There Will Be Blood

Vindicator is thee, somewhat new, up and coming thrash metal band from the Cleveland, Ohio area. Put together by two-fourths of the members of the disbanded Violent Night, Vindicator was able to release an EP early on, and after much wait, a full-length was cut. Thus we have There Will Be Blood.

Everything about this album screams raw and brutal thrash metal! From the blood and leather on the front cover to the last pound beaten, gang vocal rallied, and rightfully named song of the album There Will Be Blood. While Vindicator seems to be garnered into the popular “Thrash Revival” category, there is some uniqueness to the bands sound.

The riffs vary greatly, not song to song, but within each song – which is reminiscent of the old thrash days that appeared in songs from bands like Anthrax and Slayer. The riffs also vary greatly by how they are structured. Some of them are straightforward - bang your head thrash riffs (most of them are actually). But a lot of the breakdowns are pretty well crafted and intensely orchestrated, which sounds similar to the work that was done in Violent Night (which tended to be more progressive). Combined with driving bass lines and some great drumming, the album comes together harmoniously.

This album is not without fault of course. The leads are really good, don’t get me wrong. However, sometimes they sound almost a little to complicated for thrash metal, as if they might belong in a different genre all together. I am not saying bad solos are needed for thrash, but these solos are very thought out and crazy, for lack of a better word, which makes the listener pause for a moment to wonder why they went for this sound. The production is anything but superb; however, it is not cacophonous to the ears. This could go either way depending on how you like your thrash. I tend to enjoy the under produced old school thrash sound, and when it sounds to cleanly produced, I think it takes a little away from the genre.

The singing on the album is very much improved from the EP. The band started out with the growling and scruffy voice of ex-Black Trinity member (a black metal band). While the vocals were not awful in the past, it was hard to follow and understand the lyrics. The singing is much more cleaner rather then rough, yet still maintains grit that makes the album flow nicely together.

I recommend this album for all those who love thrash metal. This is no crossover thrash, punk, but straight balls to the walls, punch some one in the head thrash metal. If this came out in 1988 instead of 2008, you would probably not notice the difference. While Vindicator’s sound is reminiscent of the old great 80s thrash bands, they still keep a unique sound and style of thrash that words cannot even describe – which is why a listen to There Will Be Blood is a must.