German-based Israeli quartet Shredhead have just released their sophomore album, Death Is Righteous (Mighty Music). Despite the cheesy moniker and gaudy album artwork, the band – Aharon Ragoza (vocals), Yotam Nagor (guitars), Lee Lavy (bass) and Roee Kahana (drums) – are actually a surprisingly tight thrash outfit.
Muscular, groove-laden riffing is the order of the day, and everything on Death Is Righteous brings to mind the likes of Pantera circa ’91-94, Lamb of God, Sylosis and Dolving-era The Haunted. Such hero worship works out well; generally it’s a relentless swirl of shredding, squealing solos, Anselmo-esque screams and pummelling drums.
There’s plenty of good songs too; ‘Devil’s Race’, ‘The Lie’ and ‘Walk with the Dead’ all get the blood pumping with a furious mix of speed, groove and aggression. The likes of ‘Last Words Are Lost’ and ‘Hallucinations’ even stray into death metal territory. Shredhead are clearly a talented band – Nagor’s guitar work is especially impressive at times – and the ferocity rarely lets up and the appearance of Tue Madsen (The Haunted, Suicide Silence and Dark Tranquillity) on mixing/mastering duties give the whole thing a clear but muscular sound.
Unfortunately the consistency isn’t there and the song writing often lets them down. None of the songs are bad, but it’s often a case of once heard, soon forgotten – the title track is fairly non-descript and the album distinctly tails off towards the end.
If you’re after a stop gap until the next Lamb of God release, this should tide you over nicely. For the majority of its 42 minute runtime, Death Is Righteous delivers an enjoyable excuse to head bang. Unfortunately there’s too few standout moments for this to be a memorable or enduring listen, but maybe ones to watch for the future.
6.5/10
DAN SWINHOE