Tag Archives: Melodic Thrash

Harlott – Proliferation

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Do you ever have those moods where absolutely, positively nothing else will do but some metal up your ass? Of course you do – you wouldn’t be here otherwise would you? Well next time the calling is upon you, treat your tympanics to a tickle from Proliferation (Metal Blade) by Harlott. It’s the finding of gems like this that make me glad to be a reviewer.

Hailing from the land of shite beer and Bogans where absolutely everything wants to fucking kill you [he means Australia – UK Ed], these boys are clearly patriotic crusaders.

Equal parts Megadeth, Slayer, Annihilator and Darkane, this album is a proper, bruising, neck-destroying slab of old school trad thrash. As such, it can be a little derivative and predictable at times, but it’s all played with so much heart, pace and vigour that you can’t help but love it. Let’s face it – we don’t listen to thrash for odysseys of self-discovery. If you like your thrash, go see them on their tour with Annihilator. The crowd at those shows is going to look like a supercharged wind farm.

And that’s all there is to it really – there’s little point in going though track by track, as I’d be saying the same things about each one: Fast, heavy, tight, meaty, shouty slices of old school thrash excellence.

That said, we all have our favourites, and mine are ‘Proliferation’, ‘Systematic Retribution’ (it kind of reminds me of Mary Beats Jane in places), ‘Restless’, ‘The Fading Light’ (Annihilatortastic), ‘Civil Unrest’ and ‘Legion’ (We Are Harlott!).

This album is designed to turn a crowd into a sweat – and lager – drenched maelstrom of moshing, windmilling, sky punching and burst vocal chords.

In other words, it’s a fackin’ beaut, mate.

Steve Hughes will be proud.

 

8.0/10

PHILIP PAGE

 


Bliksem – Gruesome Masterpiece

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With their native mainland Western Europe falling under the spell of Belgian quintet Bliksem, their sophomore effort, Gruesome Masterpiece (Iron Will/Rough Trade) takes the rough and ready chugging metal sound of their debut and looks to expand, both musically and in terms of building a more international following.

Thrashing and flailing, ‘Crawling In The Dirt’ and ‘Kywas’ beckon, coyly curling a finger and inviting us to draw closer to an opening pair of swaggering, pounding, headbanging melodic thrash songs. Peggy Meeusen is a snarling asset, switching from throat savagery to melodic hooks in ‘Room Without A View’ and then vulnerable on ‘Mistress Of The Damned’. But, despite her barb and vigour, and the technical proficiency throughout, as the album progresses and the plat du jour is served, it becomes clear the majority of the album is mid-paced stodgy fodder.

While there’s nothing wrong with pub grub, Bliksem, slang for bastard or asshole, have little to establish themselves beyond being the sort of act you’d watch for a few songs at a festival, beer in hand, head nodding, thinking “Yeah, they’re alright” before wandering off to take in something more substantial, something more inviting, something less… meat and potatoes (with not enough gravy).

They do mix things up, and in ‘Morphine Dreams’ attempt a doomy, crashing nine minute epic, where, sadly ambition and execution, unlike dream and day, fail to unite. In our world of enthusings, ponderings and writings about metal marathons, usually calling a lengthy track “torturous” would be seen as an extremely positive attribute, and an achievement of an aim… in this case, it’s meant literally, as the album centrepiece drags monotonously on, boring you to death. Spiky ‘Twist The Knife’ hurtles in and attempts CPR with compressions that’d break your rib cage all Ripper era Judas Priest / Annihilator ground and pound, but going-nowhere ballad ‘Out Of The Darkness’ sees the last breath escape.

Meeusen’s voice aside, despite aptitude and, I’m sure, a love of all things melodic thrash, harder rock and heavy metal, there is little distinctive in the Bliksem wares. All in, despite promise, there are too many indistinct moments for Gruesome Masterpiece to be anything other than just A.N.Other decent album.

6.0/10

STEVE TOVEY