Flash Out – Terminated Efficiency

Flash Out is a Canadian band that plays a twisted form of crust-infused metal and punk. “Terminated Efficiency” is relentless release that displays a complete mishmash of styles (or at least, to someone like me who isn’t a crust guy) into one noisy sound. The songs are short, fast, and absurdly furious. This album is highlighted by some solid, albeit unmemorable, riffs that are sure to get your head banging. Like many bands, the faster Flash Out goes, the better they get. “Derailed” reaches tempos that many dare not dream of, yet its ferocity makes it an immediate winner. The speedier numbers emphasize the incredibly tight performance by drummer Cory Thomas. His playing is always on the mark, and is relatively creative.

The vocal approach on “Terminated Efficiency” is somewhere between death groans and less coherent mumbling. The words are difficult to understand, even for a seasoned death metal listener, and the phrasing consists largely of short grunts. Sometimes this makes the vocals blend in with the already heavy low end. With that said, some songs, such as “Brain Fart”, sound like the vocals just weren’t mixed loud enough in the first place. To the band’s credit, they keep the songs relatively short, which makes it hard to lose interest. Even though the general sound is the same across the record, many tracks have their own slight nuances (be it a bass intro like on “Grey-Scaled”) that keep things engaging. 

In the end, “Terminated Efficiency” does exactly what Flash Out has attempted to accomplish. For those who don’t dig much crust, it is difficult to derive much from this release, simply because the album comes across as very samey. But that was the same thing I (and many others likely) said the first time we heard a death metal album. Flash Out is good at what they do, but that is a very acquired taste.

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Highlight

"Derailed"

Final Rating

3.5/5 or 70%. 

Written by Scott