Thrash, it can confidently be said, is a very diverse genre, and there are a copious number of copious approaches which can be taken to playing it. Entropy deliver an angry, but also solid sounding and reasonably melodic version of the genre, with vocals which are more sung and bellowed than screamed or growled, taking more from bands of the "Big-four" style of thrash than from the more caustic, harsh schools of thrash. The riffs, too, go down a similar road, wholesome, chunky playing, with plenty of weight behind them, making every chord and note played sound pleasingly tough and well-rounded. The songs as a whole seem to be of this persuasion - not overly complex, but solidly played and accomplished, with the occasional elaborate flourish. But instead of being up-it's-own-arse technical for the sake of it, the flourishes in question are very conducive to the music sounding good, which a lot of bands, it seems, forget. It doesn't matter how technical something can be, the real question is how it sounds, and Entropy seem to be refreshingly aware of this.
A lot of the modern school of thrash bands get criticised for being unoriginal, and I'll be the first to admit that this band doesn't break down any terrific musical barriers, but this, I feel, is quite nicely outweighed by how enjoyable the bands sound is - The EP sounds as good in 2010 as it would have done in 1986, and, for those who preach originality above all - ask yourself, if this was released in those times, would you like it? If yes, then frankly, there's no excuse not to like it now. The musical perception time is an odd thing, perhaps, considering how irrelevant it is to how something sounds. If you listen deeply, there's some clever stuff in the EP, which makes it easily worthwhile, and whats more, it's nicely put together as an EP, and I'm a sucker for a lovable little EP, if it's well done.
I'm not good at criticising albums unduly, especially considering my habit (flaw) for mainly reviewing albums that I enjoy in the first place. But a lot of the time, I genuinely can't find much to find fault with in this EP - It's quintessential thrash, and what's not to like about that?
I give the Reclamation EP 7/10.
Links:
Entropy on Bandcamp
Entropy on Reverbnation
Entropy on Facebook
Entropy on Myspace
Entropy on Metal-Archives
