Desolator - Total Attack
Desolator's self-titled 2011 demo left me surprisingly satisfied after my first listen. I harp on and on about how stale thrash metal sounds nowadays due to every band repeating the same four approaches to the genre ad nauseum, but I do have a distinct love for bog-standard no-thrills thrash metal when it's done the right way so despite Desolator's first recording being as original as dry toast I did get a nostalgic tear in my eye from it. Now the British bastards have gone the whole hog and released their debut full length Total Attack.
Well, it's hard to deny it... Desolator are definitely a thrash metal band, and they absolutely love their German bands. Jamie Brooks' vocals reek of classic Schmier and the album has an undeniable teutonic speed metal vibe straight from the beginning of opening track Hell Revenger and they seriously don't give a fuck who knows it. Every single thrash and speed metal cliché in the book can be found on Total Attack which to many will be rather offputting, but it still has that strange charm to it that Desolator's debut had through the sheer honesty, passion and general in-your-face attitude and speed that 90% of modern bands seem to be lacking nowadays which at least gives Desolator the strong foothold of coming across as a 100% genuine thrash metal band. But as we all know, sincerity isn't the basis of a good band - you have to have some talent and good songs to back that shit up with otherwise you're just a bunch of really enthusiastic young 'uns who couldn't write their way out of a paper bag so it's good to know that Desolator can still write some ripping riffage when they need to. One thing I've noticed on Total Attack is that they band adopt the whole 'bass break' thing, which was a pleasant surprise for me since I haven't come across very many modern acts doing that sort of thing - anyway, there's some ridiculously thrashy stuff to be found on this album with Hell Revenger, Aggression Possession and Thrash Or Fuck Off being some particular standouts and it's nice to see three tracks from the 2011 demo making an appearance with tighter performance and production. Speaking of the production, it's leaps and bounds better than Desolator's previous release as the demo sounded so horrendously muddy from start to finish that it almost sullied the experience despite having a bit of charm. It was intentionally as 80's as possible, but it just kind of sounded... bad. Total Attack on the other hand sounds crisp as shit while still being muddy and warm enough to sound 80's, with the bass nice and high in the mix and a stupidly crunchy guitar tone making the entire thing sound like it came straight from 1987.
As much as I will praise the album, it can be a little bit too much sometimes. It's thrash-thrash-thrash all the way through which is fine - that's what Desolator are all about - but it's SO thrash that it kind of goes full circle and becomes a hilarious parody of itself near the end. Maybe if Total Attack had been released in 2007 when the resurgence was at its peak then I'd have given this a full five score, but maybe something so enthusiastically THRAAAAAASH is a bit too much too late when it's released in 2013. That said, don't let the 80's worship put you off because Total Attack is a great album if you love thrash and speed metal or if don't mind being completely devoid of any form of originality... which shouldn't matter too much when the music is so enjoyable. Pick this one up.
Well, it's hard to deny it... Desolator are definitely a thrash metal band, and they absolutely love their German bands. Jamie Brooks' vocals reek of classic Schmier and the album has an undeniable teutonic speed metal vibe straight from the beginning of opening track Hell Revenger and they seriously don't give a fuck who knows it. Every single thrash and speed metal cliché in the book can be found on Total Attack which to many will be rather offputting, but it still has that strange charm to it that Desolator's debut had through the sheer honesty, passion and general in-your-face attitude and speed that 90% of modern bands seem to be lacking nowadays which at least gives Desolator the strong foothold of coming across as a 100% genuine thrash metal band. But as we all know, sincerity isn't the basis of a good band - you have to have some talent and good songs to back that shit up with otherwise you're just a bunch of really enthusiastic young 'uns who couldn't write their way out of a paper bag so it's good to know that Desolator can still write some ripping riffage when they need to. One thing I've noticed on Total Attack is that they band adopt the whole 'bass break' thing, which was a pleasant surprise for me since I haven't come across very many modern acts doing that sort of thing - anyway, there's some ridiculously thrashy stuff to be found on this album with Hell Revenger, Aggression Possession and Thrash Or Fuck Off being some particular standouts and it's nice to see three tracks from the 2011 demo making an appearance with tighter performance and production. Speaking of the production, it's leaps and bounds better than Desolator's previous release as the demo sounded so horrendously muddy from start to finish that it almost sullied the experience despite having a bit of charm. It was intentionally as 80's as possible, but it just kind of sounded... bad. Total Attack on the other hand sounds crisp as shit while still being muddy and warm enough to sound 80's, with the bass nice and high in the mix and a stupidly crunchy guitar tone making the entire thing sound like it came straight from 1987.
As much as I will praise the album, it can be a little bit too much sometimes. It's thrash-thrash-thrash all the way through which is fine - that's what Desolator are all about - but it's SO thrash that it kind of goes full circle and becomes a hilarious parody of itself near the end. Maybe if Total Attack had been released in 2007 when the resurgence was at its peak then I'd have given this a full five score, but maybe something so enthusiastically THRAAAAAASH is a bit too much too late when it's released in 2013. That said, don't let the 80's worship put you off because Total Attack is a great album if you love thrash and speed metal or if don't mind being completely devoid of any form of originality... which shouldn't matter too much when the music is so enjoyable. Pick this one up.
1. Hell Revenger
2. Speed Killer Maniac
3. Toxic Assault
4. High Speed Hangover
5. Aggression Possession
6. Thrash Or Fuck Off
7. Survival Of The Richest
8. Beer Brain
9. Desolator
10. Thirst For Freedom
Self released
Reviewer: Dave Ingram Jr.
Jun 22, 2013
Jun 22, 2013
Next review:
Disfigured Divinity - Zapotectron
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