Fist to Face

Death metal maniacs are of the opinion that only death is real, but I say only thrash keeps you young. The zombie-esque warrior that attacks D. T. on the cover surely agrees. D.T., who has lost his “Make America Hate Again” cap does probably not share my point of view, but who cares about this irrelevant guy? Germany was heavily involved in the outburst of two World Wars, so I see no reason to worry about D.T.

“Fist to Face” is the second album of the Spanish unit called Holycide and I must say their configuration of thrash gives me an energy boost. Swift fingers fly over six strings and create riffs over riffs, while the drumming supports the dynamic performance of the guitarists. Lead vocalist Dave Rotten (typical Spanish name) convinces with his unfriendly shouting. Conveniently, he is not only the front man of Holycide, but also the label owner of Xtreem music and so it comes as no surprise that the album was released by this company. But even if he would not run a label, I’m sure his combo would have signed a record deal. The liveliness, the musical potential and the degree of aggression are simply more than just satisfying.

Holycide do not have written “retro” all over their music, but they also do not wallow in Machine Head-like grooves. The band does not care about the different decades and faces of thrash. It is just here to let steam off and even songs with almost Dadaistic titles (“Trapped by the Crappy Trap”) let the hammers circle. Rotten spits out his lyrics in a constantly expressed bad mood and his comrades integrate some pinpoint background shouts. Forget the Mekong Delta shirt Rotten wears on the band pic; his group has rather a more or less hidden affinity for death metal or hardcore. Sometimes they sound like Biohazard gone wild. However, the band knows neither friends nor relatives when they give full speed in songs like “The Aftermath”. Translate lyrics like “Political assholes have stabbed us in the back” into music and you know the level of velocity.

Frankly speaking, I miss one or two songs that keep sticking in the ear immediately. It’s always easier for old fellows like me to decode an album when having one or other point of orientation. Anyway, the aptly titled “Fist to Face” has enough elements that make fun, just listen to the highly energetic instrumental part of “Napalm Sweet Napalm”. I am no big fan of solos in general, but here the dudes from Madrid have forged one of many very nice parts. They do not dish up easy listening thrash in view of some pretty bulky riffs, but they also do not fall victim to an over-ambitious technical approach. This transparent, hefty and powerful album just makes the kind of fun thrash was invented for. And for even more fun it’s time to get rid of D.T., if I am not mistaken.

I always knew I was going to get to dig deep into this one. I can't ignore a retro-thrash album with a pointy logo and a Repka-esque album cover which depicts some inhuman beast slamming Donald Trump square in the face. Hell, they had me at the title: Fist To Face. Gotta love that. Holycide are a quintet of thrash metal revivalists who seem to be a bit late to the party but will carry on thrashing regardless. I greatly respect their straight-for-the-throat attitude and willingness to capture everything that made the thrash revival so fun. This is beer-soaked, almost-political, humour-tinged thrash metal which verges on the extreme side - making it ideal for fans of Dark Angel, Carnivore or early Sepultura. Fist To Face is the Spaniards' sophomore effort, and it improves every aspect of their full-length debut (2017's Annihilate...Then Ask!) resulting in an all-round more listenable and replayable venture.

This record is rough around the edges, and that's certainly the point. This is exemplified perfectly by the raw production quality which lets the listener hear every scrape of strings and clack of sticks - all speed metal should retain that old-school chaotic sound. The obligatory intro track, "Intrump", is not just a bad pun. It also does an effective job of setting the atmosphere of the album, whilst making the American president look like a total twat merely by using press cuttings of his own words. This is an infinitely more effective piece of anti-Trump propaganda than any of the gazillions of protest songs out there. Following in the same conceptual vein, the opening title-track takes a more immature, yet tongue-in-cheek, approach with its thuggish refrain of 'Fist to face! Is the best solution!'. However, the neck-breaking display of mosh-hungry metal on show is incredibly convincing. Holycide have the chops for sure.

"Fist To Face" is actually one of the highlights of the album, a great choice with which to commence proceedings. Luckily, every track brings something a little different to the table, ensuring that the LP flows quite well without allowing the listener's attention to dwindle too much. I confess to losing my attention span during the last 2 tracks. Both "Innocent Hate" and "Fake Libertarian" seem to blend into one for me, despite being good thrash songs in their own right. I would also argue that the Recipients Of Death cover is unnecessary, as it breaks up the flow between the more mid-paced "Mentality Packs" and "Napalm Sweet Napalm". However, these are minor gripes and do little to alter the enjoyment of Fist To Face as a whole. When you have such well-rounded thrash assaults like "Nuclear Fallout" and "Trapped By The Crappy Trap" (surely the best song title of 2020? Fight me). That latter song - I'm gonna say it again: "Trapped By The Crappy Trap" - contains the album's best riff in its groove-tastic chorus. Plus, the great performance from drummer Jorge Utrera makes this my personal favourite cut on the disc.

Dave Rotten's vocals are a big part of why this album is so enjoyable. He absolutely oozes early '90s death/thrash vox and performs with vigor for the entire affair. It's a shame the backing vocals lack the gravitas to accompany him. They sound really de-energized, which is a shame, because I love a good gang-shout in my thrash metal. I also can't ignore the amount of shred-tastic lead guitar work that flurries around almost every track - the best of which is found in the galloping "Vultures". Fist To Face is loaded to the brim with fun, mayhemic thrash metal action and you'd be a fool to skip this entirely. From the menacing barrage of "Empty Cyber Life" to the humorous outro of "Napalm Sweet Napalm", Holycide have me hooked and are only adding to the wonderful catalogue of thrash metal 2020 has lined up. Eight points to Spain; not a country I expected to have one of my favourite thrash albums of the year come from. Have a great year, guys! Try not to get trapped by the crappy trap!