The Antique Witcheries

I am not joking when I say this album could well be the best thrash album of 2010! I often wondered why some of the big names in thrash metal were quoted as disliking the new wave of thrash metal movement, and listening to this album it all makes sense. No one writes thrash like this anymore! Especially not the older bands that are finding it harder to gain a youthful audience! It is hard to listen to this album and think this was written in 2010 and not 1985.

So you got Vindicator’s sophomore album! It has a killer cover, which is a big step up from the last one. You pop the album in to your player and start a journey. You hear the bright sounds of a harpsichord and scoff – it’s been done before and is classically cheesy! But it sounds good! The production is killer and way better than the first album. And then Beneath the Guillotine comes on and you are blown away – or your head gets chopped off – whatever comes first. You then think, “This is good thrash!”

By far the highlights of this album are the guitar riffs. Vindicator guitar riffs have always been a nice blend of equality, mixing technicality with simple bang your head against the stage style riffage. By far this album is more progressive than the first album. The breakdowns completely destroy! You just need to hear Communal Decay and you’ll understand. Sounds like old Slayer with a bit of Anthrax, no?! You cannot go wrong from there. If you have read my reviews for the other Vindicator releases, you will see I am not to keen on flamboyant guitar solos in thrash metal. Finally for this album we see leads that accompany the melodies brilliantly. Good examples are: Fear Monger, Dead in the Water, and pretty much every song on this album.

But that’s not all; in fact it’s just the beginning! The drumming is equally my second favorite part of this album. It’s complex in its own right and brilliantly mirrors the guitarists’ parts. The drumming never misses a beat – literally! It’s kind of hard to put in words, but if you listen to it, it will stand out and you’ll catch yourself giving praise to the drummer. For killer drumming check out Raze the Dead (which also sees drummer Jesse Stown singing the second verse – this band does everything! It’s like DragonForce on crack!) and Strange Aeons. The production of course helps every little part of this album come together. If you’ve heard the split that Vindicator did, and liked what you heard, then you will like this for sure. Also, the new bassist for Vindicator has added a lot to the musical style. His bass solo intro and outro for Raze the Dead is amazing and fits well with the theme of the song! You know how when you listen to Anthrax and you can hear the bright tones of Scott’s bass – same with this album!

Even the lyrics are good fun! Yeah, it’s the usual themes that thrash metal (and metal in general) likes to cover: Lovecraft, death, zombies…but wait! Have you ever heard lyrics that discuss zombie rights? Raze the Dead pokes fun at a PETA style organization that thinks zombies should have human rights, but we all know zombies just want to eat our brains and Vindicator’s ready to kill! Quarry Rats may sound bizarre to most people, but another tongue-in-cheek song with lyrics pay homage to the band’s hometown nickname and school colors!

So you’re thinking of getting this album, but you’re not sure. Look if you love metal get this album! If you love thrash metal, and secretly wish bands like Exodus, Annihilator, Slayer, and Testament would wise up and follow what the youth is doing with thrash metal – then get your car keys and go to the quickest store. I usually recommend songs at the end of my reviews that I think are the best. The whole album is amazing! But if you are still iffy, listen to Dead in the Water! That song is a perfect constitution of what thrash metal was and should always be!