Überthrash

I literally can't stand anything considered to be thrash metal. Unlike most metalheads, I never really saw what was so special about Metallica, Slayer and the rest of the big four. However, I have to say that thrash metal when mixed with black metal, creates a perfect aura of pure misanthropy and destruction in the best way possible. I consider black metal to be an evolution and an improvement on the idea of thrash metal. Both sub-genres rely on speed and scorching everything in their fucking path. On this split, we're offered four different songs by four different bands, so it would be logical to review each song separately, but honestly, the tracks don't really stand out from each other that much. The name of the split speaks for itself, what you're in for when you put on this split, is relentless, "Uberthrash", played by four different Norwegian black/thrash bands.

The first two songs are played by Audiopain and Inferno. They sound very uninspired and seems that they solely exist just to fucking trash their way into your ears. The songs are very riff driven and don't have any atmosphere. What these guys are playing on this split album was done in a much better way by their German counterparts Poison and Destruction. The production, in my opinion, however, doesn't do these songs justice. The songs come off sounding so god-damn bland that the trashing spirit they're supposed to possess gets completely lost into oblivion. Audiopain's "Obsolescence" is in my opinion superior to Inferno's offering. It has a very chaotic structure and the riffs seem to blend very well with each other. The lyrics, although very simplistic seem so straight-forward and seem to beg the listener to sing-along. The good thing about these two songs is that they're very short and straight to the point. Unfortunately, however, the short nature of the songs seems to sacrifice any consistent progression. The thing which stands out the most from Inferno's offering is the bestial drumming. The drummer seems to be very proficient and good about what he does. The riffing, on the other hand, is just bland and weak. The riffs consist simply of hammer-ons and pull-offs. The song basically starts from nowhere and goes nowhere. I believe the first part of this split is the weaker one from the two, onto the next part.

Disc two of this split consists of Aura Noir's "Sordid" and Nocturnal Breed's "Code of Conduct". My favorite of the two has to be "Code of Conduct". The song is crafted in an excellent manner and to my dismay, it's the shortest song on this split, clocking at around 2 minutes, which is very unfortunate. It's the most creative song on the split, but it doesn't mean much because all the songs seem to be a mirror image of each other. "Code of Conduct" however has excellent vocals and the drums sound extremely organic. The solo is fucking frantic and hell-bent on wrecking your neck from all the head-banging it inspires. Aura Noir is probably the most well-known band on this split. Thier offering, although fairly solid and reminiscent of their hateful sounding albums, just sounds like it was a left-over from Deep Tracts of Hell. That's not a bad thing per se, but I think this song would have fitted much better in that album. By including that track in this split, they sacrificed their unique sound. On this split, their track is easily exchangeable with Audiopain's "Obsolescence".

I think that for everyone who's into uncompromising, take no prisoners blackened thrash metal, this split would sound fucking incredible. However, for me, it sounded extremely uninspired, rushed and derivative. I believe that with a little more imagination and drive, this split could have had much more potential.