For my money, there is no better Death Metal vocalist than Karl Willetts. There is just something about it that just feels like “Classic Death Metal”. His delivery is always on point with the perfect blend of raw power and intensity. His time and contribution to the one and only Bolt Thrower were nothing short of incredible. When the band broke up in 2015, Willets along with Benediction bassist Frank Healy quickly formed Memoriam the following year.
Detroit metallers Battlecross has teased a new photo from the studio where the band is working on mateiral for a future release. The band has been teasing the idea of new music for some time, and their last release was 2015’s Rise To Power via Metal Blade Records. The band performed last fall as opening support for Philip H. Anselmo and The Illegals, in their hometown (video below). Hopefully, this activity means we will get some new tunes from this awesome, essential heavy band soon! Continue reading
American thrash metallers Battlecross are back with their fourth album, Rise to Power (Metal Blade). The band, fronted by Kyle “Gumby” Gunther [vocals], have always shown little regard for dwelling on the same for more than a moment or two, but push it even further for their latest effort.
Anyone who has heard 2011’s Rise to Honor or 2013’s War of Will [both Metal Blade] knows that these guys are a seriously talented bunch of musicians, but Rise to Power feels like a step back, one that’s lacking what little focus that was there to make earlier albums enjoyable. Instead we’re given 10 tracks of largely repetitive, identical thrashcore by numbers. It’s competent stuff, but a largely tuneless mess of riffs and screams that smacks of throwing a lot of noise at a wall and seeing what sticks. It’s not a huge step away from their previous albums, but it’s just not that enjoyable.
It’s hard to pin down exactly what Battlecross sound like. Opening track ‘Scars’ boasts some enjoyable 80s speed metal leads somewhere in the final third, before ‘Not Your Slave’ strays into Lamb of God-lite groove with a bit of melodeth segwayed into the middle. ‘Spoiled’ could almost pass for early Megadeth before jumping off into classic In Flames territory. While they cover a lot of ground and amalgamate plenty of styles into their music, they never really settle on a definitive “Battlecross© sound”.
When they are good, however, Battlecross create some really enjoyable music. Unfortunately they throw in so much derivative chaff that it’s hard to pick out standout tracks; each one usually features a good riff or two and the solos are of the highest quality – ‘Spoiled’ is the best example of the quality leads this band are capable of – but it’s all quickly lost in the maelstrom.
With each track hovering around the three-minute mark, Rise to Power is mercifully short at only 35 minutes. If you like bands that make a lot of the right noises and take a machine gun scatter approach to riffs, Battlecross are probably for you.
6.0/10
DAN SWINHOE