Fatality

What exactly is the thrash of today? It may seem like a rather stupid question but think about it for a second; Who do Municipal Waste share most similarities with, Testament or The Sex Pistols?! Whilst listening to some of these new bands one does have to wonder whether the music pumping out of our stereos is the thrash which we fell in love with - the thrash which shaped our undyingly treasured genre of metal or just plain punk! Sure it’s fast, violent and technical but when you dig a little deeper the similarities seem to disappear along with the respect I once had for these contemporary bands. Believe it or not I have an album in front of me which alleges to be thrash but in all honesty my hopes are not high. Fatality are a British band based in Belfast and at the very least the first impressions are promising; the artwork is spectacular and had I not already been told in the highly colourful booklet, I would not believe that this album had been released independently. Their debut release, ‘Metal As Hell’, claims to be have an astonishing 116 riffs and 27 guitar solos all packed into 8 songs; a feat which is unbelievable by any standards. In fact it’s impossible, isn’t it?…let me tell you now, never has the phrase ‘nothing is impossible’ been more applicable so belt up baby ‘cos you better believe it…

Some bands seem to think that impressive artwork can draw attention away from the mediocrity of the music. They are of course mistaken. In truth striking artwork only helps to put a listener in a good mood before judgements are made as to the standard of the all important music beneath and once I switch on the first track – Terminal Aggression – I am delighted to say my mood is merely enhanced! The vicious opening riff succeeds in being both melodic and, as the track title suggests, aggressive whilst intelligently moving the music towards the first verse with the help of some strong drums and insane guitar progressions. The vocals are equally as endearing using a mixture of ‘Slayer’ style grunts and harmonious middle ground tones more comparable to a slightly harsher, thrashier ‘Dio’! The constantly changing guitar lines keep me on my toes throughout and by the end of the track my head is spinning with the complexity of it all! For the first time it seems realistic that this combination of 8 songs may actually share 116 riffs between them and with this prospect my excitement grows and leaves me eager for more of this destructive music! I am not disappointed…the second track is comprised of much the same traits as the first and leaves me equally giddy but aside from the sheer density of the opening tracks I am not truly amazed until the third: Almost Broke. The introductory riff is fantastic but the follow up one which underlines the verses brings about a certain realisation in my mind; this standard of music could have been released by any of the great 4 in thrash and nobody would have known any different. The guitar solos are amongst the best that I’ve heard across new releases this year and the characteristics which made the first three tracks so special are continually used to astounding effect right through until the catchy ‘Are you ready to rock’ conclusion. To pick a favourite isn’t hard because for me the monstrous ‘Almost Broke’ is simply a cut above anything else on the release.

Overall…it’s good to finally hear some good new thrash metal which stays faithful to the old styles developed by the gods! I didn’t exactly fire up the cd with high expectations but even with that in mind music this has blown me away; even the production quality is good for a self-release. The individual talent of the musicians just adds to the excellence of the music and if I don’t hear these guys playing in arenas before some of the pieces of crap which have got a head start into the industry I’ll eat my review! Mark my words, this wont be the last you hear of Fatality