Another week has passed and my review pile has barely gone down at all. We have just entered another rush of releases, some labels even sending the entire first half of the year’s output to my door. Lots of stuff to get through. Not that I am complaining, when I keep getting some of the gems that have turned up of late.
Guillotine: Blood Money
A bunch of angry thrashers railing against money is not necessarily anything new or original. In the light of the new administration the cover seems just a tad dated to be honest. However to discount this band over those niggles would just be doing them a tremendous disservice. While a bit slow to start, this is quite good trad thrash done very well.
This far more that just head down grunt thrash. Vocalist Mannberg actually freaking enunciates so you know what the hell he is singing on about. There is a touch of Testament and other clever thrashers on here; they clearly actually care about playing well. While “Liar” has all the aggression you would expect from such a band it retains a quality of performance so lacking in some of these releases. These guys know that its more than angry lyrics and fast playing that gets you noticed.
While not the most groundbreaking of releases you could hear this year it’s a pretty good thrash release and one of the better ones I have heard in the last little while. If you are into your thrash then check this lot out and you just might enjoy what they have to offer.
Foreshadow: Nations of Failure
Their bio proclaims they combine death, black, old-school, and metal-core into something that is new and unique. Think the PR is just a tad over-reaching as at the core it's just more shouty metalcore that sounds like much of the other metalcore wannabes kicking around the place. Yes, the musos on there do try to pull out the stops and add a dash of something new to the genre, but it's still just metalcore at its heart.
Listened to this lot several times and it just does nothing for me. The overly long aside in track three about terrorism just gets a tad dull. I am afraid it will surprise no one to know this lot are a MySpace band. You have to give the band credit for trying to get themselves out of the morass that metalcore has become, like on “My Crisis.” The hints of Iron Maiden are nice but then it's back to metal-core vocals, with a bit of pseudo—industrial thrown in, it just loses any hint of something interesting. This is just a mess that has potential, but never really gets there.
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