Maggoth - Maggoth
Poland’s 3 piece Maggoth can be compared to the likes of Slayer, Sepultura, and even Prong with their raw, yet catchy choice of thrash meets groove. It is raw, gritty music and yet cleanly produced enough that everything can be heard clearly, even if some instruments like the drums are pushed into the background at times. On their third full length, the band opts to more of a mysterious route with no song titles unlike their debut. “Maggoth” is simply nine tracks of music. The good news is that a lot of the pieces are quiet varied, so while thrash metal in general can tend to be a one trick pony on a lot of albums, the groove elements really help Maggoth branch out a bit more and may help capture listener interest through the whole album rather than just the first few tracks.
After a short intro, the band kicks off with ‘2’ which is pretty typical sounding thrash. Chugging guitars done at a mid pace along with shouted vocals and excellent rhythmic drum sections. Definitely in the Sepultura/Soulfly vein minus the tribal elements. Then one has a track like ‘3’ that features some very interesting bass moments and closing the track with an almost percussive middle eastern tone the way the guitars and drums are handled- again this shows a little more variety for Maggoth vs. the typical straightforward Slayer or Megadeth worship. ‘4’ seems to take more of a slow, doomier route- almost like a sludge hardcore track in the vein of Crowbar, but the simplicity of the instrumentation which just feels like one long riff repeated over and over is a bit of a letdown compared to the jarring touch of the previous track.
After this the album seems lose its ‘interesting touches’ and continues more in the traditional thrash/ groove elements much akin to early Prong or Sepultura. Tracks like ‘6’ and ‘7’ are loud, chuggy, and certainly worthy of head banging to, but aside from the screeching solos that almost seem industrial-like there isn’t too much to get excited about unless one is a diehard fan of traditional groove thrash. The outro track will certainly be the shocker as it turns the album on its head with a long, somber instrumental that is devoid of any heavy moments and feels like an extended version of the first minute of ‘Free Bird’ by Lynyrd Skynyrd.
While it is definitely not a conventional route to go for in thrash or groove metal, and feels about as out of place as a black metal track on a power metal album, this touch again goes to show Maggoth pushing boundaries and trying to add things that don’t fit the norm for thrash or groove, but hopefully entice different kinds of listeners of the genre to check out their music. As a result, their third album is a well crafted continuation of their debut with more depth and still a groove/thrash core that will keep fans pretty impressed.
3 / 5 STARS
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After a short intro, the band kicks off with ‘2’ which is pretty typical sounding thrash. Chugging guitars done at a mid pace along with shouted vocals and excellent rhythmic drum sections. Definitely in the Sepultura/Soulfly vein minus the tribal elements. Then one has a track like ‘3’ that features some very interesting bass moments and closing the track with an almost percussive middle eastern tone the way the guitars and drums are handled- again this shows a little more variety for Maggoth vs. the typical straightforward Slayer or Megadeth worship. ‘4’ seems to take more of a slow, doomier route- almost like a sludge hardcore track in the vein of Crowbar, but the simplicity of the instrumentation which just feels like one long riff repeated over and over is a bit of a letdown compared to the jarring touch of the previous track.
After this the album seems lose its ‘interesting touches’ and continues more in the traditional thrash/ groove elements much akin to early Prong or Sepultura. Tracks like ‘6’ and ‘7’ are loud, chuggy, and certainly worthy of head banging to, but aside from the screeching solos that almost seem industrial-like there isn’t too much to get excited about unless one is a diehard fan of traditional groove thrash. The outro track will certainly be the shocker as it turns the album on its head with a long, somber instrumental that is devoid of any heavy moments and feels like an extended version of the first minute of ‘Free Bird’ by Lynyrd Skynyrd.
While it is definitely not a conventional route to go for in thrash or groove metal, and feels about as out of place as a black metal track on a power metal album, this touch again goes to show Maggoth pushing boundaries and trying to add things that don’t fit the norm for thrash or groove, but hopefully entice different kinds of listeners of the genre to check out their music. As a result, their third album is a well crafted continuation of their debut with more depth and still a groove/thrash core that will keep fans pretty impressed.
3 / 5 STARS
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1. 0 (intro)
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3. 2
4. 3
5. 4
6. 5
7. 6
8. 7
9. 8 (outro)
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4. 3
5. 4
6. 5
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8. 7
9. 8 (outro)
