Author: Primož Novak
Video: Primož Novak
Venue: Orto Bar / Ljubljana / Slovenia
Concert date: 26.02.2015
So-called thrash metal revival bands pay us a visit every year. These shows mostly land in smaller halls, because for all their hard work the bands somehow haven’t managed to win over a wider audience. On the other hand, they sound pretty chewed-over, even though they’re supposedly reviving the golden years of thrash metal.
Orto Bar was once again booked for thrash devotees, but given the lineup, the turnout was appropriately poor. A lot of hope rested on Sweden’s Dr. Living Dead, who were supposed to be the new great hope for crossover thrash metal. As for the other bands, there didn’t seem to be much interest.
First up were young hopefuls from Germany, Toxic Waltz, who surprisingly didn’t take their cues from German thrash, but rather from Bay Area thrash in the vein of Exodus and Forbidden. The band has only one album under their belt, and they’ll definitely need more mileage and more imagination in the music itself, which is nothing more than reheating old recipes.
With the Spanish quartet Angelus Apatrida, you knew what to expect. Last time they didn’t impress much, simply because the band didn’t sound well rehearsed. Luckily, things have improved for them. This year the band released a new album, Hidden Evolution, which is getting more than solid reactions. In the show itself, where they played a cross-section of their discography, the Spaniards proved to be in better shape. You could feel the progress: the rhythm section is tighter, and the chemistry isn’t a problem anymore either. That tightness and energy showed in the crowd too, who moved around a bit more. After plenty of rather boring performances, the Spaniards made it clear there’s still hope for new bands reaching for thrash metal. It just takes a whole lot of mileage.
Dr. Living Dead! were the most anticipated band. First off, the image grabbed you: the band wore death masks with a blue bandana, a signature symbol of the legendary Suicidal Tendencies. Before their current album Crush The Sublime Gods, Dr. Living Dead! put out two albums on vinyl only, trying to build a kind of cult. A smart move at a time when vinyl sales are up again. From the music you’d expect good thrash/crossover metal, but sadly there was none. That’s where you start hoping the band is joking the whole time. Their moves alone look downright ridiculous, and the music, with weak song structures, sloppy playing and hopelessly dialed-in instruments, mostly casts a bad light on legends like Suicidal Tendencies, and later Municipal Waste. If Dr. Living Dead! happen to be serious about their music, they’ll have to seriously rethink things before they even start writing a song.
With Suicidal Angels, nobody was expecting a dramatic turnaround. The band, who crank out albums pretty quickly, still haven’t proven themselves. Once again it looked like the lineup lacks imagination and sticks to patterns that have been chewed over and worn out for a long time. Riffs in the style of old Metallica somehow don’t get the right reaction, because they’re too similar to each other and clichéd. Still, it’s nice that Suicidal Angels keep going despite the handful of people turning up on the tour. There’s no doubt the band suits fans of old-school thrash metal. The only problem is the lack of innovation.
This round of young thrash metal hopefuls won us over in places, but there were no big surprises …
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