OVERKILL: WHITE DEVIL ARMORY REVIEW

  34 years and seventeen albums in, it's good to see that New Jersey thrashers Overkill are still waving the metal flag proud. 

  Following up on their recent string of high quality albums comes "White Devil Armory". Barely breaching the 50 minute mark, almost all of the 11 tracks are quick bursts of thrash. Opening up with the intro"XDM" then coming right out of the gate with "Armorist" which has one of the best chorus' on the record. The stampede of adrenaline based riffs continue throughout the entire record without even having a mid tempo song. 

  The vocal delivery of Bobby Blitz is the same as it has always been which I really enjoy. However, I know a lot of people who are turned off by this band because of his voice.  Despite his age though, his snarl is still up and kicking in full form. 

  The instruments here are incredible. Especially thanks to (bassist) D. D. Verni. The biggest drawback here is the lyrical content. It's full of macho man bravado and aggression but it comes off as cheesy as a Hulk Hogan movie. 

  This album is repetitive and isn't as strong as their past slew of releases but it is still a fun, fast beat down that should be in amy thrasher's collection. If you're a fan of this band, buy it. You'll enjoy it. If you're trying to check them out for the first time, this may not be the best starting point. 

  Rating: 7 out of 10

  Notable Tracks:

    "Armorist"

    "PIG"

    "King Of The Rat Bastards"

    

ONSLAUGHT: VI REVIEW

The sixth album by thrashers Onslaught comes with the aptly titled VI. Yeah I know clever. The follow up to 2011's "Sounds Of Violence" is a short but sweet thrash outing.

  Comin in at just under the forty minute mark with eight tracks (and an intro). The lyrical content is your typical war, anti religion, etc that permeates the genre. However there are stand out lyrical moments in tracks like "Chaos Is King" and "Children Of The Sand".

  As far as the music goes, it's a very riff

driven album. While the music isn't the be all-end all of thrash, it flows rather well with the album. You'll definitely find yourself moving your head to the guitar/drum parts though.

  The vocals on this record is what shines. Frontman Sy Keeler carries these songs with aggression and a groove. There's a certain fist pumping feel the chorus of these tracks. Especially the track " 66 'Fuckin'6". That song In particular surprised me because it isn't as cheesy as it sounds. 

  While this isn't an instant classic, it's still a very solid album. For fans of trash, this record will sit nice with your collection 

Rating: 7 out of 10

Notable Tracks:

  "Children Of The Sand"

  "66'Fuckin'6"

  "Dead Man Walking"

REIGN OF FURY: WORLD DETONATION REVIEW

 

My first impression of this by looking at the cover was "Alright another run of the mill new thrash act". While that is definitely embedded in this record there is more than meets the eye here. The Full length debut starts with the three minute long intro track (Goodbye Mother Earth) then the album kicks right into the thrashing. The thing that caught me WAY off guard was the vocals.

 

  Vocalist Bison Wrathbone has something in his voice that I haven't heard in thrash in a long time...melody. At times his voice delves into a almost punkish sound (think early AFI, Koffin Kats). The melodies he creates are incredibly catchy and easily digestible, which yes I know is an oddity in the current state of the genre, He utilizes intelligible death growls sparingly enough to act like a sort of treat to the listener. truth be told, I think the vocal work and delivery here is what separates these guys from the rest of the retro-worshipping pack.

 

  The musicianship here is has the speed and technical prowess to stand up with the rest of their contemporaries. They really are good players, the problem being they love to play too much. Out of the eight tracks, three of them breach the eight minute mark and then there's the three minute intro. No instrumental intro should be three freaking minutes long!

 

  Especially considering the punk vibe to these songs, they should be short and sweet. The long periods of guitar work start to make this album start to slug on a bit. If the filler of the string work was condensed and another song took the place this would be a near perfect album.

 

  The production of this alum is fantastic as you can distinctly make out almost every cymbal crash. The only thing is at points the mixing makes the guitars over power the vocals. All in all though you'll be singing these chorus' for days too come. So if you're looking for a new thrasher to hold you over 'till Metallica releases a new album (ya know in eight more years lol) this album is definitely worth purchasing. There is a lot of showcasing for promising talent by album two so go out, buy it, and bang your fucking head!

 

RATING: 7 OUT OF 10

NOTABLE TRACKS:

  "Heaven Awaits/ Hell Takes"

  "Born To Die"

  "World Detonation"