'Deaf Nite', the debut release from Polish thrash metal band Pandemic, is a tribute to the band's original (since 2015) guitar player Sebastian Wikar. He was only 22 years old when he suddenly passed away in early 2018. His destiny should serve as a guideline for "cease the day" style view of life...

These four songs are his work, musically as well as lyrically. We hear his guitar playing only on the title track, and this collection of songs features quite some guesting thrashers from the same scene where Pandemic belong to. Anyway, the young energy is what's prominent on here.

The music is far from regular retro-thrash, which often is simply uninspired, stale as heck. Each of the songs on this EP contain so much variety, that it beats many retro-trashers whole bloody discography! Sharp, fast riffing, nimble finger-tapping, memorable use of harmonies, leads and melodies, and insane soloing are what guitar department offers. The bass is finger-slapped, but fear not, it's not fucken funk. Together with well utilized drum battery, the backbone is more than just a backbone.

Composition-wise, this really digs into early 1980s' classics, when it was about good music, not fast-food style "listen for a week before next hit single" crappo. What this lacks in aggressiveness, it serves in being intriguing. As I mentioned, this is energetic, but also very soulful; one can sense the love for old thrash metal of these guys. Between amok thrashing, there are moments where you really think the four horsemen would be soon riding through your bedroom wall, or nice non-distorted guitars are pouring in some serious atmospheres with darn good lead work accompanying it.

Vocalist is one of the most important pieces of a band to me, just like drummer. Traits as annoying voice, unability to hit a note and timing problems are the biggest obstacles for me, really. There is no bad drumming on here, but some vocals are... Well, they surely take time to get used to; just like Dave Mustaine, for example, took me YEARS to get into, and still he makes me sneer at times. Anyway, here we get two vocalists: the band's own and a guesting thrash-brother from Species. The latter is heard on two first tracks, and on the title one he sounds like a really over-rigged James Hetfield of 1980s. But, on the second track he sounds like rivalling Mustaine and Hetfield in one, with some really quantum nasal voices and bad pronunciation. Not his best work, because on Species' debut demo he nails it way, way better! I think his voice was going through changes at the point these two songs were recorded. The latter two contain voice with yelps and screams, which certainly isn't easy one to listen to, but which at times modulates to more raspy, regular sound.

And since this has all-around good production job, I can heartily recommend Pandemic for fans of something like Running Death, and what influenced them: Early Megadeth and Metallica. I'm not kidding, this has that kind of a spirit. Another old band is Tankard that comes to my mind while listening to this. This truly is what I'd call retro thrash!!! Nothing unheard-of, but what truly is..?

Rating: 7- (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
07/01/2019 21:13