Author: Rok Klemše
Artist: Panikk
Release: 2009
Length: 18:83
Rating: 4/5
Over the past few years, thrash metal on Slovenian soil has enjoyed a boom like the genre probably hasn’t seen since its birth in the San Francisco Bay Area. With that many bands around, it’s hard to come up with anything staggeringly fresh, but while most foreign new-school thrash bands don’t quite manage it, the opposite can be said of Slovenian thrash. I doubt there’s anywhere else in such a small area where you can find this much quality thrash, and the local scene has just gained another newcomer: Ljubljana outfit Panikk, who recently dropped their first demo.
On the demo, Panikk serve up four thrash metal assaults in just under twenty minutes. They’ve confidently and successfully nailed the right balance between melody on one side and aggression and technical chops on the other. In that respect, Panikk recall the youthful fire of early Metallica, especially the Kill ‘Em All album. Most of the youthful fury, anger and energy comes from Gapa’s vocals, which, intentionally or not, bring to mind a young James Hetfield, back when he could still belt out a song without any Southern yodeling. It’s commendable that, even though the scene has lately been seriously oversaturated with thrash, these kids have found their own niche, because youthful energy and an uncompromising attitude just gush out of this demo. The riffs are pretty inventive, the solos prove that Žiga is technically well-schooled beyond any doubt, it’s great to hear the bass playing an important role, and the drums, even though their production is a bit lacking, are devilishly varied and full of interesting transitions, with nicely placed double bass bursts rounding it all out. The opening wrecking ball Tribal is already a fine proof of that freshness: it morphs from a melancholic, melodic intro into an aggressive thrash massacre and wraps up cleverly with tribal drums, while the track sticks in your memory mostly thanks to its excellent chorus with well-placed gang vocals. The other three tracks don’t fall behind either!
There’s definitely still room for improvement, but with their first demo Panikk have found their place in the (over)saturated local thrash metal scene and proved that, even with a genre that’s been worn out to the extreme, you can still record something fresh and new, something that leaves you with a hellish “whiplash” after just twenty minutes!
Lineup
Gapa – vocals, guitar
Žiga – guitar
Jani – bass
Simon – drums
Production
Panikk
Tracklist
1. Tribal
2. The Wave of Death
3. Indestructible Destruction
4. Dismay
