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Outliar: Provoked to anger

18/12/12 || BamaHammer

Say what you want about the American South (careful, though. It’s my homeland, ass-hat.), but the region’s metal scenes undoubtedly have their own subtle nuances in their general sounds that have really begun to distinguish them from other scenes in the US of Ass. Outliar have been around since 2004 and hail from the bustling metropolis of Cary, North Carolina. They also clearly do what they do extremely well.

I’ve seen this band given the dubious “Groove Metal” label, but don’t let that deter you from discovering the truth. This is some quite tasty thrash metal with a few death metal influences peppered in, and the result is indeed a very groovy album, albeit not overly fast, that you’ll want to hear again and again. The overall presentation and incredibly tight riffing even reminds me a lot of The Haunted and sometimes even Lamb of God’s best stuff from time to time.

Occasionally, these guys are also a threat to insert a few well-timed and tasty breakdowns. Don’t lose your erection yet, though, for Outliar never really relies on the breakdown elements to propel a song like much of today’s metalcore-deathcore-vaginacore shit. Instead, they use breakdowns quite intelligently in order to make things interesting and add more groove like some of the best old-school thrash bands did. I can’t complain. There are quite a few ideas within each song, which also adds to this band’s appeal for me. If you ignore the intro track (which is still pretty cool anyway), more than half of the album’s tracks clock in at over five minutes, and the epic closer, “Vendetta,” finishes up at just over eight. On the bright side, absolutely none of it is filler. Every riff and every lead is just as tasty as the next, and this is truly a complete album.

The production on “Provoked to anger” can be described as pretty fucken vicious. Ray Currie’s guitars rip and tear with flurry after flurry of high-speed palm-muted chunks, but the guitar work atop the tight, controlled rhythms of the drums and bass introduce an element of groove to the thrashing that will keep you playing this album over and over. There’s nothing really overly flashy about the guitar leads, but they are quite impressive in an old-school thrash kind of way. They deliver and get the job done consistently. You don’t get any virtuosity in the way of tapping or lifeless sweep-arpeggios, but what you will hear are good old-fashioned high-speed thrash solos with loads of melody. Currie definitely knows his way around the fretboard and how to put together some tasty leads.

Jason Ford’s vocals are another one of my favorite aspects to this album. Whether he’s growling or actually hitting notes with a semi-growl, he sounds fantastic. I hate to keep drawing comparisons, but he pulls off a fairly convincing Peter Dolving sound without so much of the melodrama. It’s quite impressive. That particular style also fits this brand of modern thrash perfectly. Ford manages to sound fairly understandable, aggressive, and angry without ever making you feel like he’s overdoing it.

I always enjoy a good rhythm section, and Outliar delivers in this area in spades. The drumming by Patrick Koch is always very consistent and extremely tight on every track. Koch never sounds like he’s trying anything overly ambitious in terms of speed or technique in terms of rhythms or fills. The result is a thrash album that sounds very tasteful and precise, and it coincides with the neatness of every other aspect of this record as well.

If I had to try and label something about this album as a weakness, I really couldn’t. It’s a rock-solid effort from a group of thrashers who really know how to produce some mighty fine thrash. If you’re a fan of The Haunted or even Lamb of God or any of the few good modern American thrash bands, Outliar is a band you would undoubtedly enjoy. Outliar combines the best aspects of European thrash with the best aspects of American thrash, and the result is a band I would gladly get behind while they carry the American thrash flag into battle. I’m anticipating a bright future for these guys.

Information
Released: 2012
Label: Self-released
Website: Outliar MySpace
Band
Jason Ford: vocals
Ray J. Currie: guitars
Matthew Farrow: bass
Patrick Koch: drums

Tracklist
01. The Procession
02. It’s Time to Bleed
03. Faceless Enemy
04. Coffin Text
05. Another Surrender
06. A Loss of Sincerity
07. Rod of the Shepherd
08. Dozer
09. Vendetta

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