![\"Extinction](\"http:\/\/powerofmetal.dk\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Extinction-The-Dark-Matter.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nSo many years ago that I care not remember exactly how many, I met two fine, young men from the Basque country via the Annhilator forum. A bunch of folk who all admired the skills of one Jeff Waters met at the Wacken festival and stayed in the same camp, and the two Basque youngsters were among them. These two guys were extremely passionate about music and they had a band going on. It was called Legen Beltza, and it was a good band. They released\u00a0four thrash\u00a0albums, which weren’t bad at all. After the release of the album entitled ‘Need to Suffer’, the band split, though. Why, I don’t know.<\/p>\n
After the split, guitarist Ekaitz (also called Stormy) kept making and exploring music, among other things as live guitarist for Angelus Apatrida.\u00a0The latest\u00a0project he’s involved in is called Extinction and the three-piece, completed by bassist Andoni and\u00a0drummer Ivan, have now released a 28-minute effort called ‘The\u00a0Dark Matter’.<\/p>\n
Over\u00a0the course of this 28-minute disc, the trio march through a diverse representation of heavy music.\u00a0First, there’s a typical, dark intro piece with thunder and stuff. Nothing shocking there. Then\u00a0a piece of\u00a0Slayer inspired modern thrash with growling vocal (the title track),\u00a0an eerie, atmosphere-filled tune with a touch of folkloristic chanting mixed with full-on thrash metal\u00a0(Amegabeko Iluntasuna), an\u00a0effect-laden instrumental piece, which could have been conjured up by Trey Azagthoth (Zagadka), a piece that is approaching Machine Head’s turf of long thrash ballads (Father to Son), then the tune Voyager, which is\u00a0simply a Spanish (ahem, Basque!) guitar and a baryton chant on top – very nice –\u00a0again, lot’s of atmosphere. To conclude the release, Extinction\u00a0serve an effective and very Lamb of God sounding mid-tempo\u00a0thrash ditty. Excellent stuff.<\/p>\n
‘The Dark Matter’ is a collection of seven well-wrought pieces of music, and what it first and foremost is for me, is\u00a0a band that desperately wants to show that they master diversity and several aspects of a genre. They do that – they make things sound authentic and real, and the songs are, in fact, excellent, and they definitely manage to create an atmosphere of brooding darkness and eeriness throughout.<\/p>\n
A\u00a0longer\u00a0running time\u00a0would probably have given Extinction a chance of\u00a0creating a more clear\u00a0red line through these diverse songs, and that is actually one of my very few pain points. Another would be that it could be interesting to hear the title track and\u00a0Father to Son\u00a0with a Robb Flynn type singer rather than a growl, but, hey,\u00a0that’s a detail!<\/p>\n
This release is well-worth checking out for those of you who like thrash with a twist and lots of atmosphere. Go get.<\/p>\n