| Reviews for Atrophy (US)'s Socialized Hate |
| Underappreciated band - 80% |
| Written by autothrall
on November 6th, 2009
|
| Another casualty of the mass exposure of thrash and speed metal in the late 80s, Arizona's Atrophy released two albums of very solid quality, Socialized Hate being the first. Moored in Brian Zimmerman's dirty and crunchy vocals, they performed a rather technical and blazing form of thrash music, pissed off at the problems of the then-world: drugs, warfare, TV evangelism, and of course...beer! The album begins with a tranquil yet haunting ambient sequence before the tense neck jerking riffs of "Chemical Dependency" erupt. The second track "Killing Machine" is a classic, with some great guitar work to open, and then a fast and furious verse riff and a great chorus breakdown. Okay, so this isn't rocket science, but it's all in the delivery. And with this album, things just keep getting better, with the excellent thrashing "Matter of Attitude", the mad triplets of "Preacher, Preacher" with their almost Helstar technicality, the epic "Product of the Past", and the pit frenzy of "Urban Decay". But the song you all really wanna know about is their beverage tribute "Beer Bong", with its Tankard-like lyrics and list of brand names. Can you name the nine brews mentioned in "Beer Bong"? Without cheating and looking them up? I didn't think so. Well here they are: Heidelberg, Dutch Treat, Black Label, Meister Brau, Blatz, Grain Belt, Old Milwaukee, Pearl and Shaeffer. Oh, my friends, the things I teach you. The pleasures I share. Anyway, so Socialized Hate is a pretty great thrash album which has only grown in my estimation throughout the years. Bouncy bass, crazy guitars, and grimy vocals highlight a collection of fun songs. I think the songwriting improved a bit with their second and final album Violent by Nature, but this was a more than worthy debut. -autothrall http://www.fromthedustreturned.com |
| More good thrash from the past - 87% |
| Written by CHRISTI_NS_ANITY8
on March 13th, 2009
|
| I discovered Atrophy on the great Stars on Thrash compilation and since then I’ve always thought they were pretty good in playing sincere thrash. This band is nothing astounding but they have an important thing: passion. Back in the 80s when the genre was becoming stronger lots of bands were driven by passion, before money and the lack of anger took the place. The first effort by this band came out in a crowdy panorama of bands but somehow they achieved the goal of being remembered by many. The first opus was called Socialized Hate. “Chemical Dependency”, after a short intro, already welcomes us with lots of fast riffs. The intensity is evident as we go on. The drums are almost always on speed, sustaining those great riffs. The vocals are angry but not excessive. Well, we are talking about thrash metal and they always have that raspy touch. The furious tempo changes with the fast restarts lead us to “Killing Machine”. The hardcore elements here are even more marked out even if the general atmosphere is a quite gloomy one thanks to the great work by the lead guitars. The vicious stop and go increase the impact of a band that seems restless in destroying everything it meets, while the catchiness is always very important for them, especially when it comes to the refrain. “Matter of Attitude” is the first semi mid-paced example here but the great thing is that it’s always dynamic and solid. The structures are heavy and compact and few faster sections must be marked out because the impulsive vein of this band never fades away. The solos sections are incredibly vicious and not melodic. They are just there to increase the load of violence with lots of shredded parts. “Preacher, preacher” points on the fast bass drums parts and on the quite gloomy atmosphere, without forgetting the catchiness of the main riffs by the refrain. “Beer Bong” is definitely different in structure being a funny/fast attempt to hardcore/thrash metal with a catchy refrain. The title track displays a more reflexive soul. The arpeggios and the lead lines are now more important, at least for the introduction. The atmosphere is dark and not like the classic thrash semi-ballads. Suddenly, the fast parts come out and there’s again a stronger approach to the classic up tempo with bass drums beats under. “Best Defense” and “Product of the Past”, despite few mid-paced moments are definitely impetuous and the fast restarts can be easily found. “Rest in Pieces” features a dark progression to increase the speed till reaching a sort of grooving semi-up tempo. The riffs are more various if we want but the energetic touch by the band is always present. “Urban Decay” is filled with anger and despise. The music reflects the desperate and rebellious thoughts. The up tempo returns into a pure form and the riffs are definitely more “in your face”. The catchiness is always important and it’s one of the most significant elements on this genuine thrash product. We are not talking about a thrash masterpiece but surely we are talking about something that can turn each thrash fan happy. Enjoy it! |
| Solid debut - 80% |
| Written by morbert
on September 12th, 2007
|
| If you’d say you remembered this band only because of their funny song ‘Beer Bong’ it would be your loss since the rest of the album is pretty good thrash metal. Best songs are opening track ‘Chemical Dependency’ and title track ‘Socialized Hate’ which are both filled with a large amount of quality thrash metal riffs, breaks and the characteristic vocals of Brian Zimmerman. ‘Killing Machine’ isn’t really a memorable song but it has a very strong catchy chorus. The intro of ‘Matter of Attitude’ has a great mid paced riff but this time the chorus is rather dull. Fortunately ‘Preacher Preacher’ is yet another superb song with a marvellous riff on the verses and an immensely strong chorus. Nice bass break in the middle of the song by the way. ‘Best Defense’ has a very strong riff on the verses and a good one in the middle section (1:30 minutes). The mid paced ‘Product of the Past’ has a nice eerie atmosphere. The pounding intro to ‘Rest In Pieces’ is very powerful and is really suited for the live environment. The good chorus (almost crossover) is the finishing touch to this great song. Closing song ‘Urban Decay’ starts off with some great chugging riffs and although the rest on the song isn’t of the same quality, these riffs are reason enough to play this song again and again. ‘Socialized Hate’ was a more than decent debut and the band would even improve their style on their next album. Best songs: ‘Chemical Dependency’, ‘Preacher, Preacher’, ‘Socialized Hate’, ‘Rest In Pieces’ and ‘Urban Decay’. |
| A Matter of Attitude - 100% |
| Written by ExMachina
on February 27th, 2007
|
| Atrophy's first full-length 'Socialized Hate' is easily some of the highest quality 80's Thrash of all time. The band were ahead of their time in some ways, but even when seemingly embracing mediocrity on certain tracks, no true metalhead can resist headbanging at maximum velocity when tracks like 'Preacher, Preacher', 'Beer Bong', or the ruthless title track hit the stereo. Part of the 'Unholy Phoenix, AZ Thrash Metal Triumvirate' (The other two being Sacred Reich and Flotsam) Atrophy really had a novel approach, even when compared to the other two bands, who arguably have achieved way more renown in their careers. Their technique, for one, is way more proficient. The entire band is - even at this early stage - VERY tight. And it pays off, as Atrophy pull quite a few technical tricks out of the proverbial hat. The result is some blazing guitar-work (ala the brutal guitar solo on 'Preacher, Preacher') and drumming that at times can border on straight-forward blasting. The production is perhaps a little high for a Thrash Metal act, maybe a preview of what's to come with 'Violent by Nature', but for the relentless Thrash Attack that is 'Socialized Hate', it fits like a Glove (of Metal). Hearing that Metal Mind has just added this record to the list of late-80's Thrash and Speed Metal re-releases that RoadRunner has allowed - up till this point - to... well, atrophy, is great news for metalheads, indeed. Pick this Metal assault up while you have the chance. You won't regret it. |
| Fun, catchy thrash - 64% |
| Written by UltraBoris
on August 18th, 2002
|
| Atrophy has a pretty interesting riff style, reminiscent of a less brutal Vio-lence at times, with a bit of Nuclear Assault thrown in. On this, their first album, they manage to stick to some pretty straightforward thrash for the most part, moving along at pretty nice speed almost all the way through. The songs do sound kind of similar at times, but overall the album is an enjoyable listen. The opening track, "Chemical Dependency" starts out with a long intro, and from then on, it's all riffs all the time. The best part of this album is that underneath the vocals there is always a pretty nice riff to be heard. They do tend to get similar after a while, but still, a good riff is a good riff. The best song here is probably "Rest in Pieces", which moves along from beginning to end at about the same pace, but throws in some nice breaks here and there, similar to Exodus's "Fabulous Disaster". Other good songs include the title track, "Preacher Preacher", and "Product of the Past", which also has some pretty nice mosh riffs in the middle. It's not a completely indispensable album, but it's still pretty decent. If you like thrash, you can't really go wrong with this one. |