Here’s a shot of something fresh in the thrash world. Hailing from the metal hotbed of Montreal, WARSENAL is doing something a bit different than just imitating what has gone before, but at the same time, they have the feel of something that could have come from the glory days of thrash. Think of ’80s thrashers that went against the grain; REALM, ANNIHILATOR, DBC, even VOI VOD. That’s the ballpark these guys are trying to inhabit.
Feast Your Eyes is fast! Above all else, these guys play with high velocity, but favor unusual time changes and riffing patterns. It is not typical, but also not so far out that it doesn’t have groove. I also detect a whiff of early WHIPLASH in tunes like ‘I Am The Blade’ and ‘Lords Of Rifftown’. The gravelly voice of Mathieu Rondeau even reminds me of Tony Portaro’s raspy growls. There’s also a kind of “rocking” feel to the riffs, especially on ‘You Better Run’.
This thing picks up intensity as it blazes along, with ‘Burning Ships’ and the title track being outstanding oddball thrashers. The best is saved for last, though, as ‘Crystal Whip’ is an amazing display of lightning fast technical riffing, like ANNIHILATOR’s Jeff Waters at his craziest! A scorching track!
Forget about your eyes….feast your ears on WARSENAL and experience something just a little bit different.
Review By: Dr. Abner Mality
WARSENAL
Feast Your Eyes
Svart Records
4.5 / 6