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░ ██ ██ Artist: Grinder ██ ██
▓ █░░ ■█ Album: Sirens █■ ░░█
■ █▓▀ █ Year: 2014 █ ▀▓█ ░
█ ▓ Rel. Date: 2015-02-06 ▓ █
▒ ▒ Genre: Thrash Metal ▒ ▒
█▄ ░ Label: Metal Race Records ░ ▄█
░ █▄ ░ Source: CD ░ ▄█
░ █▓ Type: Reissue ▓█ ░
▓ █ Quality: VBR, 44.1kHz, Joint Stereo █ ░ ▓
▓ █ █ ░ ▓
▄ ■ ■ ▓ ■
░█ █░ ▀
█ For those familiar with the works of Grinder, they █
█ never were a band capable of much innovation, but █
█ instead chose to admire their peers through █
█ imitation, bringing only the uniqueness of a █
█ decidedly American approach to the German thrash █
█ scene. Mostly imitating the composition style of █
█ Sacred Reich and "Bay Area" thrash metal with █
█ their song structures and pacing on this demo, the █
█ band would later speed up some of the songs here █
█ for inclusion on their first full-length for No █
█ Fashion Records, titled "Dawn for the Living". █
█ While those songs had the speed and bite of German █
█ contemporaries like Blind Guardian and Angel Dust, █
█ they surely do not here, and sound more like the █
█ stunted pacing and playing of bands such as █
█ late-eighties era Exodus. █
█ The production is the one thing worth noting, █
█ however. As can be expected with most cassette █
█ demos of this age still surviving, the one this █
█ review is based on has quite a bit of decay and █
█ hiss, but through all that is quite a more █
█ professional sound than one can reasonably expect █
█ from something home-brewed like self-released █
█ demo, and if cleaned up and released, could have █
█ been used as a debut EP of sorts. I shouldn't go █
█ without mentioning that I'm glad they didn't, █
█ because the versions of tracks later used on the █
█ their debut are in weaker form here, so it may █
█ have given less sympathetic ears the wrong █
█ impression. █
█ Overall, this tape is more listenable and nicely █
█ crafted than one might expect from a demo made in █
█ this time period, but marred by less exciting █
█ versions of songs by a band that was fairly █
█ mediocre to begin with, and ever the slightest █
█ derivative. I suggest starting with the first █
█ proper release, as at least they had the benefit █
█ of a production by Kalle Trapp (Assassin, Blind █
█ Guardian, Pestilence, Destruction), and had at █
█ that point quickened and tightened their sound █
█ enough to make their material stand tall, if not █
█ actually compete, with other German acts in their █
█ respective scene at the time. If anything it shows █
█ that no amount of polish can make weak songs sound █
█ good, but at least it can give them enough luster █
█ for others to see potential in the band that █
█ created them. █
▓ ▓
▒ ▒
░ 1. Intro 0:50 ░
░ 2. Traitor 4:45 ░
░ 3. Into Battle 3:30 ░
░ 4. To Dethrone the Beast 6:46 ░
░ 5. Sirens 4:55 ░
░ 6. Dawn for the Living 5:02 ░
░ 25:48 ░
░ ▒ ▒
▓ █ ░ ▓ ░
■ █▄ ░ ██
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