FRRAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHH!
There’s not a huge amount of great new thrash metal bands out there. Sure we had the thrash revival a few years back with bands like Evile & Municipal Waste waving the flag for those of us that used to wear tight black jeans, Converse hi-tops and worship at the altar of bands like Exodus & DRI. Following their success there spawned a sea of band wagon jumpers and posers and what these bands lacked in spark and thrash cred they made up for with complicated hair dos and meticulously arranged patch jackets. Hell…. even some of the original thrash acts smelt a few quid and came out of retirement to let us know they still had it / make a quick buck, depending on how cynical you felt at the time. Some were mega – recent albums by Assassin & Exumer are fucking boss and some were…… not so clever.
Then there are the bands that seem to have always been there, even holding our hands and telling us everything was gonna be ok through the grunge wankathon of the 90s and other musical trends. Bands like Sodom & Overkill …… which is a clumsy segue into this review of the debut record by new German thrashers Bonded.
I say “new” but this band’s line-up drips with thrash credibility featuring former members of Sodom with Bernemann on guitar and Makka on drums, Assassin’s own Ingo Bajonczac providing vocals and Suicidal Angels axe man Christian Tsitsis & Marc Hauschild on bass rounding off the group, how can you go wrong with that pedigree? Plus… there’s a cheeky Brucie Bonus too with Overkill’s Bobby ‘Blitz’ Ellsworth lending his industrial pipes to the title track.
No surprises here then as this album is a compendium of everything you love about thrash. A kaleidoscope of ridiculously high-speed and pin point riffing, roaring vocals, songs that are catchier than that Chinese guy with a cough you just walked past and a percussive battery that pounds you harder than Brock Lesnar. This is everything that makes old school thrash so enjoyable.
Song writing and production is spot on and the energy on show here is monumental….and these ain’t no kids either. Tracks like “Suit Murderer”, “Je Suis Charlie” and the title track are built to get your head banging, fist pumping and you’ll be singing along with Ingo and Blitz, I guarantee it.
Lyrically “Rest In Violence” offers a wide variety of themes and topics – from personal experiences such as misery and despair in “The Outer Rim” or the free-to-interpret “Godgiven” to socially critical topics as in” or the aforementioned “Je Suis Charlie”, which speaks for itself. The production by Cornelius Rambadt (Sodom, Disbelief, Onkel Tom, etc.) is perfect and the awesome sleeve artwork by Björn Gooßes / Killustrations (Aborted, The Crown, Carnal Forge, etc.) seals the deal.
Recommended for all thrash fans new & old!
(8/10 Mark Eve)
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