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Chronosphere > Red n' Roll > Reviews > MetalCartoshka
Chronosphere - Red n' Roll

Twisted Rock-Thrash? Hell Yeah! - 92%

MetalCartoshka, November 30th, 2017
Written based on this version: 2017, CD, Punishment 18 Records

This is another successful aversion from the trappings of neo-thrash. An intro is par for the course this time around unlike in the revolutionary previous album "Embracing Oblivion", but it is not acoustic or even considered anything resembling metal. And the intro adds a horroriffic setup for the opening track "Demonized" and the rest of the album. "Demonized" is an effort which continues the melodic trends and breakneck speed of the previous album. What makes this track a standout, and one of the better efforts on the album are the very catchy chorus and the ridiculous light speed drumming.

The other tracks usually offer strong catchy riffs and well-placed solos. One may think these "too" melodic and less "brutal" than the previous album, but I believe the melodic aspect can never hurt the music. One memorable track in particular is "Picking Up My Pieces", a straight up thrash banger that does not one bit relent in speed. The other tracks may sometimes slow down or have somewhat unmemorable parts to them, but this one is one of the band's strongest ever efforts to date. Some tracks may be plodding along until they hit the "good" parts, and this certainly contributed to me deducting a few points from the overall score, but this is in totality a very good LP. It is evident that the members of Chronosphere are professional musicians and not ones to be high on beer and growls like those of other neo-thrash more-generic offerings.

One example of a somewhat plodding track is "Portal to the Underworld". I found myself waiting for an amazing riff which only shows up about 4 minutes into the song. The song itself is good, but the aforementioned riff is amazing and so I kind of feel like the rest of the song is not quite in the same league.

Found throughout most every track are well-placed solos. Some have more rock-type riffs, and a few brilliant surprises, like "The Force to Put An End" have added ambiance for added effect. Gone are the gang shouts, which I am not quite sure would add or decrease from the enjoyment, but probably would give a more thrashy feel to some of the tracks which lack that feel. Gone also is Chronosphere's previous logo, which is a shame. But the abandonment of the logo is beyond the music itself, which is almost on par to that of the previous album and in some ways rivals it. Where I think this album falls just short of the previous is that it can sometimes be plodding along with more rock-heavy (as implied in the album name) riffs than traditionally metal-heavy riffs. It is a noble course for Chronosphere to take in terms of attempting to take their music in another new direction not entirely compatible with what one deems as thrash. This is still a unique and innovative effort, but is trying to swing way too high for the fences of something unfamiliar. Red n' Roll does not feel like it entirely belongs in the realm of what to me defines thrash metal, but I did very thoroughly enjoy this almost just as much as I did "Embracing Oblivion". It is definitely worth the listen and quite excellent in my honest opinion.