The Wreckoning

The tenth anniversary of the band draws close and the band 's third official release has just seen the light of day. In order to make the listener aware of the general tendency of this American band or to draw the immediate attention on their art, the music starts off with a bang. A hammer into the face and no mercy is shown in any respect. Anticosm make clear that their path does not only seem to point towards a more thrash influenced approach, but a characteristic of their debut album 'Against the Cosmos' – a certain orientation of appealing to the masses while on stage could not be rationalized – pops up here on an improved level. Unlike the legions of bedroom bands of our days, the ambitions of the Americans are a bit larger and they write tracks with a dynamic and style that is certainly able to get a crowd going; even more so with the new stuff, because it tends to be more aggressive at times as well as providing more 'sing along parts'.

Some differences towards the debut album can be discovered and by listing them a certain change in direction becomes apparent. Folk elements? Gone. A non-English language? Gone. Strange samples? Lost to the the wind. Black metal elements? Reduced. Thrash metal parts? Increased. Indeed, between 'Against the Cosmos' and 'The Wreckoning' quite a revamping of the style has been taken place. In some respect it might be fair to say that Anticosm concentrated on the core elements of their art and threw all those – and at times neat – elements overboard. What had been subliminal on the previous major recording has become a core aspect now. The Americans responded to my previous review and acknowledged that fans tend to perceive the music [as] seeming to be written for live performances. Now, you cannot discuss that away any more. It hits you in the face … and right from the start.

Blackish thrash is what awaits the listener in four compositions and a surprising cover version – see below – completes the latest instalment. Abrasive guitars, solo elements, a proper support by the drums – not too dominant, but nevertheless with a lot of drive – and the vocals appear in a large variety: croaking, screams, partially clean. Interestingly, the longest track on this album would also be the slowest and even though the style is somewhat 'ballad-like' it is not cheesy in any way. The well crafted play of the guitars, the nice variations of the motives and arrangements make it an interesting counterpoint to the general style of the band; the succeeding track marks a return to the band's general direction already. Over the entire course of the release the instruments have a good amount of power and even the bass has been granted with some room.

Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love (Van Halen cover)
First of all, what about the length? The original has a 3:50 one, while the cover clocks only 3:00. Yes, it is played a bit faster. Well, the high pitched voice did not make it in the new version but the solo did. Of course, Anticosm plays the track in their own slightly nasty and dirty type of way, which add a nice touch to it all. Even though it comes kind of surprising to hear Van Halen on a metal album, the interpretation is actually quite good.

Better than the debut? It is hard to compare the two band. Yes, the evolution Anticosm has taken over the years make it appropriate to clearly differentiate between these. The new one offers a tight and at times merciless blast of thrash metal, while references from the older releases can be discovered by those who are familiar with them. In case someone expects some furious music like Witchaven offers it, then this person will be disappointed. Here everything a good touch of melody and is rather reduced in the tempo. Desaster meets Venom maybe … and with some different vocals … references are always a pain in the …

Note:
Their label has a good amount of stuff from the band in stock right now … in case you have missed some earlier stuff.

Based on a review originally written for ‘A dead spot of light (Number 16)’:
http://www.archive.org/details/ADeadSpotOfLight...Number16