The dog days of August are almost upon us and, man, this parrot is wiltin’. Anyway, not too much for me to get excited about this time around, but you know, read for yourself and find out.
“Consistent” is a good word to describe OVERKILL’s White Devil Armory. I mean, this band DOES change, and they’ve been through a lot in their career — changing times, age, members leaving — but they’ve kind of seen their way through it all. This is how most reviews you’re going to read will sum this record up. This sounds like a thrash record, for sure, and does Bobby Blitz ever age? I mean, his voice is just as sharp and aggressive as ever. So, onto the record, right? Has Overkill ever put out a record that sucks? Not really, so for what it’s worth, the production is crisp, sharp, and sounds like what this genre should sound like. The songs are cool, and mostly have that later-era Overkill vibe, where it’s thrash kinda mixed with high-energy Motorhead sorta stuff. One complaint that I’ve had with the last couple of records (and this one) is that they kind of tread water. I mean, there is NOTHING new here. Consistent? Yes. Thrilling? No. 5 Fucking Pecks
MUTILATION RITES, Harbinger. Wow, I’m pecking digging this a little bit. Black metal isn’t really in my wheelhouse, but I wouldn’t really call this black metal. Sure there are elements, but like Deafheaven, this kind of defies the genre of which it’s associated. There’s crust, sludge, thrash and, well, blackened ear-fuckery, all tied up neatly to deliver one pretty gnarly package. It’s really easy for the purists to kind of hate on this, but listening to it, I mean really listening to it is kind of a treat. This is mean and nasty — none of that frostbitten icy windstorm birdshit that a ton of these types of bands do. I dunno, I’m pecking into this.
MONARCH, Sabbracadaver. OK, I do speak a little French. I mean, we parrots are bilingual. But I did not really feel like scouring the web to find this, so I haven’t listened to it. This is a three-track 46-minute opus, and if ANY of their recent efforts is an indication, this is going to be great. Monarch are heavy, brooding, plodding death/doom, and they totally have their own sound. This shit is raw and expansive at the same time, so get it. Uhhh… 8 Fucking Pecks (screw you, I know I’m going to like it).
