While I’m sure Spain has a great thrash scene, I’ve only
ever really come across two bands from the country: Angelus Apatrida, and
Rancor. Based on my prior experience with Angelus Apatrida, expectations were
pretty high for Rancor (especially when you consider the awesome name and
killer album art!). Luckily, these guys do not disappoint at all. While the
music is perhaps the most straightforward thrash in existence, Rancor has a few
ways of keeping things interesting throughout the record.
The best place to start would be the vocals of Dani López. He
has a unique tone to his singing. While he does use shouts often, he is
definitely also has the melodic abilities needed to switch things up. One
immediate comparison that came to mind is to Hyades; not because of the sound
of his vocals, but just because of how much character they have. The rest of
the band unfortunately doesn’t stand out as much, but they do their best to
avoid making the songwriting too samey. For one thing, there is certainly a lot
of thrashing, but there are also slower, heavier moments as well. The beginning
of “The Last Drop of Blood” sets the stage with these brooding riffs before the
high-speed thrashing kicks in for the verse. At times, things can get quite melodic (think Iron Maiden), such as in "Deaf People". In addition, the riffs can get
more technical than a simple 4/4 thrash riff (see the opening of “Addicted To
Hate” for one example). Much like many new thrash bands, there are the occasional
blast beats, but they are used to mix things up, rather than for simply upping
the speed of the drumming. The lead guitars and bass are both unspectacular,
but they get the job done. “Dark Future” is simply one of those albums that you
don’t need to think too much about the performances, and can enjoy the
thrashing nature of the music.
Rancor’s “Dark Future” is a slab of modern thrash that is
definitely worth hearing. While it definitely sounds like a band that just
wants to pay homage to their idols, they do so with more conviction than some
of their contemporaries. Don’t miss out on this if you are a huge thrash fan!
Highlights
"The Last Drop of Blood"
"Addicted To Hate"
"There's No Love"
Final Rating
3.9/5 or 78%.