I got Austrian thrashy heavy metallers Demolition's debut full length album in a trade. Listened to it a few times, with a random play on. Sometimes, it sounded great, other times, a bit boring. I noticed lengthy song durations, which felt a bit out of place on album like this. I thought I should add it on my tradelist to get rid of it, but things from here and there really began to stick to my brain. I even noticed myself humming to Demolition songs! Actually, that doesn't mean anything, since all the shitty pop can also stick to your brain, and suddenly you notice yourself humming to that shit. However, I felt that 'Out of Noland' deserved deeper audition.
First thing you'll notice is the pounding, weighty sound. It is truly like a juggernaut approaching you fast! Totally organic it is too, no triggers or such used, hence the very slight sloppiness on some of the songs. Lovely! Yeah really, in a positive meaning of the word. Nicely hefty riffage, driving drumming (loadsa double kick drumming coming yer way..!), energetic vocals and rumbling bass. The band operate in heavy metal (closer to German style) and thrash metal (closer to North American style à la Metallica, Testament, Overkill and such) fields, creating heavy yet driving force. Sometimes "thrashier Accept" isn't a bad comparison, really. And while putting more melodiousness in, it isn't very far from another German act, Paradox. At the best, they can give a working long song with same amount of parts and bits than a regular three or four-minute song. The best examples of this are the title track and 'Demolition', but sometimes longer songs subside into repetitiveness. One thing I noticed after numerous spins, was that even the longer songs, that didn't confirm me at first, started to get into me. Another example of an opposite to the dragging is the song number three, 'Scared' which is a nice change from the format; a slower, melancholic piece sung by a guesting vocalist (when "screaming", he sounds like Xentrix's Chris Astley). The song introduces acoustics and synths, but those won't be heard anywhere else, and still, it's part of the album, thanks to the huge wall of guitars.
The vocals are manly grunting, which at times try to get melodic. I like the way how energetic they are. But, the pronunciation hits me hard: It sounds totally like a Finn speaking blunt English, even though the guy's Austrian. About the instruments, then. The sound is pounding, so much that the guitars, especially the rhythm guitar, is buried under other instruments. Anyway, there's huge wall of guitars at times. The computer-generated 3D cover art would have looked cool in the year 1985. The lyrics are about tough life, fake people and everyday shit like that.
The band managed to wrap familiar elements into a quite characteristic package. The sound is heavy yet badly balanced, the vocalist is individual but not talented singer, and the riffage pretty recycled, as well as well-performed solos. And when talking about prolonged songs... So, everything is a bit second-rate, but kinda cosily. Partly very promising, partly boring, especially if listened to it all in one session. Best to be listened to in pieces, with random play. That's the way to get a grip of the latter half of the album, really. Hah, 'Out of Noland' is still in my records collection. I think I need to try those newer Demolition releases, now.
Rating: 6+ (out of 10) ratings explained
Reviewed by Lane
11/15/2008 15:13
