Kreator – Power Of Metal.dk

Kreator @ Copenhell 2018 (Refshaleøen, 22-06-2018)

Tommy Skøtt — Fri, 06 Jul 2018 10:48:18 +0000

Dead Head – Swine Plague

Reinier de Vries — Wed, 21 Jun 2017 10:39:49 +0000

BOOOOOOMMMMM! Right in your face! If you regularly listen to albums at maximum volume, you had better turn it down, otherwise your speakers will explode. This is how Slayer, Kreator, and Exodus were in their early days. Honest, dirty, aggressive recordings, not completely cleaned of little mistakes. On top of that, the album’s production had them sounding as heavy as a whale. Did the new Kreator album with too many melodic pieces disappoint you? Then this is the perfect remedy. Do you find all the albums of the New Wave of Thrash bands and the Bay Area look-a-likes too overproduced and polished sounding? The new Dead Head album Swine Plague is the cure.

Sure, you can hear where this Dutch band got its inspiration and influences from, but they do it in their own original way and hit the nail on the head with this release. I doubt if there will be a heavier and more aggressive thrash album this year. On the 2009 album Depression Tank, Ralph de Boer handled the vocals, but I’m glad Tom Van Dijk has returned. Tom’s aggressive singing style sounds very familiar and similar to his younger days. Both Ronnie and Robbie play one howling, furious solo after another, and the riffs saw, shred, and scrape song after song. From start to finish, the tempo is very high, but with enough mid-tempo pieces to make the songs sound even heavier.

The album starts with the fast opener ‘Helhuizen’, named after a small place in Holland. In ‘Dühr’ you hear an example of the heavy mid tempo I mentioned earlier. After that, it is old school nasty thrash that blows you away. The only resting point is the short interlude ‘The Reformation’, after which ‘The Gates Beyond’ goes through the sound barrier. Kudos to drummer Hans Spijker for that!

I have been a Dead Head fan since their second album Dream Deceiver, which I think is still their best. However, Swine Plague comes in second for sure. Being a fan and being Dutch perhaps doesn’t make me the most objective person, but I am sure that if this record was from a thrash band from another country, I would be just as enthusiastic and blown away. Swine Plague is the heaviest thrash album I have listened to this year, and I have listened to quite a few! You don’t believe me? Buy this swine and you know I’m not talking shit.

Distillator – Summoning The Malicious

Reinier de Vries — Mon, 24 Apr 2017 13:52:12 +0000

Fans of eighties thrash have another (new) band they will enjoy. Dutch three piece Distillator (derivative of to distill beer) release their second full-length called Summoning the Malicious. Their debut Revolutionary Cells (2015) already was a fine album to listen to, but was still rather average. The new album has matured in song writing and in execution. Their gigs with Gojira, Anthrax, Vektor, Raven, Metal Church, Testament, and at the 70000 Tons of Metal cruise seem to have payed off.

Their ant-ass-tide thrash metal throws you to the ground from start to finish. Only one slower piece called ‘The King of Kings’ makes it possible to catch your breath. The music is a mix of Destruction, Kreator, early Metallica, Testament, and Slayer. The voice of Laurens is aggressive but with high shouting parts in a kind of a Schmier style. The music is a feast of recognizable influences. In ‘Mechanized Existence,’ Testament melodies, howling Slayer solos, and old school Metallica jumping riffs are ingredients for one of the best songs. ‘Hit the Lights’ enters my mind at the start of the third track and lots of other memories of the Kill’em All period. After that, the party goes on, with fast and furious thrash the way I enjoy it. Like I already wrote, the eighth song is the slowest and also the longest. It sounds a bit threatening and has a nice built up.

In October 2015, I saw the band open for Anthrax. Like Destruction, the band only has one guitar player in the line up. On the album that is never a problem, but sometimes live it can be, especially during a solo. Back in 2015 it did not hit me, so the band is also worth watching live. So, old school thrash fanatics grab your chance and give this honest, hardworking band your approval.