Legion! Of the Damned! Legion! Of the
Damned! This was the anthemic call on the opener of the Dutch brutes debut Malevolent Rapture, an album glorious in its simplicity
and dedication to creating modern aggressive thrash with no frills.
So now a year on we have Sons Of The Jackal, which in its
ideology, structure and work ethic is pretty much the same album over
again. Praise be to the gods of metal that the powerful
march-thrash-march-blast that was so alluring last time around
remains. Words may be had between many metalheads as to where LotD
stand on the bridge between thrash metal and death metal, but this is
a trifling issue. Whether or not the songs are better on the new
offering is also debatable; however the vitality is still there and
even a bit of extra vim present on certain tracks.
Contrary to how stirring LotD’s sound
may be, all of the songs are pretty much the same, and eager
listeners may feel a little cheated. Zoom in from the holistic view
and you will discover that these songs are gems, pure unpolluted
thrash aggression which is a precious commodity in today’s
befuddled and over-crowded metal scene (see “Sepulchral Ghoul” or
“Atomicide”). Zoom back out again and the only problem with this
album becomes apparent - you can’t help but think you have already
heard the track before. LotD fans will love this record; but don’t
expect there to be any new ground broken, just a tighter more
bombastic production. The band have successfully used the same
formula to create some ripping metal, but an itching for some more
diversity settles in after a while.
When you have got over the repetition
and interchangeable nature of the two albums, there is lots of fun to
be had here. Stick this in the stereo and everyone, bar maybe your
Grandma, will be headbanging. Sons Of The Jackal is an
uncompromising heavy groovy thrash death metal attack, and when
you’re looking for a quick fix of neck exercise this fits the bill
perfectly.
No comments:
Post a Comment