Electric God

The debut album from Virginia thrashers Death Penalty, “Electric God,” is a decidedly decent offering for a debut release but really could stand a few improvements to make the band come off a little more polished and professional.

Deciding against the majority out there that are based on reclaiming the old-school sound, instead these newcomers decide on a slightly more modern approach. The riffing here is based more on a dense, heavy chug for the majority of their rhythms which is quite a far removed tactic from that particular scene which tends to let this one wallow in quite more mid-paced efforts rather than the most other groups. The mid-paced riffing is still used in conjunction with the occasional burst into faster tempos to gain the needed speed to be placed in this particular genre overall as the rest of the music doesn’t really give off that kind of feel quite well. This has the tendency to delve into the faster tempos while also managing to slow the pace down into slower, sprawling tempos that do manage to call into question its genre status at times while delivering the odd-ball touch of atmospheric ambiance that pops up in a few of the tracks. Thankfully, there’s enough intensity in these chugging thrash patterns to keep this firmly rooted in the genre to remind those that the other efforts are used mostly as spices into the overall thrash mix. The few times throughout that a bass-line is present are based off clanking, thumping patterns that surge along with the guitar chugging and accentuate the heaviness in the rhythms quite well even if it never becomes obvious most of the time. As well, the pounding drumming on display is certainly enough to keep things rolling along quite well with a rather intense feel that really brings out the energetic rhythms quite well with a series of fast, thumping patterns when these fiery, frantic paces are utilized. When this stays more in the mid-tempo style, it brings in the energy and keeps this balanced and grooving along quite nicely by never really overpowering anything else and letting the thickly-layered guitar chugging take center stage. That none of these elements are really utilized all that often by the old-school guard makes this one more modern-sounding in its approach than the current trend of focusing on the past to drive itself and does generate some good-will in that regard.

As for the music itself, there’s not much to speak of. The fact that the majority of the tracks are based off a mid-tempo pattern that actually slows down at times rather than increase the speed and tempo is a little distressing as the formula tends to make tracks appear quite more relaxed and laid-back in style rather than increasing the energy and aggression found in the genre. Instead, this tends to almost feature a hard-rock styled swagger in employing its rhythms rather than dwelling in aggressive tones, though these are quite far removed from what’s considered hard rock in most senses and instead is based off that attitude more than utilizing those patterns in their riff-work. This increased formula tends to lower the energy and intensity of the tracks as well so that some of them tend to almost crawl to a finish instead of racing into the final half since this pattern comes into the most frequent use on the latter half before charging into the finale, making it all the more curious as to why it would be utilized. Of course, that’s not so bad at all if not for the one nagging effort that runs rampant through this one and really holds quite a few problems with this as the low-key production is so apparent that it really can’t let the material get the most out of it. The guitars are bricked into a thick, heavy fuzz that even if they were given any kind of traditional patterns would be lost in a haze of fuzz that renders the majority of the riffs indecipherably except for the energy bleeding through. However, it’s really the drumming that really suffers here with hardly any punch and really sounds quite off on a full-length release, almost sounding like something that should’ve been on a demo or rehearsal such is the lousy quality of the production here. The tuning is off and simply set into a familiar series of simple pounding rhythms that get repeated throughout here in a loud, clanking tone that really sets them into a rather lame position throughout even if there’s a good production job here. Otherwise, there’s not a whole lot else here.

On the whole, the majority of the tracks here are pretty unified and simple. Intro ‘War’ is pretty much the standard-bearer for how this will turn out with churning mid-tempo riff-work and steady drumming that keeps the energy stagnant with repetitious riffs and lessened intensity in the later half, regardless setting the stage for things to come quite well. This is repeated in ‘Death Forever,’ as the rolling drum-work intro gives way to mid-tempo riffing with blazing chugs, thumping drumming and expressive patterns that lower the energy in lower patterns, being quite similar and overall quite like the previous track. The first interlude, ‘Prelude,’ is simply light guitar trinkling and ominous patterns slowly creeping up. One of the top tracks here, the title track brings tight chugging and build-up energy through urgent patterns with thumping drumming and varying tempo changes through chugging patterns and quicker rhythms with little loss of energy, staying faster throughout which definitely helps in this regard. The second interlude, ‘The Curse,’ is based off low-fi riffing, chug-patterns and thumping drumming. Segueing into one of the better tracks, ‘Bloodlines,’ which brings raging riffing and furious drumming that bashes along at a furious tempo with fine backing vocals and blistering leads for a more traditional thrash effort and greatly improves because of that. The rather bland ‘Infernal Sky’ as the tight riffing and thumping drumming take a rather up-tempo pace with light atmospheric interludes in the second half before exploding back into the finale, which is just wholly out-of-place in a thrash album and really sticks out like a sore thumb due to that. Frankly, most is forgiven here in explosive finale ‘Nuklear Kiss’ as the stellar riffing and a series of urgent patterns drives some blistering patterns through intense paces with tight chugging and dynamic, energetic riffs with explosive leads and frantic energy which really ends this on a high note.

While this isn’t the most impressive start to a bands’ career, the fact that there’s some good throughout here does provide some rather intriguing points that can be utilized a lot better in their career. Fixing the production here is paramount though as that tends to rob this one more than just the music here, and if they can focus more on their more intense and furious work as they grow in the future it might not be quite as bad as it is now as this is mostly recommended for the most discerning thrash aficionados in the scene.