Bestial Thrashing Bulldozer

You're certainly aware of how over the top Japanese bands can be (Abigail, Sabbat, Metalucifer) and Fastkill is basically cut out of the same cloth, minus the blackened influence of the first two, resulting in a stripped down, primitive brand of raw barbaric thrash that rarely ever stops. For a band focusing so much on speed only, I can understand how some people don't find them particularly impressive, but I'm at the very least surprised to see no reviews for their last full-length Bestial Thrashing Bulldozer because, frankly, it smokes their previous releases.

First things first, a look at the cover: I sometimes wondered if there was a way to summon all my favourite things in a single artwork. Uh, et voilà. There you are: guts, tanks, skulls, rocket launchers, post-nuclear aftermath, more skulls, a combat helmet with devil horns on it, and beer. You sons of bitches, I'm in.

With drummer Kazuhiro Mochida clearly overdosing on caffeine during the recording sessions, once Bestial Thrashing Bulldozer really picks up (after the very 'The Marshall Arts'-like intro), it never stops. Saying Fastkill have a single trick up their sleeve may even be a compliment, as the only changes in pace are those double-bass gallops in 'Toxic Tormentor' or 'Merciless Onslaught', or the slight punk influences of the Negarobo cover ('Endless Game'). They often forget to play solos in the making, too. You can imagine it's an approach that gets old fast, and not casually 'Tortured Again' and, nice ending aside, 'Merciless Onslaught' were my least favourite, and 'In Thrash We Trust' my personal best (along with 'Guillotine Attack'). The proudly analog production almost makes the album sound like an '80s demo tape played at double speed.

The obvious bone of contention is gonna be Toshio Komori's vocals, which Noktorn previously described as 'reminiscent of a chihuahua getting its balls slowly crushed under a boot', for your interest. His shrill, hysterical voice is an acquired taste for sure, so just check out for yourself if it's your thing. At least, the occasional ad-libs and laughs (especially when 'In Thrash We Trust' is finally kicked in, or the awesome 'Die in the Pentagram! HA-HA!') are a nice addition, and with an equally over-the-top pronunciation, moments like 'Justice is terminal dis-AAAAAAAAAH' are unintentionally funny. The album also hosts several guests providing the fairly inconsistent gang shouts, among whom appears another throat-splitter, Terror Squad's Kouichi Udagawa, whom I'd have loved to hear as the main vocalist here.

What's left to add? Bestial Thrashing Bulldozer is almost 10 years old, the band being mostly silent after it, and losing two members in the meantime (most notably, bassist Suguru Ando meeting a premature death). I'd guess they had been busy looking for a way to outpace their latest release, and surrendered shortly after, but who knows... those crazy Japanese are unpredictable.

-review written for the 8th Diamhea Memorial Review Challenge – may you rest in peace, Chris.