It has been a few years since I last came across the music of Bio-Cancer. 2015’s ‘Tormenting The Innocent’ was the last time I listened to this Greek extreme thrash unit, and they impressed me back on that release, so that raises the question; have they developed their sound and will it catch my attention still?
“Citizen… Down” as an opening track is a statement of intent. It catches the attention straight off with a traditional heavy thrash riff before a raw vocal section ushers in the madness. The blend of classic minded thrash mixed with crossover and extreme styles is intense. Buzzing guitars, aggressively snarled vocals and relentless double kick bursts assault you and the slick shredding sections add that classic thrash flair to cap this wild song. “44 Days In Hell” is one of the stand out tracks for me on this album. It’s got that solid thrash groove but the melodic metal and subtle extreme influences nudged into the musical composition give it that spark which really makes it shine. The best way to describe it would be thrash metal heavily inspired by the mid-90’s melodic death metal sound. With plenty of solid rhythmic hooks, the track will guarantee plenty of banding and windmilling heads to its cutting riffs and sharp soloing.
“Footprints On My Back” is an energetic, riff-driven track. Its fast pace is no doubt thanks to its solid rhythm section giving a tight foundation for the surge of riffs and wild vocals to charge upon. There isn’t much else to say, it’s just a fast and frantic thrash attack. The title track “Revengeance” is a bit more dynamic. From its solid pedal-tone riff opening to the full-speed riff assault which follows shortly after, the track has a more dynamic feel to it. The frantic vocal snarling is delivered at a rapid-fire pace, even during the marginally slower choruses. The frenzied pace and almost feral edge to the sound gives it that dangerous feel to the sound. Through all the chaos you get to hear some glimpses of the bassline which has some slick melodic runs and catchy hooks, adding an extra dimension to the guitars which are for the majority of the time, seconds away from exploding to life in either a ripping solo or buzzsaw riffing.
Starting off the second half of the album is “Dream Merchants”, which itself is another stand out track. The atmospheric, droning intro quickly transitions into the trademark, extreme-speed thrash attack on the musical side of things whilst the vocals are intense, wild and extremely aggressive. The fills from the guitar and bass help punctuate the blistering riffs and there is a real venomous edge which oozes with danger in the sound. The track shifts round the 3:20ish point to a slick harmony section with some big, meaty chug sections underneath it and soon enough, the soaring classic thrash leads come ripping through before we get one more venomous run to finish. It’s a tremendous track and well worth a listen to!
Having to follow up the incredible ‘Dream Merchants’ is a tough task and whilst it would be unfair to say the final trio of tracks fall flat in this aspect, they don’t exactly match or top it. “Swiping Life Away”, “Underdog (Against The Odds)” and “Bludgeoning Skullcrushing Mayhem” all have their highlights and strong points. All are loaded with good rhythmic hooks and lightning-quick riffing. They pack some solid and intense vocals and there are some great melodic hooks and runs in them, but all three just lack that spark which the previously mentioned ‘Dream Merchants’ had. ‘Swiping Life Away’ has some rapid-fire vocals which are furiously delivered at a frantic pace and it has some good call and response gang vocal spots in its transition sections. ‘Underdog’ is a steadier paced number compared to the rest of the release which features some great drum patterns and a fantastic bassline. Closing track ‘Bludgeoning Skullcrushing Mayhem’ is more atmospheric, featuring some exotic sounding compositions and a more extreme metal edge to the sound with filthy buzzsaw guitar lines, frantic and explosive bursts of chords and a frenzied final run. These three tracks are good, they show a level of consistency which has ran throughout the entire release, they just don’t have the same spark which the standout tracks have, and that is what prevents them from shining and standing out like ‘Dream Merchants’ and ’44 Days In Hell’.
If you like things fast, wild and unhinged, then this is certainly something for you to listen to. It is at its core, a thrash release. The thrash runs deep in its veins and despite the more extreme influences the sound has, it cannot mask the power of the galloping riffs which surge forwards. Classic thrash with the modern crossover elements from the extreme side, Bio-Cancer hit hard and take no prisoners, but the question remains; has their sound developed since my last exposure to them?
Yes.
(8/10 Fraggle)
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