Call me crazy, but I think we may be in the midst of another thrash revival. But whereas the wave of 10 years ago was dominated by worshipers of the Bay Area and New York styles and their aesthetics (denim vests, hi-tops, trucker hats), the warriors of today steer much closer to the proto-black and -death sounds emanating from Germany and Brazil. One emerging band of trash metal soldiers is Boston’s Black Mass, and Decibel is pleased to present an exclusive stream of the band’s new album, Feast at the Forbidden Tree.
Here’s how guitarist and lead vocalist Brendan O’Hare describes the album:
“When we wrote Feast… we were further exploring our original influences, a lot of which are not necessarily thrash, and I think that can be heard throughout the album. We never really cared for staying in our lane as far as genres go so we got to do a lot of new things on this recording. For instance, the scream in the intro was kind of just an idea but when we laid it down and heard it back we had to keep it. I damn near passed out and once I finally caught my breath I was seeing stars. In short, we just wanted to do an album with a lot of different sounds on it but we definitely kept it in the Black Mass tradition.”
For sure, his screams in the intro and elsewhere are unhinged in just the right way. Don’t worry, Brendan, you nearly passed out for a good cause!
For fans of dark, raw and exciting thrash metal, this album brings all the supplies you’ll need to mount your assault! Pay particular attention to highlights like “A.S.H.E.S.”, which shows the band’s ability to sound spontaneous yet still come across as mature, accomplished songwriters. And I mean, if you just want to let it rip, “Nothing is Sacred” and “Dead to the World” (epic screaming in the middle part!) are straightforward celebrations of riffs and breakneck speeds.
Feast at the Forbidden Tree comes out this Friday via Redefining Darkness Records.
