Author: Rok Klemše
Artist: Negligence
Release: 2007
If Slovenian metal lagged behind its foreign counterparts in many ways in the early days, today we can claim quite the opposite. Let me limit myself to thrash metal, since that’s what this review is about anyway. Thrash metal worldwide is finally getting its long-awaited and therefore even more deserved “revival”, and Slovenian bands are proudly marching right alongside it, with no shame and no catching up to do – Barehanded, Crossbreed, Dawn Patrol, Eruption, Gonoba, Slovenian thrash veterans Sarcasm, The Fiftsh Season, the brand-new but seriously promising Thraw, and I could go on (if I forgot anyone, it wasn’t on purpose). And last but not least, there’s the Jesenice-Ljubljana thrash monster Negligence!
After seven years of existence, the band finally has a debut in front of us, one that was awaited as eagerly as nicotine’s poor friends today wait for their coffee so they can dash out of the café for a stick of pleasure. Options of a Trapped Mind was in the making for a long two years, the guys worked their asses off, and the wait paid off. With indescribable delight I tore the wrapper off the disc, which is also beautifully put together, from the professional, eye-catching logo to the metal-black cover, and with a trembling hand I slid the CD into the player… And the opening track Places of Dawn blasts you out of the speakers with hurricane force straight into the Bay Area! Negligence look for their musical inspiration in exactly that cauldron of bands, which in three waves, from the early eighties to the end of that turbulent decade, sent the biggest names of thrash metal out into the world – Metallica, Megadeth, Exodus, Testament, Heathen, Forbidden, Lääz Rockit, Agent Steel. Those very bands are a huge influence on Negligence’s music, but they’re far from simply copying and recycling their idols’ ideas. They took only the best from them and added a big dose of their own signature and innovation. “Old-school” meets new school, you could say, mostly because of the way old-school thrash influences are blended with an excellent, venomously precise production that recalls the sound of bands lucky enough to get the great Andy Sneap’s hands on them. Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating, but by Slovenian standards the album’s production is simply incredible, and on top of everything, they handled it entirely on their own!
That killer sound doesn’t shy away from the guys’ instrumental virtuosity at all, with the two guitars pushed especially to the front, flawlessly handled by one of the best guitar duos in the country, Dyz/Jey. The guitar wizardry the record is bursting with will give every guitarist a guilty conscience, the melodic passages are murderously tight, the out-of-this-world guitar duels will have you drooling like Pavlov’s dogs, and on top of that you get hit over the head with a barrage of unbelievable riffs, which are rarely this good on the local metal scene, except with Negligence. And the guitars are every bit as devastating in the rhythm department as they are brilliant in the guitar harmonies and fantastic solos. The half-step thrash sawing, spiced up with great guitar patterns and occasionally backed by acoustic guitars, makes Negligence so dynamic and exciting that you can’t praise them enough. I know the guys are modest, but Dyz and Jey can shamelessly be compared with the great duos of thrash metal like Holt/Hunolt (Exodus), Altus/Piercy (Heathen), Calvert/Locicero (Forbidden) or Peterson/Skolnick (Testament). Still, the guitars aren’t everything, since they’re nicely complemented by an excellent rhythm section. Ruža makes good use of his kit, his feet and hands go wild on the double bass, but he also plays some great fills, nicely backed up by the cymbals. Lipnik’s bass isn’t all that audible, as is the thrash way, but it does its job flawlessly and nicely supports the guitar duo. Instrumentally, Negligence are perfect! Dyz, Jey, Ruža and Lipnik breathe with one set of lungs, and the result is the energy, charm and chemistry that Options of a Trapped Mind just oozes!
In their short history, Negligence had the most trouble finding a vocalist who could worthily top off an already excellent whole. After Lenz left, Alex joined the band. You might remember him as the promising singer of Metalsteel, whose voice still hadn’t quite broken back then. But don’t worry, Alex has matured vocally, and what he delivers on the record is an experience comparable only to a sip of a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster from Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide… Come to think of it, maybe Alex has partaken of that very drink, because he sounds incredible. His vocals are bursting with aggression, youthful rebelliousness and excellent delivery. Alex’s voice brings exactly what was missing before – color and raw power, which give Negligence that last pinch of magic. My only minor remark would be about his pronunciation, which is rather unclear, and without the booklet’s help a few words would slip past the ear with no trouble. But I’m sure that with a bit of practice this problem will sink too.
On Options of a Trapped we find nine wreckers and one instrumental piece tying it all together. The songs are mostly hellishly fast, but built in a complex and damn dynamic way. You only realize that after a few listens, though, because the record runs so smoothly that it’s hard to believe it’s structurally quite complicated at the same time. On their debut, Negligence string together nothing but destroyers, and right at the start the punchy Places of Dawn throws us into the thick of the war. But there’s no time to rest, because the aptly titled War Machine keeps up the bombardment. From the very first moment of the record the instrumental sparkle is on full display, and Alex has become a true thrash vocalist, helped out by the rest of the band with gang screams in the choruses, in the style of their thrash idols. A short acoustic interlude, Passage To…, lets your heart rate and breathing settle, but it gets cut off by the supersonic-fast (uhm… “Go to warp, Scotty”) Threshold of Society. Bay Arena is excellent too, a proper thrash anthem. No Brain No Pain kicks off with a calm acoustic intro that quickly explodes into thrasher heaven. My personal favorite, Legacy of Lies, boasts probably the best chorus on the album, followed by the murderously destructive title track, and Fightback and Thrust take care of the thrashy destruction all the way to the end. “Thrash “valhalla” here I come!”
Negligence deserve all the praise. Options of a Trapped Mind is entirely their own work, from the production to the self-released edition. The debut arrived quietly, modestly, without the glare of media spotlights, but it doesn’t really need them. The quality on offer speaks for itself. Negligence are right now at the very top of Slovenian metal, and Options of a Trapped Mind is a record that deserves a place of honor on every headbanger’s shelf! You can (read: you must!) order Options of a Trapped Mind at: [email protected]
Lineup
Alex – vocals
Dyz – guitar
Jey – guitar
Lipnik – bass
Ruža – drums
Production
Negligence
Tracklist
1. Places of Dawn
2. War Machine
3. Passage To…
4. Threshold of Society
5. Bay Arena
6. No Brain No Pain
7. Legacy of Lies
8. Options of a Trapped Mind
9. Fight Back
10. Thrust
