Portugal has churned out some great thrash acts over the past 20 years. Amongst the bands in this wave, Prayers Of Sanity, Revolution Within and Switchtense have offered us some fine thrash assaults which have had a good variety of riffs and grooves, ranging from Exodus and Slayer inspired bay area bombardments to the cutting edge and ferocity of the Scandinavian thrash-death legends The Haunted. Last Piss Before Death are next up to bring the thrash, but this time, it’s mixed with a heavy dose of groove metal a-la Pantera and some shades of the more modern take on it. So, let’s see if this measures up, or if it is just a piss-take.

Amusing name aside, there isn’t much which really stands out about this self-titled groove-laden thrash album. It is loaded full of no-nonsense riffs, tight rhythmic control and some real wild vocals which vary from eerie raw cleans to flat out screaming, but aside from that the whole thing is a bit generic. Opening track “Electric Ballroom” pretty much nails this point home – the bass and drums are meaty and are locked in step perfectly and the guitars have that ‘hollow’ modern distortion sound which has a heavier edge but seems to lack a spirit to make it sound alive. It’s got a good rhythmic pulse, perfect for headbanging along to and the vocals are fairly active, but on the whole, it’s just… there. It is a no-nonsense opening track, but that is all it is, a simple demonstration of what this band sound like.

There’s a little more variety in styles as the album progresses. “Out Of Luck” sounds like a strange blend of hardcore punk meets groove metal meets Butthole Surfers with its jarring and urgently paced delivery whilst “Devil’s Road” is basically a watered-down version of a Lamb Of God song, but again, there is something missing in each of these tracks which should jump out at you and grab your attention.

Groove Metal is all about that massive sound and continuous momentum. It’s about a rhythm or a riff which hooks its arms around your shoulders and headbangs alongside you. It’s about that attitude loaded vibe across the tracks which makes them stand out as something special. On this release, very little manages that. Sure, “Portugal” might be something special in a live setting with its big build up feel sections and powerful low-end thunder and “The Circle” might be the closest thing to an actual spark of life in a song, but ultimately, this is just groove-laden thrash without the fight in it, just a trickling of effort and nothing more… Perhaps this is where the idea for the name comes from?

I know if I was going to have a last piss before death I’d make sure it was an epic one…. Not this.

(4/10 Fraggle)

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https://ragingplanet.bandcamp.com/album/last-piss-before-death-last-piss-before-death