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

Deterioration of Sounds Once Deemed Revolutionary - 59%

bayern, May 6th, 2018

Listening to the band’s debut opus, this compulsive, highly entertaining and instantly memorable concoction of blitzkrieg thrash and semi-technical/quasi-progressive developments, I can’t help but feel quite sad about how unconvincing and plain underwhelming, if you like, the band’s comeback campaign has turned out… from a well-deserved cult status to a generic modern quasi-thrash metal act, not an enviable downward trajectory…

on the other hand, one shouldn’t be surprised about the turn of events in the band’s camp after the reformation provided that it’s only Jukka Kyro, the guitar player, that has remained from the original line-up. The man re-emerged in 2002 with a new team, but the original creative old school thrashing of old was a distant memory on “Resurrection of the Wicked”, replaced by much less impressive modern post-thrashy shenanigans carved by sudden more aggressive outbursts. Not a flop by any means, it still must have left the band’s diehard fanbase quite frustrated due to the more or less radical stylistic shift, the latter even bigger on the album reviewed here.

In fact, this instalment can hardly pass for a full-fledged thrash effort; the guys have expanded into other dimensions although the dark thrashy vibe of “Aching Hunger” should at least keep those who have found something to like on the previous effort hooked. The enchanting Oriental tunes on “Fist in the Air” are not a complete throw-away either, but the morose gothic HIM/mid-period Sentenced-esque musings on “Dancing Days” will raise some doubts not without the help of the relaxed nasal cleaner vocals which spring up to disturb the harsh semi-deathy vocal hegemony. Some of the stylistic meanderings (the impetuous galloping vigour of “Funeral Pyre”) later can pass for a relatively positive occurrence whereas others, like the overlong ballad “Legion” or the goofy playful rendition of the punkers Murderdolls’ “Die My Bride”, are major spoilers cancelling outright the more energetic thrash/crossover rhythms on superior cuts like the cool debut reminder “Burden of Truth”. The emphasis is strictly on diversification, largely for the worse, including with a merger of the two contrasting (gothic and thrashy) sides on the mish-mashy “The One You Warned Me of” which leisurely executed gothic mainframe awkwardly pairs with the much more intense riffage that appears later, the situation partially repaired by the more convincing cover of Black Sabbath’s “The Mob Rules” served as dessert at the end.

Yeah, the band soldiered on with their meanderings through the metal spectre, apparently not willing to join the rampant old school revival wave, more interested in staying close to the contemporary gothic metal traditions in their homeland with just a sniff of their more belligerent exploits of old, a stance that puts them in the vicinity of another dubious hybrider from the Land of the Thousand Lakes, Mokoma. The good piece of news is that this tendency may as well be broken in the near future signs of which were already heard on the “Lex Talionis” EP a few years back; some of the material featured there boldly bordered on untarnished old school thrash aggression, give or take a couple of more frivolous hardcore staggerings. Will this promising batch of young budding Finnish thrashers (Aratic, Liquorworks, Axegressor, Nailgunner, The Priest) finally have their experienced leaders to take them to higher dimensions? It’s probably a bit early to answer this question with a strong resounding “yes”, but mild optimism should by all means be the chosen state among the audience: it should be not far ahead the time when one will wake up one nice sunny morning, with this very characteristic smell of napalm in the air, and the sounds of another revolutionary old school thrashorama.