#275 Lost Society - Fast Loud Death

The lasting legacy of the thrash-revival, or indeed any of the recent resurgences of self-proclaimed "old-school"genres is that metalheads have become a harder and more critical audience to appease; modern thrash is no longer the free-for-all it might have been five years ago, but is instead a meritocracy, with the more generic acts slowly running out of steam. In this climate, I can safely say that I was a bit surprised that a brand-new band in the movement had popped up, and indeed with quite a lot of even the most jaded metalheads taking notice. The band in question are Finland's "Lost Society" and their début album Fast Loud Death. 

The statement of intent that the album artwork makes is almost instantly clear; fire, death, scantily clad women, and annoyed-looking men in suits? The album is going to be very, very retro. It certainly helps that it was painted by Ed Repka; one of the most iconic artists in thrash, and responsible for bringing to life iconic albums by Megadeth and Nuclear Assault. Musically, the band likewise stay very true to the spirit of thrash, that is, playing exceedingly fast, maniacal music indeed. There are plenty of moments on the record which really make you sit back for a second and think "fucking hell" - a nostalgic moment indeed, as it was what thrash bands were making me thing when I first discovered acts like Megadeth and Testament when I was about fifteen. Lost Society are absolutely explosive, to the point that attempting to band your head without prior knowledge of the song structures is risky. The resulting concoction is very intricately written, but also smooth flowing, with a good ear for melody, something which I've heard plenty of people mention that the thrash-revival generally lacks, and I'm inclined to agree. Lost Society manage to properly deploy catchy hooks and vicious bridge-sections and lead-guitar work to create something which is mind-bendingly dynamic; it's sort of like Warbringer's "play conventionally, but extremely technically" recipe, taken to the extreme, and with an added pinch of recklessly trying to make everything faster than it already is.

I think it's very much a case, of which I will hold that there are a few, that a thrash-revival band stands out from the crowd not for being super innovative or fresh, but for being incredibly good at playing old-school sounding thrash - Fast Loud Death seems to be Lost Society doing just that; It might not be re-inventing anything, but it's considerably more enjoyable than a lot of the thrash releases to appear after the millennium. Another particularly interesting feature of the band's sound is their attention to groove; not in an unfortunate gym-dwelling kind, but instead an adept, and extremely agile kind, which compliments the thrash spectacularly, and helps your brain have a rest after trying to keep up with the fastest sections, not unlike Overkill's later material, or Pantera in the brief window before they were shit. For the majority of the album however, the real source of wonderment is how fast the band manage to play whilst remaining tight - in the vein of bands like Anthrax at their fastest, or the head-over-heels guitar-mashing of Megadeth's Killing Is My Business album. On the other hand, the band do an a good job of sounding different. Sure, there are elements of all of the bands I've mentioned in their sound, but at the same time, they sound reasonably interesting in their own right, and while there have been very few truly original bands in the thrash revival, I think I can safely say that Lost Society come across as being among the very best of the rest. Slightly puerile, perhaps, but very accomplished.

 Maybe in many contexts, Fast Loud Death is just another thrash-revival one, and one arriving at the tail end of it, at that, but don't let that put you off listening to it; I wasn't sure how good it was going to be, and I suspected it would be fairly mundane, but fortunately, I took the time to check it out properly, and was pleasantly surprised; it's very, very solid, and while it might not be novel, it's the eighties distilled into an extremely potent extract indeed. Probably the most fun thrash-record of 2013, by a good margin.

This is an 8/10, I think.

Links:
Lost Society on Facebook
Lost Society on Metal Archives
 

#274 Rust - Damned Hellish Voids

I found out about Swedish black-thrash band Rust by accident, while I was looking for a different band of the same name. when it comes down to it, I think I prefer this one. The band immediately had a certain, uncompromisingly old-school feel, and I was convinced that they were the kind of band which, if they hadn't been Fenriz' band of the week yet, it would only be a matter of time. As it turns out, they already have been, which was definitely deserved, judging by their latest record; "Damned Hellish Voids". At the very least, as a rough guideline to the band, this is pretty much exactly the sort of thing which I imagine Fenriz' to enjoy.

Damned Hellish Voids is only six tracks and just under half-an-hour in length, but it certainly feels complete and varied; it's not the sort of album which utterly rushes past, but leaves a reasonably lasting impression, and has a memorable sound through and through. It's an album with plenty of substance, with plenty to listen to when you let your ears become accustomed to the course, frosty production. While on paper, the album doesn't last long, it definitely feels like an album, and the songs, perhaps through being fewer in number, all manage to have a lot of identity from the very first listen.  I personally really enjoy shorter records, and anything between twenty-five and forty minutes feels just right.  Rust's sound is an interesting coming-together of primitive, but technically quite adept instrumentation to create something akin to Ravishing Grimness era Darkthrone with a hefty, thrashy edge in the style of bands like Aura Noir, and a reasonable dose of punk, particularly in terms of frantic, full-speed ahead riffs which are filled with wrath, maniacal drumming, and probably a reasonable amount of gratuitously cheap beer, adding a bit of spit and attitude to the mixture. More or less everything about the record utterly reeks of old-school, from the overtly un-triggered drums to the no-nonsense guitar tone, which practically sounds like the band snuck in and recorded it through Darkthrone's gear while Fenriz was at work. The bass is a lot more audible than one might expect for something so heavily influenced by black-metal, and at its most prominent, it blends with the guitar quite well, giving the result a very chunky but smooth feel, punctuated only by the drums and vocals, helping the music to really carry a presence.

Musically, the album sits very precariously on the line between grim and rock n' roll, which I find is usually the two categories which black-thrash can be divided into, almost without exception. With Rust, however, it's quite hard to tell, and indeed, certainly pays tribute to both sounds. Whilst the d-beats, many of the riffs, and indeed the attitude oozing out of the record are indicative of a manic, trashing approach, some of the tracks, such as "Sordid Landscapes" carry a very real darkness with them, particularly with regards to the vocals, which cut and tear out from behind the guitar tone with some force, and a particularly icy and ravaging sound, emphasised most on the opening track, but also present in pockets throughout the album. Sordid Landscapes also has the kind of black-metal solo which a lot of bands who play pure black metal have forgotten how to do properly; it's rough, shrill, atmospheric and ever-so-slightly scary, which is the perfect mixture of aspects. By the time the closing track is over, however, the record has moved into much more attitude-driven material, and becomes a record which is unmistakably black-thrash, and certainly leans further towards the thrash side of their music more than the first four minutes did. This, however, is not a problem for me, as the band are as good at making energetic black-thrash as they are at making it cold and grim; the only difference is that for the latter five tracks or so, you're probably expected to be holding a can of beer. All in all, this coming together results in something a little too warm to fully have the atmosphere of black-metal, but still dark and a little unsettling, another thing which a lot of black-thrash bands haven't been doing lately. Rust do a great job of keeping the "black" in black thrash, whilst at the same time making something which you can whirl your head to, bowing before the onslaught of Hellhammer style powerchords, and writhing, tangled lead-guitar.   



I find it's generally a good judge of any music with black-metal influence to ponder "would this deeply alarm someone who doesn't listen to metal". The answer, I think, is probably. That's certainly a good thing, and it really helps me appreciate an album which manages to be utterly diabolical and "rocking" at the same time. In the words of Lemmy, "It's loud, and your parents don't like it". With this quotation in mind, I think it's safe to say that Rust have done a good job of creating The Devil's music indeed.

This is an 8/10.

Links:
Rust Official Site
Rust on Facebook
Rust on Bandcamp
Rust on Metal Archives

#273 Rotting Christ - Kata Ton Daimona Eaytoy

Once again, my apologies for taking so long between reviews at the moment; I'm almost in a position where I can write them every couple of days again, but until that time, I suppose I can merely write them when I get the chance. Today is one of those chances, so I've decided to review the newest Rotting Christ album, Kata Ton Daimona Eaytoy, the 2013 follow-up from 2010's Aealo. I would have reviewed the record a few months ago when it initially came out, but I decided to wait my time and listen to more of the bands records, to gain a better perspective. I have done so, and deeply enjoyed it, and now I feel I can finally write a review.

Kata Ton Daimona Eaytoy translates into English as "True to His Own Spirit", which is something the band exemplify extremely well; There are no bands out there who sound quite like Rotting Christ, and indeed the band themselves manage to create a fresh record each time, while at the same time sounding familiar. Kata Ton Daimona Eaytoy is no exception, and brings forward the musical directions explored in Aealo and Theogonia, while at the same time succeeding in sounding different. Aealo sounded dramatic, indeed, apocalyptic, while this record exudes a calm, collected grandiosity; there are relatively few of the wailing, Hellenic female choir elements present, and instead the music feels stripped back; the atmospheric, churning guitar playing feels more pronounced, and quite reminiscent of the bands earlier work, such as a personal favorite of mine, Non Servaim. It is, in fact, hard to find a Rotting Christ album which isn't a little reminiscent of every other Rotting Christ album, albeit not in a negative sense; idiosyncrasies in guitar playing, particularly, have stayed present through the bands discography, an iron rod of consistency. Likewise, the guitar tone on the album feels reassuringly true to the bands previous works, which is certainly one of the secrets to the band's unique atmosphere, frankly one of my favorite aspects of the work. Songs like the opening track "In Yumen - Xibalba" are vastly immersing, with a deep, austere atmosphere which draws the listener along the cold, stone floor of some ancient temple; oil burning lamps flicker, casting undulating shadows, and ethereal voices make themselves heard.

As with the previous couple of albums, Rotting Christ really go to town with folk instruments and guest musicians, and the additional-credits for the album are formidable with regards to other musicians who lent their abilities to the record; notably bagpipes, choir singers, pianists, and others. What results is an incredibly thick layer of embellishment over the guitar-and-drum core of the record; often, however attentively you attempt to listen, you're still uncertain if your ears are actually managing to pick up everything which is going on, with the sounds layered luxuriantly  with extremely generous depth and richness - it's something which I've always trusted in the band to do well, and this time is no exception. I've seen a few reviews for the record which proclaim the atmosphere to push the guitar work to one side, spoiling it slightly, but I have to disagree; the guitars feel more prominent in this than in much of Aealo, which is a record I also thoroughly enjoyed anyway. Kata Ton Daimona Eaytoy seems to carry a perfectly pronounced heart of metal, and the guitars feel plentiful and distinct, with memorable lead sections and riffs alike. Perhaps the atmospheric moments can at times be the crowning features of songs, but nonetheless, I think it's perhaps hasty and unwise to consider them to spoil the guitar work itself. Nonetheless  it's safe to say that this album, and Rotting Christ in general, are about more than just the conventional metal instrumentation. One of my favorite atmospheric aspects of the record is the immense lower-end, particularly noticeable in tracks like "Gilgames". Beneath the instantly tangible guitar work hides a deep, almost mythological roar, adding a thick and extremely monumental air to the music; I'm not sure whether it's synth, or merely the bass tone, but either way, it really adds something to the music.




I'm really not sure if I've done a good job of reviewing this record or not; there are a lot of elements which, while I know I enjoy them a lot, I likewise struggle to put into words. Nonetheless, I thoroughly recommend this album to anyone with more than a slight interest in metal, and can safely say that Rotting Christ have proudly maintained their status as one of the most consistent and solid acts in the entirety of extreme metal.

This is a splendid 9/10.

Links:
Rotting Christ Official Site
Rotting Christ on Bandcamp
Rotting Christ on Facebook
Rotting Christ on Metal Archives