2017 may have only just begun, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t already delivered some fantastic records (not to mention some spectacular cover art) already.
TMO Albums of the Month: January, 2017.
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Overkill – The Grinding Wheel
True to the old school.
Remaining true to the old-school, New Jersey thrash legends Overkill have been at the helm of the scene since the early 80s without ever receiving the credit due for keeping the genre as big as it is as they’ve amassed a back-catalog that rivals anyone in the genre from start to finish. With a line-up firing at the top of their game, their celebrated nineteenth album was originally released February 10, 2017 on Nuclear Blast Records.
It should come as to no surprise what the band has been doing in their latest resurgence during the past decade, and for the most part that remains true of their latest release. With efforts like “Mean Green Killing Machine,” “Our Finest Hour” and “Red, White and Blue,” a vast amount of the material here comes off with a great sense reflection on their past employing their trademark swirling thrash riffing and pounding rhythms that signify their self-dubbed ‘Jersey Stomp’ that once again displays their penchant for dynamic tempo shifts that makes the music far more interesting than most suspect. This is fast, urgent and utterly intense at times that features the tight, blistering riff-work and snarling attitude once again being displayed at the top of the game throughout here.
Elsewhere on the album, the band continues to explore their long-standing infusion of groove into their sound that keeps their straightforward sections as biting and intense as ever. With “Goddamn Trouble,” “Shine On” and “The Long Road” capable of carrying their swirling patterns and clanking rhythms into intense sections without relying on their raging speed-drenched paces that are a staple of their sound, it’s all quite familiar in the best way possible by carrying on a traditional feel of their own past rather than looking at anything else in the genre which makes the fiery, explosive material sound rich, dynamic and full of energy that thrashes and rages with the most explosive. Just to nitpick, the album doesn’t really feature the greatest production with the guitars sounding far too clean and lacking the bite that usually comes from their sound. However, this is again nitpicking as the album contains everyone necessary to be enjoyable.
As a nearly-flawless release that has so much to really like about it, this might not be as important or influential as the bands’ past history might be but it is so good at what it does that it stands up as an upper-tier inclusion in their style and makes for another worthy piece to their collection or just metal fans in general.
Kreator – Gods of Violence
Payment in blood.
Since the turn of the millennium, the triumvirate of Teutonic thrash metal have all been on pretty good form, with terrible albums happily absent. However, among the three, Kreator have drawn probably the greatest share of attention, not only for the praise that met Enemy of God and Phantom Antichrist, but also for the divided opinions that heralded Hordes of Chaos. Five years on from Phantom Antichrist, it’s possible to see Gods of Violence going either way, since the mixture of gritty thrash and more melodic material should sate hungry fans, though there are a few risks that might not be so palatable to all.
A certain trend that has developed in the post-millennial climate continues on Kreator’s new effort – namely, a further mixing of the band’s original savage tendencies with modern and melodic elements, something that is also to be witnessed on Sodom’s latest, Decision Day. The outsourcing of brutality has not gone so far as to make songs such as “Hail to the Hordes” and “World War Now” sound unlike Kreator exactly, although the catchy Swedish melodies and bouncy momentum of the former and the muscular hum of palm-muting and scrambling fills that propels the verses of the latter invite unexpected guests to the party. Aside from these flirtations with melodeath and the modern metal movement, there are hints of other left turns that reflect the time Kreator have spent honing these songs. The acoustic guitar and brief moments of sitar that open the title track, the respectful keys used in the intro to “Lion with Eagle Wings”, and some of the riff choices from “Fallen Brother” and “Gods of Violence” break new ground for the band, both in terms of instruments included and styles referenced.
On the other hand, this is still a vigorous thrash album for all the detours, while it is important to note that the surprising features are always details and never the focus. For any old school fan left looking askance at the souped-up modernity of “World War Now”, “Totalitarian Terror” should provide a fast remedy, with special emphasis on the word fast. Other full-blooded thrashers include “Lion with Eagle Wings” and the no-nonsense “Side by Side”, which offers a more hopeful message late in the album. Ultimately, it comes down to the pace of the riffing to ensure that Gods of Violence remains undoubtedly a Kreator album, something that is present to varying extents in almost every song. Added to which, there are solid riffs all over the place and a few special ones too, including those mentioned as different, while Mille Petrozza predictably covers topics of death, violence, and struggle with his impressively visceral roar. Nonetheless, the lyrical topics do present a minor negative aspect of the album, since the themes are now well-worn after 30 years of active service, plus the fact that Petrozza seems particularly fond of screaming out any given song’s title as often as possible, “Satan Is Real” and “Fallen Brother” proving the worst culprits.
As a statement of Kreator’s supremacy in the 21st century metal scene, Gods of Violence straddles the divide between being simply another signature set of songs and an intentional development towards new ground. The steadfastly thrashy underbelly solidifies the Germans’ place as one of the most consistent and respected of the ‘80s crew, while the modern touches provide some excitement and variation, pushed to the fore as they are by Jens Bogren’s meaty production. There is hardly a question of filler material, although the first two thirds of the album carries the most distinctive compositions, of which “Hail to the Hordes” and “Totalitarian Terror” sit proud as not only among the best of Kreator’s output but certainly some of their catchiest and most memorable.
Dream The Electric Sleep – Beneath The Dark Wide Sky
Soaring and infectious pop-prog rock.
Dream The Electric Sleep are a trio from Lexington, Kentucky that play a very catchy and almost pop like take on progressive rock. Over the years the band has released two prior full-lengths, and 2016 saw the release of their third, entitled Beneath The Dark Wide Sky. The album was released via Mutiny records in Europe and All Independent Service Alliance in North America. This new album sees the band run through 11 tracks over the course of nearly an hour and showcase their tendency to have some incredibly catchy music while still being able to grip the listener and let you see there is something more.
One of the things that come through nearly instantly for this record is the production. It is indeed pretty thick, creating a nice wall of sound from the beginning to the end. At times the music becomes a little bombastic, but is mostly just a nice pop influenced rock album. The pop aspect comes in the form more of the choruses than anything else. While the guitars can be at times beautiful or crunchy, the higher ranged vocals and infectious chorus really give this some great memorability. The choruses on most of the tracks here can easily get stuck in your head, and you can find yourself repeating them long after the album is over.
Musically, the album is fairly straight forward. There are some longer songs and some extended solo sections (“Culling The Herd”) but for the most part the album sticks to a verse-chorus type of structure. Despite the wall of sound, the instrumentation is usually light feeling and bright. There are certainly elements of shoegaze to be found here and there, as well as definite influence from indie rock and older progressive rock acts. These influences come together really well and make the album cohesive the entire way through while still keeping the listener interested. There may not be any thing on the album that shocks the listener and comes out of left field, but each track is clearly crafted very carefully to allow the band to express themselves to the best of their abilities in song writing. If there was one small downside, the aforementined “Culling The Heard” perhaps loses some steam over its longer play time and “Drift”, while very beautiful, doesn’t seem to do the rest of the album justice or kick things off in a way that would indicate what the remainder of the album will be like.
Small gripes aside, Beneath The Dark Wide Sky was a major surprise. The more pop oriented take on the genre was a huge hit, and the band shows they can without a doubt create something memorable and just downright infectious in a scene where that may to happen too often. The album is not without some heavier moments, but the lightness of a lot of the album helps a lot too by not dragging down the audience or making things too dark to grip onto. These three in Dream The Electric Sleep have crafted a great album that will hopefully see them get some more deserved attention.
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