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National Napalm Syndicate > Devolution of Species > Reviews > KingOvFrost
National Napalm Syndicate - Devolution of Species

Compelling alternative heavy/thrash - 80%

KingOvFrost, May 5th, 2009

Heavily influenced by the first albums by METALLICA and EXODUS, Finnish thrash band NATIONAL NAPALM SYNDICATE formed in 1986, released their first demo in 1987 and put out their debut album in 1989. Afterwards the Finnish thrash pioneers disappeared for many years before finally reforming again in the 2000s. With their third full-length, 'Devolution Of Species’, NATIONAL NAPALM SYNDICATE‘s sound is more modern than ever and their speed metal elements seems to have mysteriously vanished, well for the most part. This could easily as well be a sign of better times rather than stagnation, as their song writing approach is more diversified than before. Sometimes NATIONAL NAPALM SYNDICATE succeeds with this experimentation and sometimes they don’t.

'Devolution Of Species’’ sound is rooted in thrash, but the overall feel of this record introduces a more groovy and melodic vibe than before. Opening song ‘Aching Hunger’ is a stomping and incredibly heavy metal up-tempo rocker which features really catchy sing-a-long chorus. The overall vibe of this track is very joyful and it’s like the party tune of ‘Devolution Of Species’. The band shows strength by applying various trademarks to each song on this new third album, which clearly is a proof of above average song writing capabilities. However, and as mentioned earlier, the band’s desire to experiment occasionally falls short. This is quite evident in the tracks ‘Dancing Days’ and ‘Die My Bride’, which sound as they could have been nicked from a MARILYN MANSON album. Especially ‘Die My Bride’ with its electro-Goth-rock tendencies, even the vocals in this song is very reminiscent of MARILYN MANSON and honestly, ‘Die My Bride’ sounds weird and out of place.

Due to a very heavy, stomping and groovy sound combined with many strong melodies and hooky parts, most of the songs on ‘Devolution Of Species’ are very effective and fun to listen to. Apart from above mentioned weird sounding tracks and a couple of other more generic and anonymous tunes, the remaining tracks on ‘Devolution Of Species’ are of such high quality that one simply need to check this album out. NATIONAL NAPALM SYNDICATE in the year 2009 is an alternative melodic heavy-thrash metal assembly that pours out their hearts with powerful, eclectic, intelligent, focused & melodic music. Lots of dynamics and energy expressed with strong production values and understandable lyrics highlight NATIONAL NAPALM SYNDICATE as a metal band ready to capture fans from all over.

--Originially written by KingOvFrost for the now defunct Northern Metal Webzine.