Year: 2013
The problem with many of the Thrash Metal bands these days is that most of it sounds very contrived and forced.
The basic difference between the thrash metal back in the 80’s and the thrash
metal today, is that back then, the music had a passion and the bands playing
the music sounded like they were having fun. That is lost out on most of today’s
thrash bands. However, that being said, there is still a hand full of bands
that are bringing back that old school passion through their music. The latest
album by Canadian act Blackrat is a fine example for this.
Blackrat is a not a pure Thrash Metal band. Their music contains a whole lot of Black Metal and the right
amount of Crust Punk. Reading the mere description of this combination of
elements alone, had me panting like a dog in heat. But nothing prepared me for the tight
delivery that is present on ‘Whiskey and Blasphemy’, the band’s debut full
length.
The performance on the record is
as tight as a nun’s cunt. Apologies for the blasphemous language, but repeated
listening to this record has caused the contagious blasphemy to spread within
me. This three piece’s music has something that eludes many bands these days: it has a soul and a very dark one at that. The thrashy riffs and the blackened
atmosphere, along with the punk impatience, amalgamate to give a high energy,
satan worshipping, binge drinking soundtrack.
It is not hard to figure out that
Blackrat have fun in doing what they do. The entire album rides on high
adrenaline from start to finish. The guitar riffs of Ian Lemke are some fine
black thrash licks and the loud bass work of Stu Loughlin brings to the music
the much needed heavy feel. Together, these two unleash tracks that are dark,
while at the same time, are very hard to sit still to. The vocals are as
sickening as the lyrics uttered by them. The rhythm is well maintained by
drummer Russel Shanahan, whose fast beats and start stop passages bring a sense
of urgency to the music.
The production on this record is
reminiscent of many albums that were released as part of the second wave of
black metal and this really caught me off guard. While bands today go for clean
production jobs, these guys have kept it grimy and dirty. The dark and
blasphemous atmosphere created by the production suits the music perfectly. Blackrat
has managed to capture that old school feel through their song structures and
production. This album sound like it would be comfortably home in the late 80’s.
The songs are not complicated in
the least. Rather they are short and simple in their structure. What makes
these song work is the execution and delivery. Though the entire album clocks
in at only 28 minutes, every minute of ‘Whiskey and Blasphemy’ is ridiculously
enjoyable and downright fun. The band’s interests can be summed up in a few
words: Satan, Booze and Sleaze. That is all that is needed for a good time,
right?
If there ever was, a perfect
soundtrack to worshipping Satan while holding a beer in your hand, then this
it.
Rating: 86%
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