush The Enemy” was a fantastic debut, with plenty of hard-hitting riffs and the maniac vocals of Bruce Corbitt. Though one Gammacide guitarist has since left Warbeast, I still had great interest in the follow-up, “Destroy”.

The first thing you’ll notice about this new record is that it is heavier, faster, and more brutal than the last one. The production is crushing; the drumming is relentless, and the guitars have a fantastic crunch to them. It does seem like the guitars could benefit from being a bit clearer, but this sound is sure to please fans of the genre. After a short riff-filled intro, the album really kicks off with “Nightmares In The Sky”, which will bludgeon you over the head with its sheer aggression and violence. Things get a bit more mid-paced with the next track, “Egotistical Bastard”. The vocal delivery in this song is quite a bit different from the others, mainly because the lyrics tell more of a story here than on some of the other tracks. Like the preceding track, there is an abundance of guitar solos, and there is absolutely no regard to doing anything beyond shredding at full speed. The chorus of “Egotistical Bastard” is pure Cannibal Corpse worship based on the types of intervals and picking patterns they are using (seriously, compare it to anything on “The Bleeding”, or anything other Cannibal Corpse record). From here on out, the album falls a bit flat for me. The endless stream of speed and brutality is not backed up with memorable riffs. Likewise, the choruses are nothing that will keep you coming back to this album. 

When you want 40 minutes of unrelenting energy, this album is a good choice, but it doesn’t match the quality of the debut album. The unfortunate fact is that thrash has an unending number of bands that can bring the speed, so it really is essential to write great songs. Still though, “Destroy” has some legendary thrash members playing on it, and for that reason alone, it is worth hearing.

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Highlights

"Nightmares In The Sky"

"Egotistical Bastard"

Final Rating

3.5/5 or 70%. 

Written by Scott

Diamond Plate - Pulse

If you aren’t familiar with Diamond Plate yet, it’s worth knowing a bit of history on this thrash band out of Chicago. In the last 5 years, I cannot recall a band that opinions changed faster on. In 2009, with the release of the “Relativity” EP, Diamond Plate became easily the most hyped band in the thrash scene. It’s easy to see why: the members were all extremely young, but thrashed just as hard as any band out there. Needless to say, expectations were quite high for the debut record, “Generation Why?”. Unfortunately, most fans (myself included), were let down by how much worse the vocals became, by “At The Mountains of Madness” being slowed down considerably, and by some other strange choices. The negativity on that record was certainly overblown, but it was not what many people were expecting. While I don’t like to play the open-minded card often, if you can approach “Pulse” with no memory of the band’s history, you’ll find it quite enjoyable.

The album kicks off with “Walking Backwards”, which is the thrashiest and fastest song on the album. It will immediately become clear that new singer Matt Ares has a wicked voice. On this track, he tends to stay in familiar thrash territory, though he isn't as Bay-Area sounding as most thrash vocalists. Later on in the record, he would display that he can actually sing in a cleaner voice quite well. Matt Drake from Evile tends to display the same ability to switch between both styles well, and he is probably one of the more accurate comparisons to Ares’ voice. “Still Dreaming” and “Rainmaker” are two of the better examples of this ability, but his versatility is evident on nearly every song. Aside from “Walking Backwards”, most of the songs stay in the mid-paced territory. Though “Face to Face” opens with a ripping thrash riff, it quickly returns to the more common plodding tempo. Although the rhythm guitar playing may differ from what you expect, the lead playing is as solid as ever. This is best displayed in the instrumental, “Persistence of Memory”, which is one of my favourite tracks, as well as on "Bottom of the Glass". Where “Pulse” really shines most is in the unique rhythms used in the riffs. Don’t interpret this as Diamond Plate going djent; they’re still playing thrash, but they’re putting much more emphasis on leaving short rests in some of the guitar patterns. A prime example of this is the verse riff in “Price You Pay”, which is a short burst of energy, unlike any other typical thrash riff. Relative to their contemporaries, Diamond Plate has actually managed to create something much more unique. While I love Exodus, Slayer, and Kreator, there was more to the thrash scene in the 80’s than just those bands, and Diamond Plate really display homage to a variety of other thrash bands (Cyclone Temple and Death Angel come to mind for me). There are still clear homages to the aforementioned bands (“Dance With Reality” opens with a classic Exodus chugging riff), but overall, this record isn't another "Bonded By Blood" clone. 

There isn’t too much to be disappointed about with “Pulse”. Sure, the minute and a half intro to “Still Dreaming” is completely unnecessary, but it really doesn’t affect the record too much. Ultimately, if you can come into this album with a proper perspective, you will definitely enjoy it. It already stands out as the most unique thrash record from 2013, and hopefully is a style that the band can build on in the future.

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Highlights

"Walking Backwards"

"Dance With Reality"

"Bottom of the Glass"

Final Rating

4.1/5 or 82%. 

Written by Scott 

Black Sabbath - 13

If there is one band that does not need an introduction here, it would be the mighty Black Sabbath! With that said, I’ll jump right into the review, because this is a record you should hear. So many things could have gone wrong with “13”, but it actually turned out well. For one thing, Ozzy’s vocals sound phenomenal. Regardless of how much studio manipulation may have been done, it is amazing that his basic voice is still intact to sound this good. Strangely enough, the only part where his vocals are poor are the opening lines to “End of the Beginning”. Once things pick up in that song, he retains his old 70’s and 80’s voice perfectly (though it certainly does not reach the crazy highs he was hitting on “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath”). With that out of the way, we can move to the next area of concern: the lack of Bill Ward. Obviously Bill Ward is a great drummer with a distinctive style, but if there was just one member of this lineup that could have been replaced it was him. Brad Wilk proves this perfectly as he pretty much nails Ward’s style. The fills are exactly what you’d expect in Sabbath, and though the entire opening track is derivative of the band’s title song, Wilk also manages to sound exactly like Ward would in this situation.

Now I can talk about what is undeniably the best part of every Black Sabbath album: the godly guitar player known as Tony Iommi. Never before has the world seen a guitar player who can write the most memorable riffs imaginable, and can also shred (using mainly a pentatonic scale) like a madman. I can never decide whether I enjoy his riffs or his solos more, but on “13”, they’re both brilliant. You can pretty much pick any track and there’s at least a classic riff or two on there. For example, after a few slower minutes in “End of the Beginning”, there is a riff that locks into a huge groove. It’s so simple, yet very effective. Likewise, the main riff in “Loner” just screams “Master of Reality”, with its mid-paced, driving feel. It really is astounding that these riffs feel so fresh, because Iommi doesn’t really do anything out of the norm in terms of the phrasing of the riffs or the notes he uses. In fact, this is always what amazed me with his solos. For the most part, they tend to use exactly the same notes, but each solo is memorable from start to finish, and the leads on “13” are no exception. See the outro to “Loner” for one of my favourite examples, but much like great riffs, they are numerous on this record.

Despite all of this praise, “13” is not devoid of criticism. Black Sabbath appears to have an incessant need to include useless interludes or songs on their records. I won’t say “Zeitgeist” is pointless, but did we really need a “Planet Caravan Pt. II”? The only major positive of the track is that it allows Geezer Butler’s fantastic bass playing to shine. Otherwise, this song just kills the momentum created by the previous track, and it really only prepares you for the underwhelming middle part of the album. The two tracks that follow “Zeitgeist” are by no means bad, but compared to the brilliance of the opening three songs and the final two tracks, they are a bit pedestrian. To be fair to "Age of Reason", it does have the most evil sounding riff in the band's history, which is composed of a mind-numbing amount of tritones, and it also contains one of the best guitar solos on the record. 

All things considered, “13” is still a pretty great record. Given the band’s history and their age, everything could have gone completely wrong on this record. Nevertheless, Black Sabbath has managed to add a worthy record to their legacy. If for nothing else, buy this album for the astounding performance delivered by Tony Iommi, and you will be reminded why he is the creator of metal!

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Highlights

"End of the Beginning"

"Loner"

"Damaged Soul"

Final Rating

3.9/5 or 78%. 

Written by Scott 

Razormaze - Annihilatia

I’m somewhat of a thrash freak. I consume all things thrash, and it’s pretty difficult for me to find some thrash I don’t really like. With that said, when I first discovered Boston’s Razormaze on their “Miseries” EP, I had a big problem with them. The vocals just didn’t work. It was unfortunate, because the music was great, but I still don't find myself revisiting that EP. One look at the album artwork for “Annihilatia”, however, meant I had to give the band another shot, and that turned out to be a great decision.

If you haven’t already guessed it, the vocals on this record are much improved. Singer Alex Citrone doesn’t do anything fancy, but he provides a solid thrash bark to accompany the music. A close comparison might be Matt Drake from Evile. Both singers definitely have the capacity to hold notes and reach more than a few pitches, but are also at their best when they keep it simple. Musically, “Annihilatia” follows the cover art in that things are getting much more complex. The band doesn’t change time signatures or tempos like some of the more technical thrash bands do, but they use very intricate riffing, not unlike the riffs on a record like “…And Justice For All”. “Annihilatia” is going to be an album that will take more than a few listens to get into. The complexity of the song structures and lack of clear repetition (compared to a more straightforward thrash band) means that not much will stick in your head when the album ends. On the production side of things, this is a great sounding record. The bass might be a bit low, but otherwise, everything sounds very clear. You can really tell when the guitarists are using a heavy palm mute (see: “Worshipping the Void”), as there is a great chunky sound, and all other moments feature an overdriven crunchy tone. The leads are exceptional, both from a production standpoint and based on the quality of them. It isn’t an all-out shredfest, but the playing very much matches the style of the riffs. Overall, everything comes together very nicely on “Annihilatia” to create a solid thrash record.

With this new album, Razormaze has taken a huge step up for me. It’s a record that will be revisited by many people for a long time, especially as getting a feel for the songwriting becomes clearer. Even if you aren’t a fan of more technical thrash (Coroner, Voivod, etc.), you will still like “Annihilatia” as the band doesn’t do anything weird at all, they just play more complicated riffs.

Be sure to check out and like Razormaze on Facebook!

Highlights

"Something Like A War"

"Worshipping The Void"

"Terminal Escape"

Final Rating

4.2/5 or 84%. 

Written by Scott