Black Swamp Rising

Have you heard thrash metal? Probably. I doubt that anyone on this website hasn't heard early Metallica or Megadeth (among the thousands of other thrash bands). Now have you heard thrash done with a Gwar attitude, while not being jokey or making you laugh in the process? That would be Mobile Deathcamp. These guys (fronted by Todd Evans, Ex-Gwar bassist) are probably the most intense thrash metal band that is on the market at the moment. I first got my glimpse of this intense band when I saw Gwar live (for the second time) in November last year. Mobile Deathcamp opened and they put on a show to paralyze the crowd for the next band (Infernaeon). It was fantastic to hear such good thrash music since Evil Never Dies (Toxic Holocaust).

When I saw Deathcamp live, I noticed that their drummer was doing stereotypical thrash metal, so I focused not on him, nor on the giant Todd Evans, playing amazing riffs and soloing down the fretboard (perplexing me as to why the guitar was not on fire), but on their bassist, who was outplaying everyone in the band. Easily, Boe Skadeland will go down in history as one of the top 100 thrash metal bassists of all time.

The first thing I must say about this band is that the entire album is predominately one long song with few mini breaks. This makes the album a bit less desirable to me, but at the same time it shows that the band can record with each other in an amazing fashion that hasn't been seen since Megadeth's really amazing album, Youthanasia. The second thing I need to say is that these guys are the most catchy post-2000's thrash band. I often find myself singing "Negative Minds" on my way to the store. It's a good feeling to have such a fresh catchy band on our hands again.

As for the actual playing on the band, Todd Evans and Boe Skadeland take turns amazing me at how well they can play. Evans, known for his time as Gwar's Beefcake the Mighty, plays some amazing riffs, but not only that, he plays some extremely well written solos that make you sit back and wipe the dumbfounded look off your face. Skadeland is just a phenomenal bassist - through and through. The one problem I had with the actual music is that the drums are so mediocre that it just seems that if the band got a new drummer (one that could play some really intense progressive stuff), they would be unstoppable.

The music on this album flowed so well, that I never got bored once and never switched a song on this album. I found myself even replaying this monstrosity over and over. There was no slow part on this record that made you sigh and wait for the good part to come. That is rare in a record for me, and hell, even on repeat (when the mix is a bit botched up), this album still flows amazingly well.

All I have to say is that this release is a monumental start for Mobile Deathcamp. A band that has nearly no impact on the world of thrash will (I hope) bring a new face to the genre and be one of the forefront acts. I have nothing but good things to say about this release.