Havok "V" (2020)

 

Slow to the take up this fifth installment from revivalists Havok, It perhaps found me at the perfect time, an apatite Thrash Metal brewing and certainly satisfied as my recent spins of V have been nothing but fun and exciting! The faithful four piece outfit from Denver, Colorado tow a difficult line in resurrecting a style from the 80s with the glory of modern production. Originally is not their main aspiration but a consequence that could derail the vision. Subsequently they walk a tightrope in the shadow of great bands that came before, utilizing all the song writing constructs, techniques and aesthetics of the arguably most pivotal era in the history of Heavy Metal.

In its opening tracks just about every melodic refrain, chugging palm muted riff and cutting drum pattern reeks of that which came before. Distinct echos of early Metallica rhythm guitar and Megadeth's technical innovations are at the root of musical intent. Only the bass guitar strays with the occasional discordant harmonization more reminiscent of the Technical Death Metal to come. Riffs, arrangements and song structures are all potent! Each track feels fiery and intentional, written to pivot through its ideas with powerful impact, almost reminiscent of the momentum in a Slayer classic with its keenest of headbanging passages.

If it sounds like high praise then allow me to restrain myself. V tends to lack in stand out moments but instead deploys its music like a consistent revolution of familiarity. Executed with exceptional ability and flushes of dazzling, dexterous fretwork through its guitar solos, Its a dose of excellence devoid of originality or surprise. Front man David Sanchez seems to have fully embraced the politicization of his music, first appearing on Conformicide, V is also loaded with social-political commentary of a particular leaning. Like last time, his lyrics seem close to the pulse of podcast culture and the discussions of our time with Panpsychism and the coined term "Post-Truth Era" making its way into the topicality. Expressed with bold statements, it leaves little room for the same discussions that may have inspired his words.

As expressed in my opening remarks, an album like this ultimately boils down to personal preference and temperament. It's brilliantly executed revivalism with a strong political inflection that may put some off. The forging of Thrash Metal may of had similar sentiments within the scene but listeners today are of a broader variety. Personally, I don't take it all to seriously but it is very much in a similar spirit to the anti-war stance from the 80s. Fortunately for me its elements clicked into place. A stellar production and aesthetic fidelity plays well into the hands of the riveting Thrash energy these songs conjure! Its been a blast.

Rating: 8/10

Havok "Conformicide" (2017)

Looking through the lineup of Download Festival last year I spotted a young and thirsty Thrash Metal band known as Havok! With the time free to see them I hastily made my way to the blue tent, the fourth stage, where I blown away by the energetic show these guys put on! They are no revival act, Thrash may of been huge in the 80s but Havok shred with passion. Heavy, hard and fast they have a relevance sounding as good as any Thrash band has done before them. I've only checked out their "Time Is Up" record going into this one and I will mention it every time I speak of Havok, their sped up version of Slayer's Raining Blood is simply brilliant! Do check it out if your a Slayer fan.

"Conformicide" Is charged with upfront, in your face political and social messages that spare everyone's feelings. Initially I felt as if the topics could of been handled with more thought and consideration. The opening track "FPC", fuck political correctness, a one sided argument, lacked thought for reflection but what should I of expected? Blood pumping angry music like this is about venting the anger and frustration. Take aim and fire, leave no prisoners is the Metal attitude and what anthems these fist pumping, head banging tunes become in the spirit of Sanchez's explosive lyrics, which gets its moment to unsurprisingly take aim at Trump.

Its lyrical theme falls perfectly into place as the tip of the spear lunging towards you in a brutal metallic assault of rapid, nimble guitar thrashing and precision drumming that makes a technical feet of all typical Thrash tropes. From the start you'll hear Thrash's best ideas rehearsed and re-imagined in a crisp clear and vibrant guitar tone alongside equally impressive drums. The tone, mix and chemistry is gorgeous, easy to adjust, intense and full on it brings an energetic and creative set of riffs to life, with quite a few songs building to a moment of riffing dynamism as well as some grooving baselines taking center on the odd occasion.

In its opening half Havok really set themselves up for a modern classic with great, memorable lyrics and riveting instrumentals to match but a handful of tracks in the record starts to rest on its laurels with both the riffs and words seemingly drifting towards mediocrity. Its political commentaries repeat themselves and large parts of the songs seem to fill out with a similar intensity of low string shredding and drum pummeling that doesn't muster up the same excitement. The guitar solos are sterling from start to end, illuminating some tracks and throwing much needed spice into the songs that have started to tame however they don't blow the lid off, simply capturing that Thrash style to perfection.

After its conclusion a little gem of a bonus track awaits, Pantera's "Slaughtered", a blinding cover with a very blunt scream style from Sanchez that always reminds me of how his shrill voice was far more tolerable than expected during this record. If the steam had kept on pumping Id be screaming its praise but it seems the band front loaded their best numbers and ran out of juice for the records second half. Both brilliant and disappointing, we are definitely going to get a cracking live show with these new songs.

Favorite Tracks: FPC, Hang Em High, Dogmaniacal, Intention To Deceive

Rating: 7/10

Havok "Time Is Up" (2011)

American Thrash Metal band Havok from Denver Colorado are part of the Thrash revival scene that's emerged in recent years. I caught them at Download Festival and picked up this, their second record, based on the inclusion of "D.O.A", dead on arrival, a song I remembered from their impressive live show. Just like you might wish for, Havok are a band that in the two decades since the genres peak haven't strayed from the path. They have however let modern production and Metal sound influence their aesthetic in terms of quality and clarity but when it comes to the music its as Thrash as it gets. Those years gone by have picked out the best attributes, techniques, riffs and thrown them together in what would undoubtedly been a masterpiece if released in the 80s. With crisp crunchy guitars and punchy drums Havok bring the best of the genre in what sounds to me like a cross between Slayer and Testament.

Starting with "Prepare For Attack" it doesn't take long for a blitz of base pedals and choppy temperate guitar riffs to raise the energy and create an atmosphere fit for circle pits and intense moshing. No messing around and straight to the point this album is forty minutes of pure Thrash and no filler! Without faulting from this path no song is particularly stands out or becomes truly remarkable, its strengths are in its continual consistency, never leting its foot of the gas. If you've got the iTunes edition there's an extra treat in store as the bonus track is a cover of Slayer's "Raining Blood" played with flawless precision at a higher tempo, a level of adrenaline maybe matched by the menacing riffs on "No Amnesty".

Each element at work is full throttle, the drums crisp, bold and punchy the snares gorgeous tone bursts through with a solid snappy punch and the pedals pack a meaty momentum as they loudly whirl swiftly like a mechanical backbone of brutality. They work intertwined with the palm muted and open string chugging guitars to create energetic momentum in the rhythm department. The guitars tone sounds squeezed with distortion as the fast choppy guitars shred away at fast speeds, when they break for cleaner leads the tone shows a softer side and I would say the lead guitars are most reminiscent of Megadeth guitar solos and sometimes vocally too. Singer Sanchez's narrow, throaty and slightly nasal voice has a classic vibe and in one song mimics the classic bellowing and high pitched scream of Tom Araya from Slayer.

In its purity the record often echos familiarity with classic bands of the era without encroaching their identity and the only thing besides production that sounds like a step forward are the gang shouts which slide into the fold brilliantly. All other aspects of the record are classic, no guitar technique or riff sounds far from the era but the recreational aspect plays it out to a stunning level. Extremely enjoyable record, as I said, would of been a classic if released in the 80s.

Favorite Tracks: No Amnesty, D.O.A

Rating: 8/10

Download Festival 2016 Top 10 Performances

That's it! Ive officially been going to Donington for a decade and as always music festivals are a wonderful experience, Download being one of the best with three days and four stages of heavy and hard music to get stuck into. This years was the most subdued of all Ive been to, the rain came down as heavy as the metal and really affected the freedom to rock out, head bang and mosh to your hearts content, at least if your me and are not fond of being soaking wet and cold. So cocooned in my waterproofs and ponchos I did my best to stay dry while enjoying some great performances.

(10) Ho99o9

Hailed as a Hip Hop / Punk crossover Ho99o9 are often talked about with Death Grips in mind. This duo take their raps to dark, noisy and aggressive places with sampled punk guitars and a crazy rebellious persona. I only got to catch half there set on the forth stage but it was a blinding riot of aggression, noise and attitude that blew me away.

(9) Rammstein

 Not the first time Ive seen them live and probably not the last. You can count on Rammstein to put on a good show fueled by fire, pyrotechnics and an absurd amounts of fireworks. They were fantastic however I wasn't keen on their cover of Depeche Mode's "Stripped". An energetic show loaded with their classics.

(8) Megadeth

 

Thrash legends Megadeth came out playing a solid set with a few tracks from their latest album "Dystopia" which sounded fantastic live. Loaded with classics like "Hanger 18", "Trust" and "Countdown To Extinction" there was little they could do wrong.

(7) Havok

A classic Thrash Metal band I had not heard of before spotting them on the lineup. Glad I chose to watch them, very fast and energetic thrash like a cross between Slayer and Testament with many climatic and intense moments in their songs to head bang to.

(6) Amon Amarth

An undeniably great Viking Metal band of which Ive never quite clicked with. Their latest record "Jomsviking" was a decent listen and seeing them certainly helped me appreciate them more. Fantastic stage presences with dragons heads and rune stones plus plenty of fire!

(5) Korn

I've not been in the mood for Korn in a while but when they walked on stage I was sucked in. Playing a few more songs than usual from 2003's "Take A Look In The Mirror" their set felt a bit chunkier than usual and I enjoyed every minute of there performance. So good to hear them again.

(4) Periphery

This band well and truly won me over with last years double release of "Alpha" and "Omega". Their performance was tight and flawless with a thick and dense wall of Djemt coming from the four guitarists. It was an infectious performance of groovy head banging that sounded to big for the stage. Set was a little short but that's just because I didn't want it to stop!

(3) Deftones

Probably both the best and worst performance of download but at no fault of the band. Promoting their new record "Gore" I caught them a week back at Wembly warming up for the big stage and they sounded fantastic. On the day though the rain poured and soured what would of been a memorable show, Deftones lined up their more emotional and atmospheric tracks for the sunset slot on the main stage and in the downpour it still sounded fantastic but the weather sucked the life out of the crowd.

(2) Babymetal

Babymetal also suffered the rain with bursts of heavy showers delaying their set for over half an hour. When they finally took to the stage the crowd loved it and so did I! They are even better as a live act and the bands modern compression heavy production sounded sublime on the big stage. The girls danced along with metallic choreography and smiles to fire up everyone's spirits. Definitely would of been in the pit if it wasn't for the mud and rain.

(1) Black Sabbath

The most influential and important band in Metal history would always make it a historic occasion when they play, as part of their farewell tour the band get ready to close the curtains on their history spanning six decades. It was a flawless performance with Ozzy who can barely string a sentence together having no issues hitting all the words and notes while inspiring the crowd with momentary bursts of energy before shuffling back to center stage. Toni Iommi and Gezzer Buttler sounded sublime with the best guitar tones to grace the stage. The stand in drummer got a fair spotlight with a tame and lengthy set of drum solos leading into Iron Man and hearing "Into The Void" really made my evening. It was one to cross off the bucket list and I'm so very glad I waited out the rain at the front of the crowd to see them.