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░ ██ ██ Artist: Immaculate ██ ██
▓ █░░ ■█ Album: Thrash, Kill 'n' Destroy █■ ░░█
■ █▓▀ █ Year: 2007 █ ▀▓█ ░
█ ▓ Rel. Date: 2017-12-06 ▓ █
▒ ▒ Genre: Thrash Metal ▒ ▒
█▄ ░ Label: Witches Brew ░ ▄█
░ █▄ ░ Source: CD ░ ▄█
░ █▓ Type: Album ▓█ ░
▓ █ Quality: VBR, 44.1kHz, Joint Stereo █ ░ ▓
▓ █ █ ░ ▓
▄ ■ ■ ▓ ■
░█ █░ ▀
█ Experience and common sense have taught me to be █
█ wary of bands trying to do something new with █
█ genres long past their prime, the Slough Fegs of █
█ the world pretty much being the exceptions proving █
█ the rule. █
█ So, it was with low expectations (the monumentally █
█ silly to the point of seeming parody song titles █
█ and the "We're so totally fucking Oldschool █
█ Thrash!" image of the band didn't help) I started █
█ listening to this Swedish group's debut. Guess █
█ what? █
█ Well, this album stars with one of the most █
█ misfiring intro tracks I've had the privilege of █
█ hearing. And the whole thrashier-than-thou █
█ posturing is false advertisement, I'd say... sure, █
█ it IS thrash we're dealing with here, but the tone █
█ and feel of the album is more grind. Yeah, it █
█ doesn't have any blast beats, but the combination █
█ of randomly chaotic compositions (as opposed to █
█ intricately chaotic, as I understand death metal █
█ is supposed to be), relative simplicity of █
█ especially the riffs even as its most complexity █
█ and general amateurishness strikes that chord in █
█ me. █
█ I actually have to cut Immaculate some slack - █
█ though there are definite nods to Slayer, Kreator, █
█ Anthrax and so on, they put a noticeable effort █
█ into at least attempting a distinct sound of their █
█ own, complete with the vocalist often breaking out █
█ of his usual thrash shouting into a high pitched █
█ Rob Halford-style scream - even if the mixing █
█ process results in the guitars and drums almost █
█ drowning out everything else. That at least makes █
█ them better than many other retro bands out there, █
█ who just stick to badly imitating one of the █
█ masters. █
█ Unfortunately, that might also be the Achilles █
█ heel of this band - in trying to be more complex █
█ than the punk rock and speed metal of which thrash █
█ is a hybrid, the songwriting often stumbles. I █
█ mentioned before that the song structures often █
█ are chaotic and make no sense, but it rarely quite █
█ reaches the frenzied critical mass required to █
█ make that approach work. ("Thrashzilla", with a █
█ solo that explicitly is supposed to sound like █
█ circus music, is probably the song where they █
█ succeed the most) Instead, they mostly end up with █
█ songs that frustrate the listener in how they █
█ mostly wander around aimlessly until a part worth █
█ listening to comes along. As a good example of █
█ what I'm talking about, take the end of "Leveled █
█ to the Ground (By a Steamroller)"... what the █
█ flying fuck does that have to do with the rest of █
█ the song? █
█ I feel like I'm almost too hard on this album - I █
█ mean, it's not as if these guys lack enthusiasm or █
█ anything, quite the opposite... and it's my firm █
█ belief that the worst crime a music can commit is █
█ being lifeless (unless it's Kraftwerk, where that █
█ is part of the point), something that definitely █
█ does not apply to "Thrash, Kill 'n' Destr÷y". █
█ However, the sad truth is that this album spends █
█ most of its running time demonstrating the █
█ difference between writing a good riff and writing █
█ a good song. The two or three songs here which DO █
█ work as coherent wholes, though, leave me hoping █
█ that their next album will be an improvement. █
▓ ▓
▒ ▒
░ 1. Into the Pits of Thrash 1:15 ░
░ 2. Satanic Thrash Uppsala 4:17 ░
░ 3. Yakuza 2:40 ░
░ 4. T.K.N.D. (You Figure it Out) 4:39 ░
░ 5. Thrash (or Die Trying) 5:17 ░
░ 6. Instant Hell Murder 3:35 ░
░ 7. Leveled to the Ground (by a Steamroller) 5:09 ░
░ 8. ThrashZilla 4:26 ░
░ 9. ThrashZilla's Revenge 3:47 ░
░ 10. MechaNukeThrashZilla 5:56 ░
░ 11. The Burning of Sodom (Dark Angel cover) 3:41 ░
░ 44:42 ░
░ ▒ ▒
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