Youthquake

The very specific geological allocation of Japan has caused some acts from there to reflect it in their name choice (Earthshaker, Volcano), and the one under scrutiny here is another addition to this list. The band made a relatively late showing as the scene over there was already fully shaped by the start of the 90’s, and this new youthful batch had no hesitations using the available heritage to build their thrash metal delivery which on the debut also featured a healthy doze of post-thrashy groove, the mixture working all right with a few other, more or less appropriate, additives like death metal and even funk.

The sophomore carried on in the same “anything goes” direction again producing pretty decent listenable results, the guys obviously willing to pursue this diverse amalgam. However, the album reviewed here offers a more monolithic, less varied approach, one that is more closely related to the old school thrash idea. Consequently the hard-boiled thrashers would be quite happy with this one as the vigorous blitzkrieg cuts follow in quick succession like the rolling ball of aggression “Howling Tusk”, the pounding steam-roller “Crumblin’ Down” which is a fairly intense opus without speeding up at all; the more speed metal-based delight “Zero In”, etc. Deviations from the roller-coaster path are to be expected, and here comes “The Conclusion in Black” which is a nice heavy semi-ballad following the lofty models established by Metallica in the trend (“Sanitarium”, “One”).

No more of the kind, though, as thrash takes over after this really nice respite, but one would hardly complain too much as the immediate follow-up comes with a fair technical/semi-technical edge reflected in the heavy intricate “Despair, Sadness and Fumbling”, and the hectic technical, more modern-surrounding.. sorry, sounding shredder “Surrounded”. A couple of setbacks scattered around, unfortunately, like the heavy metal hymn “Heart Breaker” which is simply off-context as it doesn’t do the album justice even if intended as a joke; two industrialized modern groovers (“Crawl”, “Wrench off the Chain”); and one more balladic number as a finishing touch, “Swapping Party”, which doesn’t have the vibe and the finesse of the mentioned masterpiece “Conclusion in Black”.

Yes, the band haven’t betrayed their diversification inclinations although the accumulation of those cuts towards the end makes the effort fairly unbalanced as though they have forgotten about their chosen stance, and have packed the deviators at the end partially ruining the monolithic nature of this otherwise entertaining showing. This could have been a fulsome tribute to the good old 80’s thrash all the way, but one can’t expect a Japanese outfit to play by any established, or unwritten rules.

The follow-up “Apocalypse”, however, followed a very similar path, but “The Evolution of New Oriental Metal” turned the table towards death metal, and this effort was full-fledged modern death with more than just a few nods to the Swedish school. “Beyond the Void of Black” brought back the thrash for a fairly cool more technical thrash/deathy blend, and this is what the guys have been dealing with in more recent years. Evolution of Oriental metal... maybe not quite, but keeping the old school resurrection campaign on its toes with regular more modern visitations should definitely go on their resume.