Whilst I have enjoyed the recent surge in retro inspired stoner rock and doom which has appeared so far this year, there’s nothing quite like thrash and recently having had two thrash albums from Switchtense and Warfect, with a new one from Teutonic legends Destruction and releases from Nervosa and Dust Bolt all looming, it’s safe to say that my love for riffs and groove will remain satisfied, just instead of the laid back or killer full sound, it’ll be heavier in a different sense and faster… a LOT faster.
And this is where Austrian underground thrash machine Deathstorm come in. With a sound sticking true to the classic supercharged mid 80’s feel and appealing to those who like their music raw and to the point without any popularity agendas or trends attached, this second full length offering put out by High Roller Records assures to satisfy. So let’s see what else apart from blood is lurking beneath the crypts.
In a word – Riffs. In several more – a lot of fucking riffs.
Eight songs, thirty one minutes. That is all that this album offers, but when you look back, this album lives up to that classic approach formula. Long enough to fit on one side of a cassette, true to the tape trading scene and eight tracks, the standard set by Metallica’s iconic trilogy of Ride/Master/AJFA, it’s the right length to hit hard and fast and have you wanting more of it. From the opening burst of energy in “Deathblow” to the final flurry of riffs in “I Saw The Devil”, this is one release which ticks the boxes for sound.
With riffs which have a feel of familiarity to them to the extent that you would expect them to be perhaps unreleased demo’s from the mid-80’s, Deathstorm have tapped into the classic sound and given it a slight modern cutting edge without sacrificing what makes them stand out amongst up and coming thrash acts. Be it the pummelling rhythm section or early Kreator styled vocal delivery, everything about this album just oozes that unique kind of energy which makes thrash great. Quality solo’s with that entropic nature and intense delivery, classic chugging breaks between the high speed assaults and plenty of moments where fists in the air and shouting “Oi! Oi! Oi! Oi!” seems like the only natural thing to do, it’s got a sound which begs to be experienced live.
Sure, there are blemishes and flaws with the record. The lead sound is like Kerry King’s – a bit grating and off at times and the lead delivery, whilst wild is just as directionless in points, something which does grate on me as a fan of thrash (I like some melodic direction in lead spots, don’t shoot me!) and you could play ‘spot the riff’ and throw out moments like the eerily similar ‘Symphony Of Destruction’ spot or the ‘I’m sure I heard this on Reign In Blood’ moment of awareness… Which can count for the leads too… But it’s those things, coupled with the all out solid effort and intensity which only 80’s thrash can sometimes bring which make this a great piece of music, and the fact it’s just over half an hour long means there is plenty of gas in the tank when replay factor is concerned.
In all, there is a lot lurking beneath the crypt, not just blood. Deathstorm have dug in there, exhumed some of the thrash which many of us felt died when Metallica’s self titled album was released, when Dave Mustaine found God and stopped playing some of the best tracks he ever penned, when Slayer suddenly forgot how to solo after two back to back solid albums… “Blood Beneath The Crypt” reminds us of why thrash isn’t just a genre, but a cult, a way of life at times… And every now and then, a reminder is needed, something which takes us back to the roots and shows us just what it used to sound like and how it can still sound like that. As good as this throwback feel is, I do enjoy most forms of thrash, even the more groove metal influenced current thrash sounds… But when you’re listening to something insanely fast, vocals being spat harshly at you and the overwhelming urge to either try and give yourself whiplash through windmill headbanging or the urge to run into people in an anti-clockwise manner whilst pitting… There’s a thought, why are near enough all circle pits performed in this way? Answers in the comments because it’s something which has bugged me for some time…
Yeah, back on point… This is a classic thrash album by a thrash band who live for keeping that spirit of the 80’s going strong and reminding us that sometimes, it’s not a bad thing to be stuck down memory lane.
(7.5/10 Fraggle)
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