The speed/thrash legends from Arizona, have returned. After the re-recording of the “No Place For Disgrace” classic 2 years ago, they are back with a pack of original material for their long-time fans.
The album kicks in with “Seventh Seal”, a mid tempo headbanger with a killer chorus blending the modern approach with the classic FLOTSAM AND JETSAM sound (as known on the “No Place For Disgrace” and “Doomsday For The Deceiver” albums). Erik AK proves he’s in great shape right off the bat, arguably one of the most well-maintained thrash metal voices. Also, the guitar work throughout the record really surprised me, as it draws inspiration from the early Flots days without copying it. “Life Is A Mess” and “Taser” thrash our ears with some speed/thrash madness the way it should be, being groovy when needed (with the bass being extremely audible, something I personally enjoy in every thrash metal record) and the second including one of the best choruses on the album.
“Iron Maiden” is one of the oldest tracks of the album, an unreleased track off the “Doomsday For The Deceiver” sessions, with the smell of pure old school speed/thrash filling the air, perfectly fitting for the albums’ musical direction. It’s time to get mid-tempo and heavy with “Verge Of Tragedy”, where the thunderous bass lines take control, and the middle-eastern feel of the song takes us away, along with the killer soloing and Erik’s mesmerizing performance. The drum/bass intro of “Creeper” builds up a slightly sped-up headbanger, and a bit more technical compared to the rest of the material.
“L.O.T.D.” kicks in to speed things up for good, the old school way, with a really nice groovy break in the middle. After the acoustic intro of “The Incantation”, “Monkey Wrench” follows with a killer lead melody and some great headbanging riffage making our necks snap! Another drum intro before speeding things up on “Time To Go” and the killer melodic chorus it has in store! One of the grooviest tracks on the album comes up next called “Smoking Gun”, a modern mid-tempo headbanger showing a more stoner-like face of Flotsam And Jetsam! “Forbidden Territories” is the second oldest track of the album, off the “No Place For Disgrace” sessions, blending perfectly with the rest of the material, bringing the old school side of Flots back, leaving me to wonder “why was this left out of “No Place For Disgrace”? ”
FLOTSAM AND JETSAM are back, and they’re here to kick your ass! Now we can just wait for October 2016, when they’ll be killing it on stage!
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