Ruler of Everything

It was time for this batch to re-emerge, with the world becoming more and more brainless with each passing month… and the lads seem ready to pour some brains into its reckless inhabitants; only that this will happen without Marty, the emblematic attached semi-reciting vocalist, think Kerrmit (Tyrant) meets Schmier (Destruction), who has been replaced by a less striking but still decent cleaner throat.

I guess not too many are those who remember the band’s debut, a fairly acceptable entry into the old school thrash roster from the early-90’s, the guys holding onto the old school canons with determination, crossing Sacrifice with Destruction again for a fairly enjoyable, quite intense on occasion, ride which was left without a follow-up for whole seven years. The sequel wasn’t that striking, unfortunately, the band dipping their toes into the numetal vogues for at least half the time, producing a passable if not completely off-putting thrash/post-thrash conglomerate.

But here they are, rising once again, set on becoming the rulers of everthing… sorry, everything, obviously there’s a typo here. Yes, the band want it all, and they might as well rise up the ladder with this sincere look back at their first instalment, only boosted by abrasive modern production. Snipers at the ready first, with the opening “Sniper Alley” sending a sure-handed message with its hard-hitting fast-paced riffs, the cool memorable chorus added mixing well with the energetic musical delivery. The latter seldom falters majorly, the guys sticking to the pattern established with the first cut, retro speed/thrash numbers with a few marginally more complex (“Bare Iron”) insertions, the short non-fussy “Get away from Me”, also heard earlier as the pilot single, going home with the laurels for the most aggressive piece, “Fake People” sincerely trying to complicate the environment with a wider array of rhythms and tempos, the tighter riff-patterns and the proficient screamy leads offered on it missing from the closing “Bang Your Head and Dive”… yep, those who are familiar with the band’s repertoire recognize this title, the last piece from the debut, a smashing headbanger served unaltered here save for the modern production again.

A job well done overall, nothing truly revolutionary, a bit less-than-half-hour of classic speed/thrashisms to put the guys back on the map, and to also make the world wiser and less prone to hasty deeds. It does touch the first entry at times, both on the more immediate and the more contrived moments, but more is needed to cover the routine feel permeating at least half the material. The band know what they’re doing, and they’re doing it well… it only remains to be seen how they’ll be able to grasp it all with an iron hand… surely another, hopefully more inspired gust of retro thrash feats will bring them closer to the coveted goal.