Anticlockwise

The second full-length effort from French thrashers DeadlySins, “Anticlockwise,” tends to follow quite nicely with the established parameters of the more modern thrash scene and is a fully enjoyable offering.

Like a vast majority of modern thrash bands, this one manages to feature some rather impressive elements that flow throughout here. The most noticeable is the absolutely rabid, ferocious riff-work that flows throughout here takes on a dark, twisting form full of technically-complex and dynamic riffing that incorporates a minor amount of chugging and groove simply for spices but remains firmly in the full-on traditional thrash formula. Those hints of chug-based rhythmic work and groove are mainly used to add a more vicious take on the main stylistic element here with the guitars taking on the feel of the earlier styles back in the genre’s heyday in the 80s with their hard-charging energy and dexterous rhythms that take on the speed and attack found there, and with a touch of more modern influences spiced up here and there the guitar-work is quite impressive throughout here. Being accompanied more often than not with a strong melodic undertone as well during the soloing furthers this one quite nicely by offering a memorable break from the main forms unrelenting sense of violence that’s featured throughout.

Beyond the riffing, there’s several other impressive elements at play here in their sound which helps this one along. The drumming here is absolutely first-rate with plenty of rather impressive beatings dished out by the speed and ferocity of the strikes here as the hard-hitting nature of the music is matched quite well with this attack. Bursting with energy to match the frenzied riff-patterns and slowing down for simplistic-yet-pounding rhythms to settle the grooves and chugging patterns makes for not only an appropriately violent and vicious attack that favors the music quite well but offers a sense of variety to coincide with the equally-varied riffing on display, and the double-bass hammering throughout is nothing short of devastating when it’s unleashed. As well, the traditional screams of the genre are replaced by a manic, snarling rasp that not only further endears them to the modern crowd but tends to complement and in some cases enhance the manic ferocity and intensity of many of the tracks as this is just perfectly suited for the energetic romp displayed here.

For the most part here, the band is certainly onto something with their modern-sounding thrash attack. The music is biting and vicious, just the way thrash should certainly be with some small spices of variety thrown in so as not to make the music incredibly one-dimensional even though a strong case can be made that the music really isn’t that varied. Since it shifts between the rabid thrashing and mid-tempo groove-stomp for just about every section in this, it’s simply a case-by-case basis on whether or not the track offers a lot of variety regardless of the technicality offered in the main riffs. This is furthered by the fact that the album is decidedly stacked up-front with this one placing nearly all the better tracks in the first half while the second half tends to focus a lot more on the mid-tempo work so the balance between them is decidedly uneven in terms of intensity in their rhythms which makes it all the more noticeable if the riffing works in a particular song. Spacing them out a little better for a more cohesive experience isn’t all that big of a deal, but spacing out a lot of tracks that tend to rely on their riffing seemingly similar to each other tends to stand out here and is about the only thing really holding this down.

The first half here is for the most part impressive with a lot of great stuff. Intro ‘In Praise of Haemoragge’ features tight, raging riff-work pounding through barreling drumming blasting through the urgent rhythms with complex technical riffing and plenty of dynamic rhythm changes leading into the extravagant soloing and pounding guitar-lines lead through the final half for a dynamic and impressive first start to this. ‘Thrashing Metal Anticlockwise’ uses rampant, urgent drumming with blistering riffing firing through intense rhythms fueled by maniacal double-bass blasts pounding along to the dexterous riffing into the melody-driven solo section that continues on with the intense rhythms into the finale for another strong thrashing blast. Short and to-the-point, ‘Bloodstorm’ uses fast, rabid riff-work and blasting hard-hitting drumming careen through blistering chugging rhythms as the intensity kicks into tight, frantic rhythms with impressive start/stop drum-work and carries the intense riffs into the final half for a solid, shortened maniacal thrasher. Even more impressive, ‘Brainless Playground’ features frenzied technical riffing and crazed drumming blast through up-tempo rhythms with mid-range chugging riffs taking over into the mid-section flying through the groove rhythms and blistering drums that carry the intensity through the solo section into the finale for easily the album’s most dynamic and varied effort. ‘Left for Dead’ utilizes a stylish marching intro with charging riffing and dexterous drumming pile on the groove-based rhythms as the occasional burst of traditional thrash breaks through in the frantic, utterly furious riff-work leading into the steady final half makes this a notch below the intensity of the previous tracks but still wholly enjoyable.

The second half here is noticeably weaker and less intense than the first half which is a decidedly lower factor. ‘Weekend Bored Shitless’ starts with stylish bass-guitar riffs turn into heavy thumping drumming with rabid, frenzied riffing swarming through the steady mid-tempo groove patterns that fall into streamlined thrash for the solo section that carries on through the finale for a bit of a stumble after the initially enjoyable efforts. The slightly more intense ‘Strapped in Black’ features stylish mid-tempo marching with a swarm of intense vicious riffing leading into the blistering drumming that wraps impossibly fast blasts with hard-hitting rhythms alongside the stylish groove chugging as the intense rhythms break up the middling mid-tempo final half for an overall decent if unspectacular effort. The second-half’s best effort, ‘Shake Off the Gloom’ uses hard-hitting riffing and intense drumming blast through dynamic technically-dexterous mid-tempo rhythms that grows in intensity during the razor-wire riffing careening through the finale which makes for another stand-out effort within this. Another dud in the album, ‘Beauty Slept in...’ uses a slow faded guitar intro grows into moody atmospheric melody-driven riffing and plodding drumming that slowly weaves through churning, plodding tempos and sluggish rhythms that shift between the intense mid-tempo riffing and plodding patterns into the final half for the album’s weakest offering overall. Finally, ‘Bleeding Moon’ offers tight, crunchy riffing and pounding drumming with scorching mid-tempo melodies flowing throughout the energetic rhythms as the pounding grooves merge the ravenous thrash riffs with dynamic drum-work into a brief solo section with frenzied rhythms into the finale for a fantastic finish to this.

Frankly, if not for a few rather bland offerings found in the second half to this, there’d be even more to like from this which is already a really enjoyable and exciting effort full of ravenous, frenzied modern-influenced thrash metal. This is most definitely a band that will appeal to those into the chaos and frenzy of the more modern-leaning groups, but as a whole this should be checked out for those with even a passing interest into the genre as a whole.