Undo the Chains

Extreme music has certainly come a long way since the early speed and thrash metal bands started pushing the envelope in the early 1980s. It's gotten heavier, faster, more complex and more precise. While I love all of this innovation, sometimes nothing beats that classic early 1980s sound. If that's what you're in the market for, look no further than Indiana's Wraith. On September 24th they released their third full-length album, 'Undo the Chains', via Redefining Darkness Records.

Wraith's sound brings together the unapologetic aggression of crossover thrash like Power Trip with the energy and dark edge of blackened speed metal bands like Midnight and Bewitcher. The result is an instant classic thrash sound loaded with chunky riffs that feels like a time capsule from the early 1980s. While there isn't anything super new or innovative about this sound, as Bewitcher and Midnight have demonstrated, there is still a decent amount of interest in this style of metal. Much of my personal interest comes as a reaction to the super precise, sometimes sterile nature of a lot of modern extreme metal. While there are a fair amount of bands playing this style, Wraith feels unique.

What separates Wraith from these other bands is the raw punk energy in their sound. It gives all of the riffs an extra punch and swagger that many similar bands don't have. Look no further than the riffs of 'Dominator' and 'Victims of the Sword'. They're simple, have a lot of energy and add to the old school feel of this album. This kind of energy comes out best in a live setting but is represented well here and makes this album that much enjoyable to listen to. Factor in this album's short, roughly thirty-two minute, runtime and you've got a ball of pure energy just waiting to be let out. The only point on this album where Wraith lets up on the intensity is the mid tempo stomper, 'Time Wins'. This song is a nice change of pace and shows off more of what Wraith can do as musicians.

'Undo the Chains' demonstrates that an album doesn't need to be super original to be good. Crossover thrash and blackened speed metal are both well established genres in their own right and they make sense together. Wraith uses the best elements of these styles and creates an incredibly solid album. Chances are if you're an avid metal fan, you've heard all of these elements before but it's undeniable how well Wraith uses them. This album definitely feels a bit one note but that note is played excellently, and largely due to the album's short run time, never gets old. The short run time also covers up the lack of variety in song structure.

'Undo the Chains' is an excellent breath of fresh air that takes extreme metal back to its gritty roots. This album has a great organic feel that many bands lose because of modern production. Wraith has something in their music for every type of metal fan, which is no easy task. Hand this album to that one metal fan that complains that metal hasn't been good since the 1980s and their mind will surely be changed. This is definitely an album and band worth supporting especially if you have the chance to see them live.

Originally published on my Facebook blog: 33 RPM Chaos