Though the name of this 4-piece thrash metal band from France may make them come across as a "comedy metal" act along the lines of Lich King, Hungry Johnny actually manage to pay homage to the 80's thrash bands while at the same time having enough originality to keep things interesting, and that too without going overboard like Coroner or Mekong Delta. The music may take some time to sink in, and the band may appear as a cheap Vio-lence clone on the first listen, but Hungry Johnny are perhaps one of the better thrash bands today who don't do all-out Exodus or Kreator worship.

The music is very... Interesting (I can't think of a better word at the moment) to say the least. The riffs here are very cool and catchy, and are fairly intricate. Instead of repeating short riffs over and over again during verses, the riffs are usually of medium to long length. The song structures are very good and the band seems to have put a lot of thought into them, unlike their contemporaries Toxic Holocaust and Lich King. Though I enjoy the straight-forward assault of the two bands I have mentioned, Hungry Johnny are very good at what they do and don't fall into the trap many late 80's thrash bands fell in by over-complicating the music. The guitar solos here are quite melodic and succeed in drawing the listener further into the music. However, the guitars are perhaps too loud and the drumwork is barely audible, along with the vocals. This one flaw ruins the music for me sometimes, but you get used to it when you listen to it more often. The bass is also well played, but for some reason it is only 100% audible in the song 'Red Alert'.

Overall, good demo and the band has my recommendation. My favorite songs would be 'Red Alert' and 'Falling Down'.

Reviewed by MegaHassan
02/06/2009 18:45