Saturday, February 1, 2014

Chemical Way – U.F.NO!

Aside from a couple of obvious bands the new thrash scene is really lacking in crossover bands. There’s something oddly satisfying about adding more punk and hardcore elements to thrash, as the general barbarian attitude of crossover really compliments thrash well. Chemical Way joins the few new bands of this style with their first EP, “U.F.NO!”, which was released last year. The release tends to feature pretty much all of the clichés of crossover: shortish songs (though not at S.O.D. levels), very basic shouting/yelling, gang vocals, samples to open songs, and relatively simplistic riffs. Even the lyrics are a bit outside the box from what you’d expect. This is usually a good thing, but in the appropriately titled “Final Crapper”, they do interfere with the enjoyment of the song.

One pretty easy comparison for this release is Nuclear Assault, primarily because the style of Chemical Way’s riffs can be quite similar. There are a few mid-paced riffs that much like Carnivore and Nuclear Assault, inevitably will lead to massive circle pits. With that said, the majority of songs are pretty fast throughout. It’s just that the band knows when to slow it down. At certain points, you almost expect Peter Steele to jump in with “kill each other!”, as the band speeds up again. The sound quality on “U.F.NO!” is pretty solid. None of the instruments sound particularly out of place or are poorly done. The bass is easy to hear (for thrash, at least), especially as it leads the intro of “Chain Reaction”. At times, the drums can sound a bit noisy, but the playing is really tight, so it doesn't detract from the release. Overall, this is a pretty enjoyable release. It isn’t perfect, but it’s easy to see how Chemical Way could definitely grow into a great thrash band.

Be sure to check out and like Chemical Way on Facebook!

Highlights
"E.H.P.S.C.A"
"Blood and Oil"

Final Rating
3.8/5 or 76%. 

Written by Scott