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Havok: Time is up
21/06/11 || revenant
I can’t remember too many recent thrash albums that have received as much praise on release as this album has. It seems every reviewer out there on the net is lining up so suck the collective cock of Havok over “Time is Up”. I have to admit, after reading multiple comments like “this is the best Thrash album I have heard in ages”, or “an album that will end up one of the very best thrash metal releases of 2011”, or “Havok’s new album is without a doubt the best thing my ears have had the pleasure of listening to in a long, long while”, or even the stupidly over the top “album will secure the band’s name in history”, it’s hard not to be curious. So it was with great anticipation that I sat with a beer one in hand and my dick in the other with the stereo volume pumped up to the max ready to be hit some of the best damn thrash I’ve ever heard. Forty two and a half minutes of frenzied thrashing later I was, well, a little disappointed to say the least.
Now I’m not going to say this is a bad album, let’s make that clear from the start. But with all the awesome reviews this album’s received, I was expecting something more. I was expecting an album that would be the best thing tits were invented. It’s not. This is a good album, but not something that deserves the apeshit crazy praise it seems to be getting.
First let’s look at what this band does right. For starters, the musicianship is damn sharp. The album is generally fast placed (not the fastest thing out there, but still quick) and back it up with precision tightness. Guitars gallop along in a satisfying manner and the rhythm section provides a strong backbone. The vocals sound genuinely pissed, and are backed up appropriately in the choruses with gang vocals. Songs are intense, the pace is fast and it doesn’t let up for the 42 minutes that are this album. Yep, on the surface all seems pretty fucken rosy.
Yet despite this great display, this just isn’t pushing the right buttons for the long time thrash fan and “fuck metal dinosaur” that I am. Though at times this album speedily blasts along with the ferocious intent of Michael Schumacher chasing a world title, it really lacks the truly great and memorable tracks that would have lifted this from the realms of good thrash to the heights of the classics it tries to emulate. Album opener “Prepare for Attack” is a damn good song, definitely the right choice to open the album with it’s classic style, aggressive intent and damn catchy chorus. But after that the quality dips, and songs slip past leaving an impression of precision speed and aggression but little more. Choruses aren’t catchy enough, riffs are pretty standard re-hashes and the guitar solos (of which there are plenty) whip past with an unmemorable sameness. It’s enjoyable, toe tapping head banging stuff while it’s on, but once it’s over it’s what just passed is all a bit of a blur.
And that, essentially, is the problem I have with all the praise this album has received. It’s a fast and furious but essentially a re-hashing that while good to listen to, isn’t supremely memorable. A lot of “experts” are out claiming this band to be the next big thing in thrash. I don’t see it yet. Will this album stand the test of time? Hardly, I’ll undoubtedly be bored of it before this review gets published. Maybe I’ll occasionally listen to one or two of the better tracks (“Prepare of attack” or “Get out of my way” are the two that standout), but I don’t expect this CD to be one I’ll be looking on with great fondness years from now. Havok have certainly proven they are sharp and ready, but for now the ability to write fantastic, memorable tracks has eluded them. A strong album, but the next Slayer they are not.
- Information
- Released: 2011
- Label: Candlelight Records
- Website: www.havokband.com
- Band
- David Sanchez: vocals, guitars
- Reece Scruggs: guitars
- Jesse De Los Santos: bass
- Pete Webber: drums
- Tracklist
- 01. Prepare for Attack
- 02. Fatal Intervention
- 03. No Amnesty
- 04. D.O.A.
- 05. Covering Fire
- 06. Killing Tendencies
- 07. Scumbag in Disguise
- 08. The Cleric
- 09. Out of My Way
- 10. Time Is Up
