Amongst the flurry of new thrash bands, one
country that has struggled to keep up is France. There is a never-ending list
of great bands from the UK, Italy, Germany, Sweden, and even Norway, but much
like in the 1980s, it seems like France has once again fallen behind.
Fortunately, however, this is where Extravasion comes in. “Origins of Magma” is
their debut release, and offers a predictable set of thrashing tunes, with the
occasional technical edge. The playing is speedy, yet remains tight, while the
production also is extremely competent. It’s clear that this is a newer release
because of its sound, but doesn’t feel as overproduced as some of the sonic
perfection occurring in many other thrash bands.
Extravasion takes a somewhat unique angle
in modern thrash because their technicality comes in a different form from many
of their peers. Copying Voivod and Coroner (among others) is all the rage right
now, but Extravasion is almost like a slightly subdued version of Forbidden or
Heathen. They primarily use melody rather than dissonance to showcase their
skills, but they never let it get in the way of writing a rock-solid track.
Sometimes things feel a little disjointed, whether in the riffing or the
vocals, but Extravasion rarely veers off track. The moments on “Origins of
Magma” that do fail are the two spoken sections (the intro to “Bankster” and
the two minute outro, which is totally in French and won’t be understood by
most listeners). I appreciate comedy and thrash go together incredibly well,
but it doesn’t quite work for Extravasion.
As noted above, this record features strong
similarities to some of the semi-technical bands of the 1980s, but where
Extravasion differs is in their vocal approach. Their singer has a much more
aggressive, raspier sound. This still works well because the band delivers
plenty of immensely heavy riffs; though they use melody, it isn’t their only
focus. The end result for “Origins of Magma” is that it is a well-constructed
album. It does have the occasional fault, and it certainly isn’t
earth-shatteringly good, but any thrash fan should find plenty to enjoy on this
release.
Highlights
"Origins of Magma"
"Consume"
Final Rating
3.9/5 or 78%.
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