Post-nuclear wasteland mutants from Spain, Juggernaut, are coming. The band imagery, the song titles and vibes in the music of that dystopia are very evident. They also present a musical mixture, that my brain does not get. Not at all.

With stylish ominous introduction 'Vishnu', the threat is perceptible. 'Eye for an Eye' means war: It is about modern heavy thrash metal in vein of Paradox from Germany, with some Fear Factory-stic (well, futuristic) synthesizer work as creaming of the cake. Ripping guitar sound and fast riffage peels a listener's face off, and pounding, metallic bass guitar and bombastic drums smite its writhing remains. Some groove metal is mixed into the musical concoction with the next song. It still has shredding guitar work and double kick drumming alternating with more simplistic beats. These songs do not carry much of melody, except in semi-sung vocals here and there, and very Arch Enemy-esque middle part of 'Cry of Rage'. The Paradox connection is partly coming from the semi-sung vocals, which are really powerful and do remind me a lot of Charly Steinhauer. A fluctuating of growling/shrieking is happening, too. Thus far, it is strong, juggernaut-ish (I had to, simply had to...) and a nice piece of contemporary thrash metal. With groove trait, yes.

But I didn't see (or hear?!?!) it coming... It goes even further with its contemporariness. Way too far for my liking. See, it took as far as the fourth track 'Beyond Thunderdome' (cool name, by the way). Modern North American groove metal/rock is happening in its full scale, as Five Finger Death Punchy masculinity begins to smell "a bit" too much. The song also includes some hit-sounding bridges (Amaranthe, anyone?). The thrash is gone, that is for sure. The guitars still sound ripping, but... The damage is done. Another annoying thing, which comes with this "American mentality" is Zakk Wylde style guitar screeches. I like 'em fast and ripping, not slow and boring, thank you. Talking about guitar, there are some cool solos here and there, maybe nothing memorable, but with more metal leaning.

'Dust to Dust' at least brings in some of thrashing guitar work. The latter songs are far catchier (read: simplified), but I cannot smell any soul anymore. The fallout took its toll, then, and muties lost their brains. And this is totally evident with 'Shattered Star', which is so bloody Volbeat-sounding abomination, that I'm very much ready to get my coat. Its carnival vibe, thanks to the Broadway musical bits, cannot be taken seriously. Seriously, where did all the defiance the band had at the start of the album, go? Well, the closer 'Scavenger Hunt' begins nicely, but again falls into this abyss of vanity, that started with 'Beyond Thunderdome'. The album is a real loudness war; goddamn it sounds crammed!

The cover of Judas Priest's classic song 'Jawbreaker' is filling this EP-length release. The song isn't raped by these mutants, it's just USA-fied. And Spanishified; on it, the vocalist's heavy accent is very evident. Well, I guess it is noticed by people when they are browsing what record to buy...

Listening to 'Out of the Ashes' almost makes me want to push that nuclear button. Surely, there is space to waste with all kinds of musical styles, but I still cannot get my head over Juggernaut's. Starting with potrent modern thrash, and then jumping on the bandwagon. Well, whatever.

Rating: 4- (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
08/30/2018 19:05